Poll - Checking Rental Villa Availability Online

StJohnRuth · Post by **StJohnRuth** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:46 pm

I've been wondering about this since we tried to find a house a few weeks ago.
What do you think?
-Ruth

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:52 pm

even though I have rented through Carefree twice this is really something that irks me about them!

Bug · Post by **Bug** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:54 pm

I just think it makes sense to know if a villa is available before you set your heart on it and find out it's not available! That is always a huge disappointment!

XOXO
Bug

KPlumm · Post by **KPlumm** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:05 pm

What I find irritating are the ones that say "click here to find availability" and when you follow the link you get an email address

I much prefer an on-line calendar.

b-as-u-r · Post by **b-as-u-r** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:07 pm

I voted -- very important. "Ditto" what Bug said. I usually leave those rental company websites where you can't check on the availability on-line and they want you to e-mail them to check on availability. (I guess I need more patience.) Ali~

mia · Post by **mia** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:58 pm

I can't fugure out how to vote.

...mia

mia · Post by **mia** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:59 pm

Nevermind.

...mia

California Girl · Post by **California Girl** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:12 am

I voted "somewhat". Usually I pick out all the villas I'm seriously considering. Then I narrow that down. THEN I worry about availability, and if necessary, work back up the list. I've always checked availability via e-mail. Many times several property management companies rent out the same house, so if they're not all coordinating their calendars, IMHO the calendar online surely won't be right most of the time anyway.

kirk · Post by **kirk** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 6:53 am

Very important.

susan & herb · Post by **susan & herb** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:35 am

I will not use a site that does not have an on-line calendar. It's just a waste of time to fall in love with a villa, the price is right etc. and then have to wait for an e-mail or call to see if it's available. I want to know if I should stop dreaming and forget the villa and go on to others. The calendar usually says last updated, which is usually that day.
Not sure how to add my vote "important"

Maryanne · Post by **Maryanne** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:05 am

It's hard enough trying to coordinate a trip without having to email or call someone to find out different availabilities. As much as I don't care for Caribbean Villas, their website should be a model for other villa rental companies.

mia · Post by **mia** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:25 am

I voted "very important"...it is so convenient to know immediately if a certain villa is available.
I have also used the calandar to select our dates of travel by picking a villa I love and then arranging our trip based on that villa's availability.

Ksea · Post by **Ksea** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:20 am

With my first villa rental I had the choice of calling or emailing for availability. The agent was very quick to get back to me (email). My second rental went exactly the same way. I find the agents are quick to reply when they are taking your money, but once they have it they slack off a little on the customer service!

CariBert · Post by **CariBert** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:28 am

It is extremely important, because we use frequent flyer miles to travel. We have to know when a villa is available when we start trying to find flights. If a flight is available for a particular day, we have to know immediately if the villa is available then too.

Bottom line....yes, very important to have that info on line!

-Bert

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:50 am

We pick the dates, then the villa, then book air - so availability is key.

Not just availability, but ease of use of the web site in general. www.caribbeanvilla.com is still the most usable site: lots of details, maps, comments on the property, how to get to town, ETA to beachs and a consistent listing format. This usability drives a lot of first time visitors to rent with them. Now, the pictures may not be up to date and they are less up-front than they could be about their service charge, but that's a different thread. They've had availability calendars for a long time. We're happy to rent from them (March 2008!) and just add the service charge to our calculations.

Most of the other villa rental agencies are amateurish, out dated and lack important villa information.

Oddly enough, the condition of the web sites do not correlate with the quality of the villa or the level of service. We've rented from both Destination St. John (lacks villa details, poor home page layout, no location based map) and VIVA (broken availability search) and have been exceptionally happy with the villas and quality of service.

Sorry for TMI, but I do this for a living (working on a 32 magazine site customer right now). Doing this kind of thing right requires real investment. In general, I imagine good enough to rent their inventory is what we get to see. In my experience, lack of resources explains any shortcomings in the web sites we see rather than any intent to mislead. Now, back to the article taxonomy work.

Geek!

Cheers, RickG

usvi-on-line