USVI-On-Line

Sorry, I'm full of questions this morning.

The villa we want to rent is available by these two companies, any preference on which one to rent through.

Thanks!
Nicolle

Caribbean villas has a service fee that people complain about, I think. Communication with their Maine office is sometimes confusing, as they all work with the same reservations. Their on-island service was very good last year, when we had an issue. Christine and Curtis were just great with us!

I agree with Minde. On island service is great but I am not a fan of the 5% and the communication when booking. That being said, if they are the only company that has the house I want, I will use them.

If I had to choose, I would pick Windspree.

We have rented villas from Caribbean Villas 3 times and had good experiences. I calculate their prices including the 5% and use that as the price point when comparing villa prices. We've never used Windspree.

I've been dealing with Windspree in prepartion for our upcoming trip; we're staying at DeBolina this coming April (yay!) Karen and Kay have been fabulous - everything has been very easy!

I've also used Caribbean Villas in the past; never had a problem, but if I had to contrast the two, I''d have to say that Windspree's service has had a more "personal" feel to it. I'm sure the fact that they are a smaller, locally-run company has a lot to do with it. Check "About Windspree" on their home page: http://www.windspree.com/about.php

We have used CV a couple of times. We have always been pleased with their customer service. I also do not care for the 5% fee but if that is the cost of finding the place I want then so be it.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought that CV was a small local company also. They are located in the lumberyard.

toes in the sand wrote:We have used CV a couple of times. We have always been pleased with their customer service. I also do not care for the 5% fee but if that is the cost of finding the place I want then so be it.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought that CV was a small local company also. They are located in the lumberyard.

CV's business and rental office is located in Maine. They do have an on island office to handle the rentals but the business end and all the rental communication is done in Maine.

Thanks for the input! One more question, they sent me our total and bill already and the 5% isn't on there anywhere. Windspree quote was actually more?? Do they put the 5% on later?

Thanks!

I went back and looked at my CV confirmation from 2011. On mine, they had combined the tax and the 5% surcharge as one line item.

We just booked our 3rd trip with Caribbean Villas. They have always been extremely helpful, they helped arrange a couples massage for our honeymoon last year, and also took care of a difficult check in during Carnival on July 4th.

The 5% fee seems to be a wash on the villa that we booked for this June. Their rate is just about 5% less than the other agent that handles this same villa, so the net cost works out the same in the end.

I've never used CV, but have used Windspree many times and have nothing but good to say about them. Karen & Kay are just the best and they live in Coral Bay, so if there are issues, they are promptly dealt with. On our first time dealing with them the well pump went down late on our first day. They sent a guy over right away, he got enough pressure to give us water for the night. The next day before we got home from a morning at the beach, the pump was fixed. I can't stress enough how important local service can be. We have also learned to pick our car rental choice and let them book it for us. Same thing, local connections can't be beat.

I talked to both of these companies regarding rentals for my trip this summer. Both were very helpful and courteous with my multitude of questions.

I ended up booking with Caribbean Villas.

Their costs including the 5% fee was cheaper than other comparable villas that I found.

The 5 % service charge is combined on the line with the 10% hotel tax in the box on the right side of the page, so as long as you see that in the confirmation, it's included already. I have had nothing but a good experience with CV so far.