USVI-On-Line

ntl,

nonreving is flying space available (empty seats) as airline employee family. nice perk the bride has had for all her 65 yrs and i have enjoyed for 14+ yrs. not as good a benefit as was few yrs ago when most all flights had empty seats, but with good planning can usually get to where want to go except peak times. being retired has helped a lot since usually more empty seats tues to thurs. also the fri & sat after thanksgiving and 1st couple weeks of dec usually are slow travel periods for late fall trips to islands.

normal rule of thumb, if discounted fares are offered for a destination, there will be plenty of empty seats for nonrevers.

papabou

Thanks papabou...wish I had a family member in the airline industry

On another note, one thing about giving a discount, if the cost of having someone stay at your villa at a discount rate is larger (between electric bills, water bills, paying the cleaning crew, etc.) than you would make, I would definitely not offer a discount. If you have your villa priced correctly, then it might not do anyone any good to offer a discount.

Alot of the bed and breakfast type places won't rent for just one night because of the cost of paying the cleaning crew and all the other fees outweighs what they will make on renting the room.

villa owner,

In response to the situation you are currently facing, no, I would not ask for a discount I had not rented from you before. I think it is good business to offer a modest discount to a repeat renter, if your bottom line can acccomodate that. Lots of places do--Gallows has 10% off for repeaters just off the top of my head.

Only you know how popular your villa is--perhaps you would be better off offering a last minute discount if the house is still empty closer to the rental dates, rather than negotiating so far in advance?

Honestly, I think we are all reading that the rental market is softening up, less people are planning vacations, etc. That all makes sense with the state of the economy right now. Although, as I said, I probably would not ask myself, I don't think there is anything wrong with a polite inquiry about discounts. It's your house, and you can always say no!

I wouldn't feel comfortable even asking nicely for a discount. While this analogy isn't perfect this is the reason why I wouldn't/couldn't ask for a discount. Last May I had a garage sale. I can't tell you how many people would look at brand new Gap sweatshirt with the tags still on it and ask if they could get it for $2 even though I had marked it $3. It really bothered me. I realize haggling is part of the estate/yard/garage sale process but it really, really irked me. If I wanted $2 for the sweatshirt I would have marked it $2. Putting myself in the place of a villa owner I would feel the same way I did about my $3 sweatshirt. Obviously the amount of money in my analogy isn't even close, but to me it is the same principal.

I'm in sales and it is a slippery slope to devalue your product just to get the sale.

You could offer a "2009 Bailout Celebration" discount and on your website have an animation of a guy bailing himself out of a sinking boat on a beautiful carribean sea with the bucket in one hand, a bottle of rum in the other and a smirk on his face.

You can package a few "products" for a "multiple product purchase" discount. In your case, a day free if you stay for 7, 2 days if you stay for 14. My husband does that with his dog boarding business.

Another idea- You could stay firm on the rental price but offer incentives like villa provisioning or a gift certificate to fancy schmancy restaurant or store (like maybe, hmmmm, St John Spice!) or the grocery store. This could be part of the "Bailout" celebration and would also involve local stores who could then in-turn advertise for you (that cross-over promotional thingy).

Just some ideas from a girl who planned on returning to STJ this year but tucked my tail and ran when the economoy started to tank. Dang it!

I don't like haggling at all too. I work for a major retailer, and people try to do it there. I can't even imagine going into Target (not where I work) and saying: I see this bag of dog food is marked $6, but I can only give you $4. Can't even fathom it. I scour the internet to find the best rates on the best villas. Yeah, it takes a lot of work but I just wouldn't ever imagine asking someone to give me a discount just because their place didn't fit in my budget. I will say that when we had two people cancel on our trip and our villa was no longer in our budget, I did ask the folks if the rate could be adjusted because we had four people instead of six. When they said no, and it was no longer affordable, we walked away from that villa. But that had more to do with us using less villa and hoping we'd get charged less. And, I would probably ask if there was a return renter discount if I ever stayed at the same villa twice.

But, I don't haggle for cars either. I get the GM employee discount, so I pay a set price. No haggling allowed, and that's how I like it. It annoys me at work when people do it, so I wouldn't want to make anyone feel that way.

As an owner (I am not) I wouldn’t be offended or surprised if someone asked for a discount. At that point, the owner is the position to call the shots. Reduced price = guaranteed rental. Full price = risk of empty week.

Some people like my father simply can’t stand (and won’t) to pay full price for anything. Something in their brain is wired to haggle. It is almost like sport. I am sure the “a dollar is better in my pocket than yours” thinking plays into it also.

