Villa Rentals -- IMPORTANT - PLEASE read this before you go!!
 

I hate to spread fear...but there is an article in August 2006 Conde Nast Traveler magazine about the recent rise of burglaries and other crimes related to villa rentals primarily in Caribbean, but Europe as well.

Anyone thinking about renting or about to go on a villa rental vacation MUST read this article! There is a security checklist that is invaluable for your safety.

I checked CNT's website and this article is not on it...yet. They have July articles, but not August. Not sure if this will be on the website, but again...do yourself a favor and get the magazine from library or buy it..if you are renting a villa.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Thanks, Debi! I'm driving myself nuts trying to select the "perfect" villa in St. Barth's. I've felt this would probably be a safe destination, but I'm headed to get a copy of the magazine this afternoon.

Thank you very much. We have rented one in Carribbean. Will keep an eye out for the article.

We're renting a villa for the first time in T&C in February. I have to admit that I've been a little concerned about it (since it's our first time and I really don't know what to expect) and I'll definitely check this article out.

Thanks for the info.

I haven't read the article yet but just because the rental villa is situated on a tropical island among palm trees and the beach doesn't mean it can't be robbed or broken into by by unlawful people (the perpetrators can be locals or other tourists - you never know). While some islands are considered safer than others crime can and does happen anywhere so you should take the same precautions you do at home. Use common sense - don't leaves valuables unattended or out in plain sight (that's why most villas have safes), lock the doors when you are not in the house or when you retire for the evening (that's why there are locks on the doors).

It's actually pretty safe to rent a villa in the Caribbean. Think about it, there are literally 1,000's of rental villas & condos throughout the Caribbean and 10,000's of renters every year yet the number of reported villa break-ins is so low you hardly ever hear about it.

Take reasonable precautions and you'll be as safe or even safer on your vacation as you would at home.

this is the link to the article

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/...p;pageNumber=1

You are correct A_T, if common sense is used, all should be okay.

The article says just that...but also goes on to say that vacationers often leave the everyday good common sense at home when they go on vacation and do things they wouldn't ordinarily do at home...they let down there guard because they are in "paradise".

I offered this because it provides useful information for people to be aware of and to help ensure safety while on vacation.

And yes, the stats may be low given the # of rentals etc. But, IF it happens to you...the stats are meaningless...they are 100% for you.

Again, just trying to keep you all safe.

Debi

Thanks to Dick for posting the link. It was a very interesting article. I agree with your comment that if something untoward happens to you a low crime rate statistic means nothing.

Anyway, it was interesting to read the various comments how tourists sometimes leave their smarts at home when they visit vacation areas.

Wow. Lots more crimes against tourists than I've heard about and on the "safe" islands, yet.

Maybe the whole Caribbean should consider Jamaican-style villas....the setup where a security guy/handyman/gardener and sometimes the whole staff live onsite....

I read that article last night. It was an eyeopener. The article mentioned that these crimes are not rampant, but they do occur and are not reported too often. The rental agencies and owners, of course, don't want to publicize it. And the crimes happened in places that are not typcially associated with crime: Anguilla and Tobago for example. Slowly the villa owners are installing security devices and simple things such as fences.

Whenever I read articles like this one, it often surprises me that people frequently do things on vacation that they would never think of doing at home -- like picking up hitchhikers, leaving doors unlocked when they go out or go to bed, walking through unfamiliar neighborhoods alone at night, leaving cameras or other valuables unattended on the beach, etc., etc.

I thought that it was interesting that one villa owner quoted in the article said that he has a burglar alarm but that he stopped short of "intrusive" measures like grates on the windows. My wife and I own a home in St. Lucia and, although I wasn't crazy about the idea at first, we did choose to install grates on the windows and gates that you can lock at night on the French doors. We've discovered two things -- first, after the first day or so, you hardly notice that they are there and, second, most of the people who rent from us like the feeling of security that they provide (especially people who are travelling with young kids).

The author has some excellent "common sense" observations. Regardless, I can sense an element of parnoia in both of his articles (check is Dangerous Waters & Piracy!). If you want real information (sorry about that)and not anecdotal stories, read about the yachties who cruise the Caribbean at this, well organized site:
http://www.caribcruisers.com/security.htm
The world is changing...EVERYWHERE Keep your heads up. Happy Trails. Richard.

jewelhawg

Don't worry about safety on St Barts, it is the safest place in the world.

The check list simply doesn't apply to St Barts, no gates, no fences, no doors to living areas, no cameras, no alarms. No-one steals tv's, stereos or cars, no-one has ever been mugged and there are no "no go areas". Teenagers hitch, keys are left in cars....need I go on?

Just don't leave stuff lying around unattended lest it fall into a 12 year old's pocket.

