Renting villa close to travel dates?

[hoosierdaddy]

We are still debating where to spend spring break. St. John is on the short list but we are not sure. Due to several factors we may not know until a month before. Does anyone have experience renting a Villa that close to travel time? Would it be hard to find a villa then? Is there a chance we could save some money renting late? Any advise is appriciated.

[liamsaunt]

John and I often rent our villas less than a month in advance. We have always found good availability. The thing that would worry me more with a last minute on season rental is finding an available jeep.

And yes, we have always been offered a discount for a last minute rental. However, we usually book for two weeks and usually in the off season so I think that makes the prospect of offering a discount a little more attractive. I am guessing spring break is quite busy so discounts might not be available, but it does not hurt to ask.

[waterguy]

I got mine 2 weeks before we left. Just got back

[visitstj]

Several villas offer "last minute" deals to fill up their calendar. As mentioned in other posts, jeep rentals may be an issue. Air fares are almost always the highest for "last minute" trips to the USVI.

[hoosierdaddy]

Thanks for the replys. Hoping to make the decision as soon as possible. I didn't give the jeep much thought. We usualy rent on St. Thomas. Do they run out of jeeps more or less frequent than St. John?

[mjaraas]

John and I often rent our villas less than a month in advance. We have always found good availability. The thing that would worry me more with a last minute on season rental is finding an available jeep.

And yes, we have always been offered a discount for a last minute rental. However, we usually book for two weeks and usually in the off season so I think that makes the prospect of offering a discount a little more attractive. I am guessing spring break is quite busy so discounts might not be available, but it does not hurt to ask.

What general time of the off season do you normally go? And what is the average discount? We'll be traveling in August when is off season and wondering if I could book everything else and wait on the villa to see what discounts I could get. Just so serving if it would be worth it. We're traveling with kids so the villa options are a little more limited.

[dreamshark]

August and September are as "off season" as it gets. You should absolutely be able to get substantial villa discounts just because it's August - even more so if it's last minute. And I wouldn't think the jeep would be any problem either.

ETA: this comment was to the poster who was traveling in August, not the OPM. I have no idea how people do last minute rentals in high season - especially the jeep. I'm looking forward to seeing answers on that one.

[hoosierdaddy]

From my experience this past month it is not wise waiting during spring break. I was starting to get worried that I wouldn't find a villa. I eventually did fine one but it wasn't available for the last day of our trip. Then the search was on for a place to stay on the last day. Luckily we found a situation that was available at Grand Bay.
I bet August or September would be easy to find a villa. The only problem is that it may not be the villa you want or in the exact location you want.

[michigan girls]

I would agree with the concern about the jeep, but I would also worry about airfare. We're going during spring break this year and just added an additional person to our group. He has to fly Spirit Air, because our AA flight was full and the other carriers were really expensive, like $400 more than we paid.

[sherban]

There are a number of villas on VRBO and elsewhere that post their last minute discounts....ranging 10-30% off published rates.

Here's a current example from VRBO # 376556:

"20% Off Last Minute! (Available 30 days out)"