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Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
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RENTAL PROPERTY RELATED
QUESTIONS
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Why
should we rent at all? |
It gives you more
freedom, privacy, and space at better rates than what a hotel with
comparable comfort would charge. Away from home, and you still
enjoy the comfort and convenience, you are used at home. Guests
with ambitions to cook, have an additional cost saving resource at
a rental place. |
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Why should we rent a property from your
websites?
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Regardless, whether you
rent directly from one of our owners, our cooperating agents, or
from us, we know the properties as we have seen most of them before
designing the web display. We know St. Maarten/St. Martin for many
years, and are in the rental business on the island for some 11
years. We know each owner and partner represented on our website in
person. We don't expose you to risks! |
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Who owns the properties?
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The properties are
owned by individual proprietors. Some of them live in their
properties at some periods of the year. Other owners live
permanently on island at their own villa, apartment or boat. Their
motivation to rent is mostly driven by reducing the maintenance
cost of the property, and to recover some of the investment. Some
owners let property management companies take care for the
property. |
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What is the relation to the other
agents on your website?
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A part of the
properties displayed on our website are affiliated with other
rental companies. These long term business partners use our
platform for promoting affiliated properties. We closely cooperate
with these partners. |
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Are you the property manager for
your rental pool?
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No. We provide an
Internet platform for owners and agents. Properties are either
managed by the owners or separate companies. |
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Is it an option to rent from the
owner directly?
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Yes, it is. Many of the
shown properties are handled by dedicated owners. |
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Why do prices vary so much?
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Prices vary by season,
and by property location, and features. Peak season is considered
to be between mid December to early January, high season from early
January to mid April, and low season from mid April to mid
December. Peak season prices can easily be triple the low season
prices. If you are on a budget, plan accordingly. Location,
location ... the old saying in real estate! This is true for rental
properties, too. Beach properties, which are extremely rare on this
island, are much higher priced, than some yards inwards. |
| What taxes do
apply? |
Some properties include
tax and service charge, some charge them separately. If charged
separately, they are mostly between 5%- 10%. Please, see our rates
at each property. |
| Can we rent for less
than 5 nights? |
Rental properties and
pricing are set up to work fine for weekly rentals. Some property
owners accept 5 night rentals, but do not necessarily pro rate the
price as some of the cost occur regardless of the length of stay.
Thorough cleaning, when tenants change, greeting services,
administrative cost, all need to be covered regardless of the time
spent. Therefore, short time vacationers have a hard time to find
any rental property, and might be better advised to look for a
hotel room. |
| How do we pay ? |
Rental properties are
commonly paid in advance, first a 25% - 50% deposit to secure the
booking, the full payment is usually due two months before arrival.
Only a few owners can accept credit cards as merchant accounts are
very restrictively handled for private individuals. Common payment
methods are checks, wire transfers, or PayPal. Keep in mind, for
check payment long processing time for clearance at the local bank
occur ( 4 weeks and more). Subsequently, your payment has to be
submitted very well in advance of the planned arrival day. |
| What is the security
deposit for? |
Most property owners
expect guests to provide some kind of security deposit for covering
potential damage, keys, phone charges, Internet usage, more people
using the property than booked for etc. If a property management
company is involved, it might be possible to provide the security
in form of a credit card, more often, it is asked as a cash deposit
on arrival. Typical requested amounts are $ 500 - $ 1,000, which
are returned on departure, if no cost and damage occurred. |
| How can I trust that my prepayment doesn't
disappear? |
This legitimate concern
is an issue, which you can check on several levels. Clear paper
trails, such as written confirmations, are an important
benchmark. |
| What currency is
charged? |
Although the former
Dutch part has Netherlands Antilles Guilders, and the French part
has the Euro as their official currency, most vacation rentals are
priced in US-$. Some are quoted in EURO, see our currency converter
for conversion. The exchange rate as of the day of the individual
payment is applied. |
| Who assists us, when we
arrive? |
Some of the higher
priced properties assign a greeting person, who waits for you at
the Princess Juliana Int'l airport, or at the car rental agent
office. This person guides you with your rental car or taxi to the
property, and introduces you to the property. This service is
included and free with several villa properties. The greeter does
not transport you for licensing and insurance reasons. Escorting
service is not included in budget rental categories for obvious
reasons. |
| Do I need a rental
car? |
Yes, you should have
one as this allows you more freedom and let you access many places,
you may not see with public transportation or taxis. Taxis are
priced similar to the US price level. |
| Which rental car
company should I rent from? |
We provide advice in
our documentation, which you receive after you booked and
transferred the deposit. There are plenty of rental car companies.
