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I disagree, not all agencies do charge a fee... Destination St John has never charged anything except the USVI hotel tax of 10%... no service fees..., upfront or otherwise.

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Renting through VRBO doesn't mean you won't pay a service fee. VRBO doesn't charge a fee, but many of the properties on VRBO are managed by agencies, and some of those agencies charge a 5% fee. Read the Rates section on VRBO very carefully - they are supposed to disclose all fees there, whether they are agency service fees, rental application fees or "non-refundable damage deposits."

Also, watch out for the reverse issue. The vast majority of properties do not include the local hotel tax (currently 10%) in their rates. However, a few of them do (apparently determined to shoot themselves in the foot, because at first glance it makes their properties appear more expensive than they actually are. You have to divide the rate by 1.1 for comparison purposes).

So if you want to realistically compare rates at different properties, you really need a spreadsheet.

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