I too think that there is a bit of paranoia in the article. Of course if it happened to me, I wouldn't ever think that. But from the article:

"anecdotal accounts on online message boards suggest that minor thefts of wallets, cash, and other valuables are common at villas on large and small islands alike."

Sorry, but I really don't remember many, if any, anecdotal accounts here or on Frommer's, Travel Advisor, etc about valuables being stolen from a Caribbean villa (as opposed to a European villa). No way could it be described as "Common". I've rented many villas (Bahamas, BVI, St. Lucia, etc), never had a thing taken, not even a coin from the countertop.

The only theft I've heard (and experienced) is from suitcase, more than once, on layovers in San Juan Airport - not from a villa.

If I have to insist on window locks, lighting, and a safe, then I'm not goin' to that island!

As it does go on to report, "most crimes are never reported to police -- often because the renters are embarrassed that they left doors and windows unlocked and didn't safeguard their valuables."

Perhaps this is why we've not seen much of this mentioned on here before now.

And again, just hoping that people will read the article and me made aware of the possibility of issues is what I was after....
Debi

"BE" made aware....sorry about typo.

Joan - thank you for your post. We are renting a villa in T&C in Feb (Corriander Cottage) and it is our FIRST experience with this.

When I read this article, I have to admit a tad bit of panic and paranoia started to creep up on me.

While I'm one who always takes all safety precautions I can think of (the ones mentioned), it unnerved me to think of being robbed at gunpoint by someone who might THINK I had something valuable. I worried that just by the mere fact that we were renting a villa that someone might think that we were worth more than we really are!

I'm feeling quite a bit better after seeing posts like yours by so many experienced Fodorites who do rent villas and seem to have really enjoyed the experience.

Thanks again.

Like Joan, we have rented many times and have never had a problem. The last time was on St. Barts and the villa agent brought us to our villa, doors and windows standing wide open. No need to lock, he said, it's very safe. We did at least lock the front door at night. Now, however, I have been reading of a rash of villa robberies in St. Barts that has everyone alarmed. We were looking at Vieques as our next possible villa destination, but there have been many posts on Trip Advisor and the Vieques board about the chronic petty theft problem there and my enthusiasm is waning. We will either stay at a compound, such as Evamar, a hotel or go elsewhere.

Oh Maggi, that is truly sad.
Make me queasy to think about. I guess each island in turn gets their "rash". Makes you wonder which island is next.

We rented last year on Nevis, and the strongest warning was to be sure always to keep the gate closed - so the goats wouldn't come in and eat the garden...:(

I appreciate your sentiment too, Joan, that we musn't submit to paranoia. If we did, none of us would ever travel. In our younger days, we blithely went everywhere without a second thought and survived. However, since the rental market is growing by leaps and bounds it would be a good idea that places which depend on tourism see that not only the tourists, but their own citizens are not in constant danger of petty theft, or worse. In some cases, such as the Dominican Republic, even the police, or people posing as police, could be the cause of concern. (I read it on the State Department's Consular Advisories page: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1103.html)
If they realize their tourism is suffering and did something about it, everyone would benefit. If I'm going to drop $2000 or more on a villa, plus car rental, plus food from local markets, I don't want to be in fear of being robbed.

Thanks for making us aware of the article. I just went to the Conde Nast website and explored it a bit and wanted to share something else I read there. CN sent questionnaires out to over 100 villa rental agencies around the world and from them they culled about 35 of them who were most likely to pair a renter with the right villa. There were only a handful of them from the Caribbean--one on Barbados, one on St. Barths, one on Carriacou, one in the US Virgins, one on St. Maarten/Martin. And also the one on Grenada that I used for my most recent vacation--Nick Hughes at www.SpiceIsleVillas.com. He did a fantastic job and I would heartily recommend him to anyone seeking a villa on Grenada.

I would urge other folks interested in renting a villa on the other above mentioned islands to check out the recommended villa agencies on the Conde Nast site.

Again, not wishing to be a fear monger...but I think this is important so I am topping for anyone who missed it and might benefit from it.

Hope this helps...
Debi

There is no paranoid thiunking here at all or at CLT.

One island that really has had problems is St. John in the U.S. Virgin islands.

This past year, they had an explosion in villa robberies, murders, arson, and racially motivated attacks by a white businessman against a local black woman who was also abducted and raped.

It really is best to be careful.

attorneystoll,
Yikes! :-O

This new wave of crime across the Caribbean is interesting to me. It used to be that you'd only hear of such things happening in...Jamaica.

It's scary, really...and very, very sad.

