rent via vrbo or villa management company??

[AquaGirl]

We are planning our 2014 trip (yeah!) and unfortunately, we didn't get our act together soon enough to be able to book Coconuts (our fav) or Plumeria (next to Coconuts). I am now in the villa search mode. I noticed that quite a few villas are listed on vrbo, in addition to one or more villa management companies. When this occurs, do you think its better to go through vrbo and deal directly with the owner, or go through a villa management company (who normally has people on island to greet you and deal with issues). We've only dealt with Caribbeanvilla.com on our 4 trips to STJ and had good service, and we've never gone through vrbo. Just curious on your experience/opinions.

Regarding our villa search, I am just starting to peruse what's available the last 2 weeks of May or the last week of May and first week of June. We really like staying on Gifft Hill for a variety of reasons, including being close to Cruz Bay. We have also stayed in Coral Bay and at Concordia - really enjoyed both, but this trip we want to be closer to Cruz Bay. I thought I would put out my "search criteria" and see if the forum may have some suggestions.

- We will have 2 of us for 1 week and another couple joining us for the second week.
- $2600 - 2800 per week
- Views are very important, especially of the sunset.
- Need a pool, but not a hot tub. Don't like wally pools.
- Shaded outside area for dining and hanging out is a priority.
- Must be able to close off BRs and living rooms via screens or windows in case of bad mosquito bloom. While I love the villas that are all open air, we've had 2 trips with extreme mosquitos, and having living areas with screens was crucial. We could enjoy the breezes, but not be swarmed.
- Would prefer everything to be on one level (like Coconuts), but can deal with two levels if the villa is right for everything else. It seems rare to find ones all on one level.

Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
B&J

[Teresa_Rae]

VRBO is not what it used to be. Several years ago, if you made a contact through VRBO, you'd get a response back from the owner. But these days 50 to 75% of the time you get a response from a villa management company (at least that has been my experience for STJ rentals)...so you're not renting directly from the owner, they're just using VRBO as another way to advertise.

I prefer renting from the owner, but it also increases the risk of fraud. So if I'm renting from an owner, I prefer the villa to also be available through another website so I can check and see that my dates have been reserved on the villa's calendar.

[sherban]

I think it's hit or miss, meaning VRBO can work out great sometimes and sometimes not....just like rental companies.

I use both but tend to prefer VRBO (in general, not just for STJ) ...but YOU have to do due diligence in either case. My experience in 2013 was that many VRBO listings went directly to the owners, but not all...

To me these are just websites that get me to people, info, and some service...each of which I have to evaluate on a case by case basis.

Good Luck!

[dreamshark]

It's not really an either/or choice. Most of the rentals I've looked at on VRBO do indeed seem to belong to an individual or family (unless they are just plain lying in that sweet little Owner Info section). However, all of the ones I have dealt with directly have employed a management company 1) to handle bookings, 2) to provide on-island management, or 3) both. When I find a property I like I try to find every listing, as they often have a different assortment of pictures or slightly different details about the property. But I like the VRBO format, and usually use that as the main link in my spreadsheet.

There are some advantages to starting with the management company. Some of them have very nice web pages that let you see the calendars for all their properties at once. Most of them have a "Specials" page that let you browse for bargains. And it may be helpful to talk to someone on the island for help figuring out just what kind of features you are looking for.

The main thing you want to avoid, IMHO, is going through a 3rd party site that is just consolidating listings from a variety of sources. You want to have direct contact with somebody who either owns or manages the property and can answer your questions. And some of the consolidation sites look a little shady to me.

[Chardonnay]

Historically, I've preferred to use VRBO for booking vacation homes. Recently, I've noticed more lack of responses from owners which is frustrating and more management companies involved in the bookings anyway so not sure it has many advantages. Now that we have a villa of our own to rent, we're using VRBO to potentially get bookings from people who don't want to deal with the management companies and we can offer a personal touch specific to our villa. But our management company also lists for us and takes bookings. Either booking method gets the same on-island support during the stay - a very important perk for first-timers to the island.

Re: Villa search for next May....we have availability and meet many of your criteria. We are very convenient to grocery shopping and Cruz Bay. Check us out at http://www.vrbo.com/466293 or http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/property/inn-love/

[AquaGirl]

Thank you very much for the info. I enjoy perusing the various websites looking at villas, as part of vacation planning. One suggestion I received is to google the villa name with the word "pictures". I have come across good pictures of villas taken by people who stayed there and posted online in various places. The words about due diligence, no matter who you rent from is very true. I have read about some unfortunate things with both vrbo and management companies.

It was an interesting comment about 3rd party sites that consolidate from other listings. I had an odd thing happen. I was looking for a villa and clicked on a site called stjohnrentals.com. There was no availability info online, so I filled out their little response box and submitted it. I got back an email from someone at travelkeys.com. They didn't answer my original question, but listed some other villas I might be interested in. I thought it was odd, since that's not the website I was on. Perhaps this is one of the 3rd party type sites that you mentioned.

Thanks Chardonnay - I will take a look at your villa.

The "villa hunt" is still on and closing in on a decision. I still need to nail down the other travelers in our group

Thanks!

[Knolmom]

Have you looked at Palm Villa? It's right up there near the others you have rented and has a similar layout but with an expanded master suite. It has been on our short list twice.