Category: News

Looking for a great vacation idea? Are you a foodie? Do you love warm weather, tropical climes and relaxing on the beach?

If so, consider a trip to scenic St. Croix to combine your love of gourmet food with your desire to kick back and relax and get some sun.  St. Croix is a hidden gem in the US Virgin Islands that also happens to host the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience, a week-long festival to celebrate the island’s best food and wine, all to raise money for some of the island’s charities. Hailed as one of the ‘Ten Best International Food and Wine Festivals’ by Forbes Travel, the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience showcases the diverse cuisine and wines available on St. Croix. Every year the “Experience” features local chefs, celebrity chefs, cooking show personalities and top winemakers from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US mainland, and abroad to showcase their talents and promote their products.

Events include: appetizers and tasty drinks at “bond @ balter”, enjoy the amazing treats at the Sunset BBQ at Frederiksted pier, sit down for dinner at the Cork & Fork Dinner, enjoy the Gourmet Vintner Dinner, or wander around the Wine in the Warehouse. Book early because the tickets sell out fast! http://stxfoodandwine.com/

Go to as many or as few as you like, and spend the rest of your time enjoying the sights around the island, or just lazing by the pool.

Pack up your flip-flops and your tastebuds and come on down.  And the best part for US Citizens? No passport required.

There have been a lot of changes for vacation rental guests in the last few years.  With the advent of AirBNB, the market changed radically almost overnight.  With seemingly a lot more options for guests, AirBNB also introduced … guest Service Fees.  

To compete, in 2016, HomeAway announced that it would also begin to charge a traveler fee on bookings made on VRBO and HomeAway and their other family of sites, mimicking Airbnb, FlipKey, and TripAdvisor.

For vacation renters, this can add a lot to the cost of your trip. What’s the big deal with these fees, though?  How big are they really?  

Here’s a quick comparison:

Site	Guest Fees
AirBNB	Guests pay a booking fee of 6-12%, depending on the total of the reservation amount (Note: Dolphin’s Paradise does not current list on AirBNB due to incompatibilities with the host policies)
TripAdvisor / FlipKey	Guests pay a booking fee of 5-15%, depending on the total cost of the rental
HomeAway	Guests pay a booking fee up to 20%
Book Direct	Guests pay no extra service fees:

What are those new Service Fees paying for?  They are directed to operating the vendor’s websites and fees such as marketing, and and customer call centers.    

What does all this mean for vacation renters?  It means you can save a lot by booking vacation rentals directly, and skipping these fees.  Especially when you are a repeat guest or a seasoned vacation rental traveler, you should be able to skip these fees and book direct with confidence.  Return guests can also frequently get discounts by contacting owners 

What about extra protection, like travel insurance?  Is that available working directly with the owner?  Yes.  Vacation rental travelers and owners can get the same travel insurance booking directly that is available through the broker sites.

If you are concerned about booking directly if you don’t have a pre-existing relationship with a vacation rental owner, look for non-fee or new listing sites that aim to replace the former VRBO/Homeaway model, such as: Vacationhomerentals.com (note that this is related to Tripadvisor but doesn’t currently charge service fees), new sites such as Tripelli.com, Homeescape.com, vacationstayz.com, Houfy.com and regional vacation rental sites.