The big franchise operations tend to be more expensive without
necessarily having better cars. There are some local, reliable and
price competitive suppliers, which we relate to you individually.
Prices start at $ 20 a day, but $ 30 - 35 is a better investment in
view of the poor road quality. Our websites also list many car
rental agencies, see here without endorsing those list companies.
We mainly cooperate with 'Best For Less' as it turned out to be a very
reliable operation. In contrast to most other agencies, our
recommendations are not sponsored by specific car rental
operations. Our advice is independent. |
| Can I use the pool of
the property au naturel? |
This island has a very
liberal lifestyle. Some properties grant full privacy being
shielded against any outside views. Feel free using your rental
villa "clothing optional". |
| If we don't rent the
entire villa, do we have to share? |
No, if you get a
reduced rate as displayed with some villas, when using only one or
two bedrooms, you don't have to be afraid that somebody else will
be around. There is only one exception on our websites, which is
Villa Casa Boco, who also rents 2 studios separately to the villa,
but on the same compound as the villa. |
| What kind of beds are
available? |
The luxurious villas
have king size beds in most bedrooms. Our descriptions contain this
information. Budget oriented apartments may have queen-, twin-, and
full size beds. More about standard sizes. |
| Who do I call, when
something goes wrong? |
Call the person in
charge, either the owner or his property manager. This information
should have been provided to you prior to your arrival. |
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How to cancel my booking?
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Cancellations of
individual properties are more difficult than hotel bookings. There
is no continuous reservation flow to offset the owners for their
lost business, and especially short term last minute bookings are
very unlikely. Please, consult your individually agreed terms.
Travel insurance and careful planning are important. |
| Frequently Asked
Questions FAQ |
ST. MAARTEN AND ST. MARTIN RELATED
QUESTIONS
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| Which part is better,
the Dutch or French? |
There are some
differences, yet it all depends on your preferences. Both sides
have pro's and con's. The former Dutch side (Sint Maarten) is more
busy and better adapted to American way of living. The French side
is more quiet, and has its own style of French Creole
"Laissez-faire"! |
| I don't feel
comfortable in a French speaking environment! |
The share of English
speaking people in the French part is very high, even at public
offices, like the Postal service, they communicate more in English
than in French. And most tourism related people speak several
languages |
| Is crime a problem on
the island? |
The "Friendly Island"
of St. Maarten/St. Martin has more crime than we wish, but by far
not as much as some other islands, or certain areas in larger
American cities do! Be careful, never leave valuables in your car,
always lock your car, and your rental property when you leave.
Don't carry large amount of cash with you. |
| When is hurricane
season? |
Highest risk is in
September. Please, see our weather pages with links to weather forecasts
and probabilities! In general, some risk exists from August through
October! |
| When is the best time
to visit the island? |
The most common
misconception about the Caribbean and St. Maarten is that it must
be much hotter in summer than it is during the rest of the year. In
fact, the average monthly temperature remains remarkably stable, varying
by only a few degrees through the year. This stability can be
attributed to the continuously blowing trade winds. Although, the
summer months have more rain and therefore a somewhat higher
humidity. Subsequently, visit any time, and off season is even
better, less traffic, lower prices, ... |
| Do I need cash and what
currency? |
Although many
restaurants and shops accept credit cards, consider to bring
sufficient cash in US-$ as there are many services expected in cash
only. US-$ are sufficient, you don't need Euros. ATM's are
available, too. |
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Can I use my cell phone on the island?
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Unfortunately, there is
no simple answer to this question. A tri-band GSM phone with
roaming capability does work everywhere on the island. The US
digital cell phones (CDMA/TDMA) may not work. You may have to buy a
prepaid card at one of the local providers in the Dutch part. See
more info and a link to the provider supporting US standards here! |