Topping for zanabill

Debi

I am always following reports, forums and posts about Anguilla; there is very little crime there but it has increased in the past few years, and the thing that struck me was that all crimes (robberies, burglaries, attacks on person) always happened in and around VILLAS. So for this reason alone I would not like to rent a villa. A hotel feels (and is!) much safer; as far as I know nothing has ever happened there, on Anguilla in any case.

Debi, thanks for starting and topping this thread.

Speaking from experience,we have been robbed 3 times while staying at two different villas. There were at least two more attempts that we were able to scare off the intruder.
The police arrivesd 10's of minutes after we called them and told us that we needed more bars on the (rental) villa.
Months later an intruder was caught breaking in to the same villa and arrested.
His arrest was due in large part to a very concerned villa owner.
Last month, days before his trial, he escaped.
Then he was caught, but within days, escaped again.........
Two escapes within 10 days time!
Who needs more bars ?
The important lesson that I am taking from this is to ask about the history of crime of a particular villa before renting it.
It is my feeling that robbers get comfortable with breaking into a villa that they become familiar with.
Then lie-in-wait for the new victims to arrive each week.
We were shown how to activate the security system and we used it.
We did not know, however, that the wires had been cut so we were "activating" an inactive alarm.........
We felt so violated and vulnerable and angry.........and the Kops can't even keep him in custody when they were handed him on a platter.

Santa, could I ask you on which island that you experience these problems?

It's not surprising that a majority of the property crime in the Caribbean happens in or around villas- it's where the wealthy people live. If you wanted to steal, would you pick a nice house or a crappy house to steal from?

chasechow, from all that I have heard and read, this is an evolving problem all across the Caribbean.
It is not my intent to brand a singular island as being unsafe / crime-ridden, but to let you know what I have learned to investigate before renting a private villa on any island (or country).
It was also my intent to say that even if one uses common sense, which is so often given here as a solution to all problems, you can still be victimized.
Crime does happen everywhere, but it is becoming more commonplace IMO.
We happen to own property in the Caribbean and plan to start building within months from now despite the problems mentioned.
Perhaps we shouldn't, but I think that we can design a home in such a way that we will be able to leave the windows open inorder to catch the breeze at night.
Without the "paradise glasses" on, the choice to invest anything anywhere in the Caribbean could seem ill advised until the individual Govt's regain control.

Thanks for the info Santa. Hubby and I are renting a villa for the first time in Turks & Caicos. I have to admit, that I was nervous about it even before this thread. We have no intentions of backing out, but I like knowing (to whatever extent possible) everything that I can as forewarned is forarmed.

Wow, we are still deciding on a villa for St. John next month. I definitely will consider the area that they are located and not get one of the remote ones. This is too bad, now I am even unsure of going to the remote beaches to snorkel, which we were looking forward to. I think it's best to stay around other people. Looks like hiking will be out also unless I see other people around. Of course, I don't like to hike anyplace remote - I guess this would be no different. Best to ask what type of security the villa has also, before renting.

I don't think that the "remoteness" is a factor.
When we were robbed, twice in one villa and once in another, they were in an area that was well built up.
At another villa in a very remote part of the island, we were left alone.
Ask about the break in history of your rental up front.

MSS: We always go to remote beaches and areas on STJ during the day for snorkeling/hiking etc. and actually, have never heard of any incident. I agree with Santa, it's more about the particular villa than the remoteness factor. Some villas may not be well secured. We once rented a villa on Great Cruz Bay which is not considered remote, and it was completely lacking in security other than a front door lock. Anyone could have hopped over the gate. Luckily, nothing happened, but I still think it's about whether or not a particular villa has security measures.

Tuxedocat, Great Cruz Bay is where we are renting. Hopefully it has not had any problems with breakins in the area. I haven't told my husband any of this (he does not frequent the internet like I do) or he would not want to go. I am keeping quiet on the subject with him and I am sure we will have a wonderful time. However, I "am" asking the rental company of the history of crime in the area and also what type of security they provide.

MSS: Great Cruz Bay is an upscale neighborhood. It's close to the Westin which has an interest in keeping a sharp eye on its surroundings and wouldn't hesitate to report any suspicious characters skulking around. That said, it has also experienced some break-in's (like any neighborhood wherever you live), but it is definitely not a common occurrence and is usually limited to places that are easy to "hit." e.g. places where it's well known there is no or low security (e.g. no locks, no gates, places to hide a getaway car, etc.) There is a very posh suburban neighborhood up where we live in CT, with houses worth millions each, and there have been times over the years where there have been a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood. Does that make it unsafe? No, crime can happen anywhere. Frankly, with the more recent incidents on STJ, villa owners are definitely tightening up measures. They want to protect their property and continue to attract rentals.

topping so more can read this...it's been long gone from top of list and it's important to read and always be careful.
Debi

ttt