My list of rental houses may have started out small, but it grew quickly as home-owners discovered the existence of Bequia Villa Rentals. In order to avoid unpleasant complaints I learned to be choosy when adding a new rental property to my list, visitors were paying good money for a vacation home and their expectations had to be met. The days of “rough and not-quite-ready” rentals had pretty much come to an end, prospective renters were of a new and more modern generation and they actually expected the toilets to flush! A lot of the houses I inspected fell short of the mark, and many disappointed home-owners were gently told that until they made certain improvements their properties would not be listed.
The rental houses sat empty during the off-season, and there was always a frantic scurry to get them ready for the Christmas rush. Why everyone left repairs and cleaning until the last possible minute was a mystery to me when they had several months to deal with plumbing issues, painting and varnishing! In order to get the REAL story on the readiness of a property I sought out the maid, I found that owners were evasive when it came to questions about repairs or renovations they had promised to carry out. The maids willingly dished out the information I needed to hear, which was often not what I WANTED to hear! Property owners liked the rental cheques they received from me but were reluctant to spend part of it on house maintenance, and this frustrated me to no end.
Taking the reservations was the part of Villa Rentals I enjoyed, matching clients to the right property was kind of fun. The office work was tedious, but as bookings for the winter months were carried out during the off-season I had lots of spare time. Arranging taxis and groceries for each villa was easy too, the only HARD part was when the clients arrived! By then Christmas would be just days away, and I juggled my time between the craziness of the Pizzeria and checking to make sure each villa was ready for occupancy and that groceries were being delivered. December 22nd always seemed to be the start of the winter rush, yachts would begin to fill the harbor and the rental houses would welcome the first occupants of the season. I grew to dread December 22nd, it was the harbinger of a chaotic week for me!
On Christmas Day the Pizzeria was closed, and before the creation of Villa Rentals it had always been a special family time. Doris Fresh Foods also closed for Christmas, and mine became a day of delivering sage to one villa, bottles of wine to another and butter to yet another. Luckily, I owned a restaurant and was able to provide my clients with whatever it was they needed, but I learned to scan the grocery lists of those arriving on December 24th with a lot more care! I would read their faxed “wish lists”, and if they had ordered a turkey from Doris without including vegetables or sage I asked if they wanted to include them in their order. Having to deliver groceries between the stuffing of my turkey and the peeling of potatoes put a damper on what had always been a relaxing day, so ensuring that everyone had what they needed helped. However, no matter how hard I tried, someone ALWAYS needed SOMETHING on Christmas Day, and it was usually the villa furthest from my house.
Christmas Day was also when plumbing problems occurred, and poor Mac was sent frequently with tools and a plunger to sort out blocked drained and clogged toilets. He returned from one of these plumbing excursions shaking his head, the hot water heater had malfunctioned and burned through the PVC pipes behind the villa’s walls! This was not a problem Mac could solve, and as the villa would not have running water until the pipes could be fixed the guests had to be relocated. Luckily for me Sam McDowell came to the rescue by offering his “Banana Patch”, a special house that my displaced clients loved. I don’t know what I would have done if Sam hadn’t stepped into the breach, finding a suitable villa on Christmas Day for my clients would have been next to impossible.
It never once occurred to me to simply unplug my phone on Christmas Day!