Hurricane "insurance"

Treasure Beach Forum: TB Runnin's: Hurricane "insurance"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Noel on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 08:45 am: Edit Post

At Villa Hikaru, we have for many years offered a kind of "insurance" against having a vacation ruined by torrential rains or a hurricane: We'll return a day's rent for any day with more than an hour's daytime rain, up to $1,000. (Details at our website.)
Others might consider such an offer. The barrage of forecasts of a terrible hurricane season inevitably discourages folks from coming to Treasure Beach in the next few months.
Even when we've had to give back a substantial part of the rent -- and we have on several occasions -- having more tourists in Treasure Beach on the "hurricane season" seems a plus both for our staff and the wider community.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By janice on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 09:59 am: Edit Post

I've considered something similar for Villa Ja-Ja, particularly due to the hurricane season of 2005. However, my logic is...once someone is searching for space in the Caribbean they have already resolved their hurricane fears and I run the risk of giving away $$ rather than incenting a booking. What do others think?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kiwi Girl on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 03:29 pm: Edit Post

Yes Janice I agree with you.
So far there has not been a barrage of forecasts of a terrible hurricane season coming to Treasure Beach in the next few months.
That is just scare mongering I think.
On the other hand watch out for tourists who try to rip us off by refusing to pay for rooms as advertised correctly on the TB website.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By better safe than ... on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 04:34 pm: Edit Post

While it's nice for villa owners to make offers like this, I would recommend that people buy travel insurance. There are many levels of coverage, so you can buy a lot or a little, but all of them will cover more than the nice give-back Don mentions in his post. If a hurricane sweeps through your vacation, you are probably going to need more than the return of a day or two's rent payment. I buy travel insurance whenever I take a trip. It's not expensive and it gives me added piece of mind. After doing some comparison shopping, I've chosen CSA Travel Protection (http://www.csatravelprotection.com/) and I'd recommend them.

And as for hurricanes ... I'll be in TB in another week, is the forecast for August bad?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Shauna on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 04:57 pm: Edit Post

From the other side; as a visitor to TB, I think that you are being extremely generous with that offer Don, especially as even on your rain days, you have staff that are taking care of the guests, utilities etc.

There must be a happy medium from an all or nothing (as offered by Janice). Villa owners can't control the weather and it really just shows an act of good faith to offer something back for conditions you have no control over. I agree that people who holiday in the Caribbean during the hurricane or rainy season have probably already resolved themselves to the fact that there will be some "not so great" weather days.

What about an offer of a free night on a next visit if they get more than a 1/2 day of rain or if it's something that can give immediate gratification, maybe pick up a tab for a dinner or a tour.

I really believe that any acknowledgement to a paying customer of something that isn't going just right (whether you have any control over it or not) just brings forth good relations with your guests. They'll go back home with a statement of "Well, the weather wasn't great, but the villa is going to give us a free night on our next visit/they picked up the tab for our excursion to...."


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen Kennedy on Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 11:18 am: Edit Post

We suggest to all our renters that they obtain Trip Cancellation Insurance when they book with us. There are numerous reasons a renter might have to cancel at the last minute or leave in the middle of their vacation; these are usually for medical emergencies or similar, as opposed to a hurricane. One must, however, explore all the different policies because coverage and costs are not the same; in fact, we suggest people speak to their top choices to ascertain they will be covered in specific circumstances -- not only try to figure out for themselves what the insurance Web sites really mean.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By tivertonhouse on Friday, July 27, 2007 - 03:24 am: Edit Post

Most villa owners have a quite liberal policy for refunds should guests go thru a hurricane. We recommend guests check http://www.insuremytrip.com
for a list of insurers/policies. Travel Guard Intl at http://www.travelguard.com is one
reputable source of trip/travel/delay/cancellation
insurance. Many insurers also offer temporary
medical insurance for travel outside one's home country (coverage rarely provided by one's current insurance policies,if any). Costs start
at 3-6% of dollar value of flights/accomodations etc.
READ THE FINE PRINT ABOUT HURRICANES,however...
Insurance against tropical storms is not generally provided, unless one takes out specific coverage for same. Hurricanes are officially recognized and insured against when the island's airports are officially closed down. And if one
arrives on island after an imminently-approachin storm becomes 'named', coverage is NOT provided, unless, again, one insures against all unforeseens.

Trip insurance is a wise travel safeguard, given
all the vagaries of travel today, including
the more probable delays/cancellations/and bumped passengers arriving from the US and South America.

Consider it part of your trip cost and then put it out of your mind and enjoy your escape.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By nurse ratchet on Friday, July 27, 2007 - 07:34 am: Edit Post

From the other side; as a visitor to TB, I think that you are being extremely generous with that offer Don, especially as even on your rain days, you have staff that are taking care of the guests, utilities etc.

I agree!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eric on Friday, July 27, 2007 - 09:38 am: Edit Post

My 2 cents is that I think you're making a false assumption when you say that people looking here for villa/guest house info have already made up their mind about the Caribbean and therefore do not have any qualms about hurricanes. People are shopping here...give them your best pitch and do all you can to ensure they'll have a great time IF they decide on your place. Telling them that they'll get a refund for bad weather is a nice insurance policy.

And better safe than ..., there's not big predictions for bad hurricanes that I'm aware of. This discussion seems to be talking about bad weather/hurricanes in general.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Noel on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 12:33 pm: Edit Post

I agree with Eric. People are shopping.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lisa Marie Claire on Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 06:39 pm: Edit Post

Dear Don,
I also agree with Eric, people are shopping for the best place to visit and are un sure of the weather conditions, so an offer of such generous compensation if there is bad weather shows confidence that it is unlikely that there will be bad weather and that your confident people wont be dissapointed. I think your compensation does seem a bit much but it shows your sincerity and good hostmanship (if there is such a word!)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Noel on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 02:49 pm: Edit Post

Apropos of forecasts (from http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml

NOAA’s 2007 Atlantic hurricane season outlook indicates a very high 75% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 20% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season. This outlook is produced by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Research Division (HRD), and Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). See NOAA definitions of above-, near-, and below-normal seasons.

The outlook calls for a very high likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season, with 13-17 named storms, 7-10 hurricanes, and 3-5 major hurricanes. The likely range of the ACE index is 125% to 210% of the median. This prediction signifies an expected sharp increase in activity from the near-normal season observed in 2006.

The prediction for an above-normal 2007 hurricane season reflects the expected combination of two main climate factors: 1) the continuation of conditions that have been conducive to above-normal Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1995, and 2) the strong likelihood of either ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bev on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 08:38 am: Edit Post

Not saying that a hurricane is not a real risk, but my understanding is Jamaica is normally outside the Hurricane Belt. Was hit by Ivan in 2004, Gilbert in 1988 and the one before that was in 1951. Compare that to places like Florida or St. Thomas, and the risk seems minimal. There were several power outages when we were last down there. I would have appreciated a generator for the ones at night or any lasting more than several hours during the day. Do any of the places have generators that are sufficient to keep all or most of the place able to use lights, fans and so forth?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 08:01 pm: Edit Post

We have large generators at both Rainbow Tree and Rainbow Point. They will handle all the lights, fans, appliances, water pumps, and more. And, they're big enough to be able to also operate one or more of the bedroom air conditioning units.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Noel on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 09:26 am: Edit Post

I agree with Bev that we're normally outside the Hurricane Belt -- which is why I've thought our "sunshine guarantee" at Hikaru is a selling point, expressing our confidence that a vacation is not likely to be storm-ruined.
By the way, the latest Colorado forecast now says slightly better season than first expected, but still above normal:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22187056-1702,00.html