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Services & Things to Know
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ME AND MY BUSINESS
My name is Jeffery Hill and I have been renting my homes in Puerto Vallarta and Florida for over 15 years. As my business has grown, so has my ability, to provide great properties and great service.
I currently have 40 properties that I rent. I own or co-own 17 of these homes and rent the remainder for others. Am I a rental agent? Well, yes and no. Almost all of the homes on my site have a personal connection. I do interior design and many of the properties are owned by clients who hired me to create the vacation rental for them and then manage their rental business. Other properties are owned by friends and neighbors, who have seen what I do, and have asked me to bring their property up to my standards and do the rentals for them. So unlike many rental agents, my agenda is not just to make money. My goal is to create a unique collection of very special properties, in many price ranges, with many different flavors, and provide great service to my guests. We are currently adding homes from other areas to our site to provide more choices for our guests.
In Puerto Vallarta, I am fortunate to have an amazing staff, who works very hard to maintain my properties and take care of my guests. We offer optional services such as airport pickup, groceries delivered upon arrival, chef services and assistance with restaurant ideas, tours, etc. We are not always perfect, but our goal is to do the best to provide you with your best vacation ever. If you are traveling to celebrate a special occasion, let us know and we will help make it more special. If you are traveling with a larger group, let us know and we will make suggestions for properties located close to each other that will accommodate your group. In other words, tell us what you want and we will see what we can do.
I offer private homes and condos most of which are located in the Old Town/Romantic Zone area of Puerto Vallarta. I have a few properties are located closer to El Centro and some great new properties in Sayulita. My goal with my property purchases and those I rent is to have properties located in the "real" Puerto Vallarta so that you can experience Mexico. I shy away from places that are in very touristy and resort areas. It's just not the same in Old Town, El Centro, and some of these other smaller neighborhoods.
So if you know what you want and need help finding the best match, just give us your criteria and we will help. My guests come from all over the world. Each year I host families, retired couples, groups of friends, gay and straight, young and old; we welcome everyone to experience the magic of Puerto Vallarta and the charm and tranquility of my homes in Florida.
On the site you will see posted rates. Although I try to keep everything current, things change every day and thus the rates are subject to change. I price my properties at very fair rates and in most cases those rates are firm. Depending on season, current calendar and other factors there might be some flexibility, but that’s rare because of the demand for my homes. Normally in high seasons my places are booked completely, so anticipate paying the rates you see. Lately the summer months have been very busy, but there might be more flexibility. However, my summer rates are already considerably lower than high season rates. The majority of my rentals are about 7 to 14 days.. If you are looking for a longer term rental, let us know what you want and your budget and we will give you options.
Payments can be made by credit card, paypal, check, direct bank deposit, wire transfer. Booking directly on our site is the easiest option. All reservations require a 50% deposit to confirm the reservation with the balance due 60 days prior to your arrival. Approximately 2 to 3 weeks prior to your arrival, you will receive "Welcome" emails with everything you will need to finalize your plans. I do not hold reservations without a deposit so it's important to keep me posted on your timing and method of payment so that I know you are confirming your reservation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The vacation rental industry is changing fast.Gone are the days of one standardrate across the board. Different sites have different rates. We hope they all remain fairly consistent.
This is a very fast paced business these days. With dozens of properties, we get hundreds and hundreds of requests every week. So with so many quotes and and so many people looking for rentals, it’s pretty much become a first come first serve business. So we just ask potential guests to keep us informed as they look for flights and talk with friends and we hope we can make the reservation work for you. But realize that now many site have instant booking so we never know what others are doing an who might book at any moment.
Again, this is a very fast paced business these days. With so many requests every day, the goal is to simply get you the information you need and answer the questions you have asked. So sometimes the responses are short giving you just want you need. We also try to respond to emails from phones so that you get answers. Those responses can often be short and to the point and because we are not at our calendars, we may not be able to answer everything you need. We constantly get people thanking us for our fast response time. Sometimes with that speed comes brevity. So please don't be offended if we give you a short response. We are just trying to be efficient and give you what you need.
We do not do showings of our homes. Many of our homes are booked almost completely all year. We rent very well and 100% of our reservations come from people have not seen the home prior to renting. Our photos are accurate and we are happy to answer any questions as honestly as we can. Because our homes are almost always booked it’s not possible to show the home when we have other guests.
We don’t give out addresses of our homes until we have a deposit. We are always happy to give cross streets or help you locate us on a map. There are people these days who go on rental sites and try to get addresses of potentially vacant home and that poses a great security risk. There are also people who get addresses and knock on doors and ask current guests to see the home. We would not want that to happen to you so we don’t give out addresses. Also, many online maps are incorrect so it takes you to the wrong area. If you want to know more about the location of our homes we are happy to help.
Check-in is 3PM and Check out is 11 AM
It all depends. Many of our reservations, especially in high season, are back to back. So if we have people checking in the day you leave then most likely you can’t check out late. If we have people in the property the day you arrive and they don’t leave until 11 then most likely you can’t check in early. When we can accommodate you we will, but it all depends on the situation at that time. The only way to guarantee early check-in or late check-out is to pay for an additional night.
About 99% of our check-ins in Mexico will be hosted, meaning that a member of our staff will meet you at the property and introduce you to the home. In the Florida most are hosted also. In the rare cases where you arrive very late or staff is not available to check you in, you will be instructed a few days prior, how to access keys or code numbers to the home. For security reasons we do not give detailed information about self check-ins until a few days before arrival
All rentals, no matter the dollar amount or duration, require a 50% deposit to confirm and the balance is due 60 days prior to arrival. If your reservation is within 60 days of your confirmation then your full payment is due.
