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villa search query.........

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:18 am
by DELETED
DELETED

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:24 am
by flip-flop
I am not at all sure if you mean this when you say links. But info I'd like to have easily accessible....

Price
Service Charge
A/C in bedrooms
Pool
# of Bedrooms
# of bathrooms
Photos of every bedroom!
FLOORPLAN!!!

If I could demand one thing of all villa rental agencies I would make it so they have to have a floorplan of the house. Makes it so much easier to figure out 1) if you'll fit and 2) privacy and 3) if its a good house for kids.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:32 am
by cass
I have found that a lot of villas' pages overlook the small details such as:

Number of beach chairs
sizes and styles of coolers provided
snorkel equipment (how many of what?)

that kind of stuff.

Also, if the patio furniture looks cheap, I tend move on to another villa. There are also some sites where they display very few pictures, or the pictures are blurry and not very well taken. I tend to not consider them either.

I guess comfortable furnishings, nice decor, honesty about the view (with photos to back it up), and of course if it will suit the number of people in my party, are the important things to me.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:33 am
by Gromit
Ina ddition to Flip Flops suggestions... Up to date and interactive availability calendar and clear pricing. Don't make me look for it or I'll move on.

I find that distance to things on island is useless since the distance vs. time to go that distance doesn't really translate to mainland terms.

I would love to see a better utilization of Google Maps. So easy to do and really can give folks a sense of where the villa is located exactly and its proximity to other things.

Finally up to date photos. I don't care if you've got older furnishings, but it better look like the photos when I get there. And as easy as it is to update that stuff these days there's no excuse not to have up to date photos.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:34 am
by DELETED
DELETED

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:37 am
by Gromit
Add to my previous the ones you just mentioned are nice to haves and if you're going that route-- links to your favorite restaurants and clues about grocery options, catering options etc.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:39 am
by flip-flop
Saltydog wrote:Flip~Flop
Your name has been used alot lately in the political scene :wink: .....
sorry.....links meaning....
ferry schedule, car rental, Cruz Bay web cam or maybe the Inner Visions web site :wink: :wink:
I thought that was the last election ;)

I don't mind. Though I feel inclined for some reason to vote for those accused of being flipyfloppy!

for links as in web ... Cruz Bay Web cam for sure, this forum, onstjohn blog, RUTH's store.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:40 am
by PA Girl
Does this mean the Saltydog's are keeping their house? (I followed your blog)

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:58 pm
by Chickadee
I'd like a link to a GOOD map of where on island the house is (Google Maps style, not just a cartoon-y outline of the island with main "highways" drawn in red).

Availability calendar link.

VIOL Forum??!! (though don't know if there are rules about that)

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:11 pm
by LMarie
I second the map! Location is a really important deciding factor for us. Plus: Price, extra fees?, AC, Pool (size/depth), Hot Tub (# people), # bedrooms, # bathrooms, outdoor showers?, floor plan, type of roads you'll encounter getting to villa, and plenty of pictures!

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:13 pm
by Lulu76
As far as links:

#1 for me: NATIONAL PARK WEB PAGE - I think this sells the island for people who are undecided on St John.

Then:
Car rental companies (especially if you have a deal with some of them -- some villas do)
Ferry schedules
Connections
St John Coupon Book
Cruz Bay web cam (or other web cams that make sense with your villa -- Coral Bay, etc.)
Maybe a page with lists of dining, groceries, gas, etc. (you could link if applicable)
And I would link to this forum and OnStJohn if that's OK with those guys
Maybe boat charters

Of course, being the PR/marketing guru that I am, I'd recommend that you try to get a reciprocity agreement on the links -- asking them to link to you if they have a villa page -- some people do. It can't hurt to ask, and I've missed out on lots of villas, simply because I haven't found them anywhere.

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:22 pm
by pipanale
Not having read the rest of the posts...

1: Price
2: A/C in BR's / Pool. They are both at the very top because we'd never do without them both
3: Location: Close to Cruz Bay

New to the list:
Working water pump
Termite repellent
Freezer that opens
Good breezes
"different" management than we just had

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 4:10 pm
by Amy
Oh my. I can't wait to read the rest of your trip report, Rob. This is gonna be good, I can tell already....

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:58 pm
by petepie
Floorplan is most important to me. Helps me quickly eliminate villas that won't work for our group. Otherwise I'm stuck trying to tell from the pictures how the rooms fit together and figuring out from a verbal description by an agent.

Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:26 am
by pipanale
Floorplan is a good one. I didn't think of it until I remembered that we eliminated some good-looking places once we realized how the insides laid out.

Last Spring, we drove to the beach here in NC for a weekend with a list of rental houses we had in mind. Getting a chance to see them in person before we rented was a very good thing. What had been the far and away favorite from the websites got eliminated instantly when we saw the spiral staircase in it!

Now...if only it were that easy (and cheap) to get to St John!