USA TODAY
USA Today August 19th, 2004
"Renting A Villa-As a First Resort"

Caribbean villas once were viewed as the domain of VIPs or the well-connected. Now, as the booking frenzy for fall and winter begins, they're also popular among the value-conscious. Vacationers are doing the math and finding that a week in a villa needn't cost more than a stay in a nice hotel.

"People used to say, 'Gee, we never thought we qualified,' " says Janis Gibson, president of the 15-year-old Villas Caribe booking service. Thanks to growing travel savvy and the ease of finding and pricing properties on the Internet, villa rentals are "taking off like crazy" with everyday travelers, she says.

For good reason.

A rental villa - a free-standing house - offers more space and privacy than a hotel room. There's always a kitchen, usually maid service, often a pool. Sometimes there are cooks, butlers and other staff to make a stay effortless.

The larger the group, the greater the savings over a resort, says Villas Caribe's Gibson, who, like other villa specialists, is doing a growing business in multi-generational family reunions.
Modest Caribbean bungalows start at about $1,000 a week (rates generally are lowest from mid-April to mid-December). While mansion-like millionaires' lairs on pricey islands such as St. Barts and Barbados can soar to $50,000 weekly in high season, a nicely furnished two- or three-bedroom villa with pool can be had for less than $3,000.

Fully staffed homes, especially prevalent in Jamaica, Barbados and St. Lucia, also can be found in that price range (renters must add groceries and gratuities to their budgets). Bargaining for lower prices and shorter stays can sometimes be successful in the off-season.

And no longer is booking a villa a time-consuming process that involves phone calls to an owner or rental agent and a wait for photos of the property. Now, potential renters can plug in their needs on rental firms' Web sites, immediately view pictures and descriptions of properties and even book online.
Internet photos make customers more comfortable with villa renting, say agents, making it easier to see what they're getting and to compare properties. Villas Caribe posts "virtual tours" on hundreds of its properties, so potential renters have "no surprises," Gibson says. "With the new technology, we can ensure it."

However, the Web also can make villa renting more confusing, since almost anyone can start a Web site. Neophyte renters may have no idea what kind of service they'll be getting.

At established firms, customer support includes agents who help make the right villa match, inspectors who make sure each villa is up to snuff and on-island personnel who are available for help during a rental.
Oceanfront or hilltop? Staff or no staff? Peace and quiet or near lots of island activities? How recent are the photos? And is it really a free-standing home, or an apartment or townhouse?

Some privately owned Caribbean villas are on the grounds of resorts that offer golf, beaches and dining. And hotels and resorts are adding their own villas, realizing that guests want the privacy of a residence, plus resort services and activities.

"The market for villas was always there with the high-end," Gibson says. "But now the word is out."