USVI-On-Line

Good morning everyone,

I am beginning to think our trip back to paradise is doomed. First problem with the airlines now a potential problem with villa. I rented Conched Out on VRBO .I have been in contact with the manager Catherine Noonan thru email and have talked to her on the phone. When booking the villa she asked for 50% down by check mailed to a St.John address. With a side note that if we pay cash on arrival she will discount the price by 10%. I asked about a contract and she said she uses the VRBO thread and correspondace as the contract.
Last night I went on VRBO to see what was provided by the villa and the posting is completely gone from the site as well as Home Away its parent company.
Has anyone rented from her? Looks like it was a problem with the VRBO renewal. All is well.

I haven't personally rented from her, but I did a Google search because this is one of my biggest fears and found this site which has a gmail address for her:

http://justenoughstjohn.com/Contact-Info.htm

Good Luck and I hope everything works out for the best!

Good luck!!! Please keep us posted!

I think you'll be fine -- I did a Google search of that phone number, and found another house that she manages; the VRBO listing for that house features some positive reviews that mention her as a good and reliable property manager: http://www.vrbo.com/406532

I've found that different property managers & agencies have varying levels of casualness; in my experience, some booking processes have been more formal than others.

The disappearance of the listing would cause me a bit of concern as well, but I'm guessing that the house has been recently sold or pulled from the rental market (in which case all existing rentals are typically honored).

Best of luck, and keep us posted -- I'll be interested to hear how it goes! It's a shame that the planning phase has been stressful, but I'd wager fairly heavily on the likelihood that on 4/1 you'll be unpacking your stuff at Conched Out and unwinding with a tropical beverage

Thanks everyone! I emailed this morning at 930am no response. I also called and the phone rang forever, answered to a voicemail with no message or human saying anything. So plan B is in place . I have two wonderful villa owners that have open dates and looks like I will splitting the week between both. They have been incrediblely sympathetic to our situation. So whatever happens, we will have a roof over our heads and a painkiller in our hand:)

All the best. A casual approach is one thing, this consistent lack of response is a huge warning bell. So hope it works out and you have a blast. Thanks for heads up.

Cathy manages several properties on the island.

As a matter of fact, she represented a property that we rented last year and the year before. I'm sure everything is fine.
She's either very busy or feeling the pull of "island time".

I've rented through Cathy for the last two trips to St. John, where my wife and I stayed at Easy Breezes in Calabash Boom. My experience with her has always been positive. Our payment scenario was pretty much like most: 50% up front and then the remaining half due 30 or 60 days out. I'm not sure what email address you're using, but below is the one I used to communicate with her. Hope this helps:

sailwhitewing@hotmail.com

i have also rented from her (a different property ) and the listing for conched out is on VRBO today
http://www.vrbo.com/458294

I found this listing on VRBO: http://www.vrbo.com/458294#! Is that the house?

Would she happen to be Capt Clark's wife from White Wing? If so then I wouldn't stress about it..Im sure all is well, shes probably just busy with it being this time of the yr.

I handle a couple of vacation rentals on HomeAway and one explanation for the listing disappearing is that it may have expired. If there was a gap between the expiration date and the renewal of the VRBO/villa contract the listing will disappear from the queue during that period. If you were communicating through the Home Away server she may not have even received your emails.

Whenever booking through VRBO or Homeaway, it is always a good idea to get the direct contact info for the booking agent just in case there is a glitch communicating through the website. Not sure this is what happened but could explain. Good luck- sounds like you have it under control. Have a blast!

Thanks for the response everyone. Catherine did get back with me and it seems to be an issue with VRBO renewal. She assured me everything is fine and totally walked me off the ledge. The disappearance of the listing and the voicemail with no message on it thru me into a "freak out moment". I'm glad to here some of you rented from her and it was a good experience! Apologies to Catherine and I am soooo ready for a Painkiller and some sunshine.

Glad it all worked out...I thought it was just something minor, and according to Capt Clark's FB that is his wife, so I figured all was well..We have sailed with him, but have never met her..But we highly recommend him..