I think Homeaway is like vrbo.com, meaning that it's just another vehicle for the owners to rent their places. I do remember looking at places there. Did you have a particular property in mind?

Yes I do actually have 3 in mind. Inspiring 60 mile view # 166881, 2 Bay View # 136034 and Giovanna's Giadino Al Mare # 180783 Anyone know of these and have a opinion for me? Anything would be helpful. Thanks in advance

Yes homeaway is exactly like VRBO... They use the same format and I belive they are owned by the same company. I am a member of both for my rental villa "Sail Away" on St. Thomas (VRBO # 122264 or homeaway # 169474)

I looked at those villas, and I don't know any of them personally, although I remember looking at all of them and thinking they were very nice. I think the biggest thing when renting directly from an owner is making sure that they have someone on island who can help you on island. I have heard stories of people who rent from the owner and have something go wrong and there's no one to help them. As long as they have a plan for situations like that, I think you get a much better deal to rent directly from the owner. We have done it in North Carolina for beach houses there and it's been fine.

Haven't used them, but if you want a comparison, try Destination St. John.com. they have a good inventory, they meet you at the Ferry and available should you have a problem. I would highly recommend them.

I agree w/ LuLu... You need to have an on island owner or property manager.

The first question when I am looking at a villa is: "Is there someone on St. John who can help me if anything goes wrong?" Even with some of the villa management companies, they are not on island either, which is something I learned recently (from people who had things go very, very wrong and then found it out). I have looked at many villas on VRBO or other private listings, and I've found the owners I've worked with to be excellent and very helpful. You just have to do your homework. Because if you are on St. John and the only person who can help you is in Minnesota, that's not going to be good if the hot tub breaks.

I will say that both of the villa management companies I have rented from (Destination St. John and Private Homes for Private Vacations) have been absolutely lovely and a pleasure to work with. Last year, we had some adventures with our villa and DSJ was there whenever we needed them. When our villa greeter failed to show up and we were stranded on the Cruz Bay ferry dock in a strange place we'd never been before, the owner of the company came and personally took us to the villa. While we got off to a bumpy start, that was excellent customer service!