Current economic situation aside, new construction over the past several years has had to put more units in the rental pool. That alone could also contribute to the situation. Renters have more choices and therefore may feel they have more power in asking for a discount.

Rickg,

Interesting comment on paying a la carte for electricity. Recent posts in OSJ of utility bills had me going OUCH! Didn't realize they were that high.
Few years ago I was looking around at other caribbean locations, and I found one area (believe it was Turks & Caicos) where you got a certain number of KWHours included per day of rental, and then paid so much per KWH for usage above that. No idea what you could do with the included amounts, but I figured it was to discourage folks from leaving AC on and doors open, generally encouraging conservation.

irbgolfin

irbgolfin, I think the only way to make the nut on these villa rentals in the lower price tier is to manage the variable cost portion: electricity and water. If renters want to go crazy with a/c in the great room and bedrooms running all day with fans on while they are at the beach then let them... make the choice to pay for what they use.

Cheers, RickG

Bert...You're a smart man...I agree 100%!

The thinking behind my original question regarding a discounted extended stay of a month was based on the idea that there are reduced variable costs, albeit not water/electric. One meet/greet, one cleanup, possibly even the fact that it's 100% rented for a month vs. whatever the typical is for that time of year which could be all over the map. There was a post that suggested at least one company offers a discount (5%?!?!) for stays beyond a week, and I assume it is for the reasons mentioned. I don't know how all those costs add up and I wasn't expecting a rate of 50%, but providing a discount to encourage longer stays could be beneficial to both owner and renter, splitting the difference vs. the cost of 4 one week stays, for example. Of course, if the management company is getting a straight % then perhaps they are the ones who save some money as opposed to the owner.

I'm not one that's into haggling or demanding discounts, but I do shop around and try to get the most for my money.

It never would have crossed my mind to ask for a discount but I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear that people ask.

If I couldn't afford a villa rental I would make other arrangements, simple as that, which is exactly what we're going to do for our upcoming trip in December. We stayed in a villa during our first trip to St John two summers ago and we absolutely loved it but there are lots of other options if you're on a budget...Maho Bay campground, Cinnamon Bay campground, Hillcrest Guest House, Samuel Cottages, etc, etc.

You are the owner and you decide. I'm definitely in the "it never hurts to ask" category. I'm not into hagglling as a sport but I also have an acute sense of value. Quite frankly it's been a rental owners market over the past few years and I think that the tide is shifting a bit.

I agree with PA Girl - in this economy it's up to you if you want to risk an empty week.

I'm not surprised that the in-season rates are the first to be asked for a discount. After all these rates are significantly higher during these months than the rest of the year.

Does it cost you more during Dec 15- April 15 to pay the mortgage, utilities, management for this house?

OR do you use the higher rate for in season to of set costs for off season?

IF so you are essentially allowing the in season renters to subsidize off season renters. But I doubt that villa owners are doing this.

Except for hurricane season, temps on island are fairly constant so it's not like it's costing more for electricity etc during these months --a lthough I'm acutely aware that costs of maintaining your house oevrall are higher on STJ than the mainland.

The only time you pay less for that stuff is when the villa goes unrented and there is little to no use for electricty and water.

You typically charge MUCH higher prices during the winter because in much of the rest of the world, it's cold and people want to go someplace warm and before you could get away with charging higher prices. Supply vs demand.

What I think you're seeing is that people still want to get away but can't afford the in-season rates. And I would think that since it doesn't cost you more (based upon the aforementioned assumptions) that you could go a bit softer on these prices.

Philosophically, if you want to be consistent, you could just drop the price recognizing that the threshold is too high for the current marketplace. There is more supply than demand.

All bets are off for the next couple of years and I think, if you haven't done so already, you should assess what your absolute basement price is and work up from there.

Whatever you do I think that you should remain flexible and try to work with folks. By developing long term relationships with renters and working with them you may find that you end up with some excellent customers who will be willing to pay higher prices in the future when things stabilize.

I am a first year owner of a new rental house overlooking Coral Bay and we are learning as we go. I have heard that rentals are slow and that many of the rental company's are concerned. I wouldn't be too fast to offer a discount if you feel your published price is a fair one for what you offer. I know its all relative but try and be honest with yourself. You need to feel good about it whatever you choose to do. If its a real lowball or a nasty request, thats a no brainer rejection. That said, I just agreed to a discount for an eleven week rental. It seemed fair for both parties. Good luck to all of us during this period.