What Does a Villa Week Actually Cost?
The number on the listing is not the price of the trip.
A family of ten came to us about a week in Turks & Caicos. The villa was $18,000.
The trip was $36,690.
Nothing went wrong and nobody was overcharged. That's simply what the week costs once you add the things that aren't on the listing page. The reason that gap is a shock to most people is that our industry hides it: you get "inquire for pricing," and by the time you have a real number you're already attached to the house.
We'd rather show you the whole thing on day one.
Everything we price, and why.
The villa rate.
What you see quoted. Then: is it tax-inclusive, and what's the minimum stay?
Accommodation tax.
12% in Turks & Caicos. Different everywhere. Almost never in the advertised rate.
The villa's own fees.
Service, administrative, concierge: anywhere from nothing to ten percent, depending on the property.
Staff.
"Fully staffed" can mean a housekeeper for four hours, or a chef and butler from seven till ten. We get you the actual roles and the actual hours, in writing.
Food.
The one that catches everyone. In Turks & Caicos, our villa partner recommends $100–$150 per person per day for food and beverage. We model $125, including a dinner out.
Cars and transfers.
One vehicle per five or six people. Ten people and one car is a miserable week.
Activities.
A private boat day is $800 to $2,000. It's also the thing your family will talk about for a decade.
Gratuities.
In Turks & Caicos, the 10% service charge is mandatory and staff receive at least 70% of it. A further cash tip is not obligatory; for exceptional service we allow $3,000 in high season or $2,000 in low season.
Insurance and contingency.
On a trip this size, with elderly parents in the group and a deposit that may be non-refundable, this isn't optional.
Then we show you the number that actually matters.
$36,690 is a frightening figure. Divided properly, it's $524 per person, per night, including the house, the pool, the beach, the staff, nearly every meal, the cars and a private boat day.
4 rooms at a good resort in Turks in December will run you $850 a night each, before anyone has eaten breakfast.
The villa's sticker price is scarier. The villa's real price is usually lower. And your family is under one roof instead of scattering to separate rooms at nine o'clock, which, for most of the people we work with, was the entire point of the trip.
Three things change this number more than anything else.
1. Your dates.
Same villa, same beach, same staff: $18,000 in early December, $26,000 in February, $52,000 a week at Christmas with a 14-night minimum. If your family has any flexibility, this is not a ten percent decision. It's the price of a car.
2. Bedroom count, not bed count.
A five-bedroom that genuinely sleeps ten costs less than a six-bedroom that sleeps the same ten. The kids don't mind sharing. The adults very much do.
3. Chef nights.
Five dinners instead of seven, with two nights out, is usually the right shape and it's real money.
And one thing we'd tell you not to cut: the chef entirely. If somebody cooks for ten people every night, that person isn't on vacation, and it's almost always the woman who planned the trip.
And one thing we'd tell you not to cut: the chef entirely. If somebody cooks for ten people every night, that person isn't on vacation, and it's almost always the woman who planned the trip.