You can pay by credit card, paypal, check, direct deposit into our bank account, or wire transfer.
We start our base rates for a specific number of people per property. Our goal is to make our properties affordable for 2 or 4 people depending on the property. So for example the base rate on a two bedroom home is usually based on 4 person occupancy. When there are more people going to occupy the home we generally charge $50 per night per person as there is more use of all utilities, linens, and general wear and tear on the home.
We charge for all extra persons and we consider kids people. Kids use all areas of the home as much as adults and often result in more cleaning in the end for our maids with handprints on windows, etc. We estimate at least 50% of our guests have kids. Many return year after year and have no problem paying the extra charges knowing that we do our best to provide great service to all of our guests.
We try to help depending on our inventory. We have a small supply of items such as pak and play’s and high chairs that we can move around to various properties. If we don’t have what you want, we will try to find a place and assist you to rent what you need. For items in our inventory, you can add them to your check out card for nominal rental fees.
Because our properties are not all in one building we do not have on site management. We do, however, have people available to assist when necessary. We want to let guests know that we are a bit different than a hotel. We are certainly there to help with any major problems, but unlike a hotel, we can’t deliver new towels at a moment’s notice. When you rent a private home, you are there to enjoy your privacy with your friends and family and it’s up to you to take care of your daily needs. We try to give you all the details you need upon check in and through our welcome emails, so that your stay will run smoothly.
As with any home, there is always potential for something to go wrong. Just as with your own home, no one can ever know when. Please do not expect that we can prepare for every issue that a property might face. When something does happen, please understand that if it’s minor and not impacting your visit, it’s best to find a simple solution on your own and send us and email to notify us of the issue. That allows us time to come up with a solution to minimize the impact on your visit. If you have something that you consider an emergency, please contact us immediately via email and give us time to assist.
It’s true that there are many scams out there today. It’s harder and harder as the scams run both directions in this business. Here is what we can provide to ease your mind. The first and easiest thing to do is simply go online and google “Jeffery Hill Puerto Vallarta” My business started in Puerto Vallarta and you will find tons of information online. You will find 3 or four pages of properties, listings, etc. Switch to images and you will see pages and pages of our homes that will match the photos on the listing sites and on our website. We are on major rental sites all over the world. They would certainly not allow us to continue if we were not doing a good job for our guests. On our site you will see numerous awards from Trip Advisor, you can go onto FlipKey/Trip Advisor and match those awards to our listings.
We basically supply everything you need to enjoy your stay. You don’t really need to bring anything upon arrival. When you arrive at the home you will have toilet paper, paper towels, and some supplies in the kitchen. We call this our “community kitchen/supply” concept. Whatever is there, fell free to use it. If you buy a few supplies that you are not taking with you, just leave them for the next guests. If you are staying for an extended time, we do not supply these items throughout your stay. If you run out of toilet paper or garbage bags just buy replacements and leave them for the next guests. Again, although we do a very good job and appointing our homes, unlike a hotel, we do not have staff to take care of your every need. Other guests will have left some basics for you so please do the same for guests arriving after you. It works very well.
We, and most homeowners, have a fairly strict cancellation policy. Unlike a hotel, we do not have tons of last minute requests, so we want to know that if we reserve a property for you that you will be there and we will be paid. The cancellation policy will be part of your Confirmation of Reservation when you book. We constantly tell people to BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE and very few do. Those who do are very happy and those who don’t are not. So if you book with us or book any private home and have any concerns that you might have to cancel, purchase travel insurance and know you are covered. The mandatory insurance you buy from us is "accidental damage insurance" for us and covers any accidental damage at the properties up to $1,500 USD Details of the coverage is in the terms when you book. This insurance has nothing to do with "trip insurance" that you need to purchase separately
All of our homes are pet friendly. There is typically a $100 per pet fee and a $500 per pet fully refundable pet deposit. In most cases, there will be a limit as to the number of pets we will allow.
Yes, we do, but they may not necessarily be a significant discount from the nightly rates. Our homes are very nice and very popular and thus we are booked almost all the time. So knowing that we will have full occupancy revenue, there is no real benefit to us offering discounts for longer term stays. Certainly, always inquire about a longer term rate. Depending on season, the current layout of the calendar, and other factors, we will quote you appropriately. In Florida in the summer we have many guests who are moving to the area and need a place until they find permanent housing, traveling nurses, people here on job assignments, people here for medical procedures. etc. So in the summer months, we have a bit more flexibility to accommodate various budgets.
WILTON MANORS/FORT LAUDERDALE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
All of our properties are in the same area a bit less than two miles to the beach. It takes 7 to 10 minute to drive over depending on traffic.
It takes 15 to 20 minutes to get to our properties from the airport. With heavy traffic it could probably take 45.
All of our pools are heated. We keep them at a very comfortable temperature of about 86 to 88 degrees in high season and in the summers the heater is set at about 84 just in case the temperatures dip. The sun and hot weather will often heat them beyond 88. Note that if the temperatures drop into the 40’s and 50’s there is no way for the heaters to keep up. Power surges are very common Florida. Every time there is some kind of surge the pool heaters will usually go off. If you notice that the pool is getting cooler let us know and we can help you troubleshoot. We try very hard to keep the pools heated but you never know when something might go wrong.
All of our homes have off street parking
Our homes are located in a very safe area. You will find people out walking their dogs and riding their bikes day and night.
The cleaning fee that is charged on every reservation is for the In and Out cleaning only. It does not provide cleaning/maid service during your stay. We can provide cleaning services at an additional charge.
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