DAMAGE/TELEPHONE DEPOSIT

I require a (refundable) US$500.00 deposit when renting Cayman Castle ($300 for just Guesthouse). That nominal deposit is used to both cover your long distance calls from my house and provide incentive to take care of my house.  If there is to be a wedding or party at the house, I require US$1,500.00. If you have a wedding, expect that my cleaning costs will be about $300-500 higher, and so I need to charge you for it (Septic, Water, Electricity, Trash disposal)

If you have stayed in Grand Cayman before at a villa, the only inconvenience is the local telephone monopoly, Cable & Wireless. They have a lock on the service and won’t let you use an “800” calling card from the house. They want you to use their “1-800-CALL- USA ” service at almost $4.00/minute. My direct (owners) rate is a much less (still horrible) $ .75 - $1.00/minute. When I get my phone bill, I send you a copy with a check for the difference. I have found that many of my guests either have their own businesses or have higher level jobs and need to be able to contact the office quickly (without having to dial 30 numbers and punch in credit card numbers each time)..I know of no other rental villa that offers their own phone to guests.

The damage deposit is not there to cover small damage and wear & tear. We expect things to break and wear out. I can’t tell you how many coffee/blender carafes have been broken, flatware lost, etc..we have replaced. The damage deposit is just enough money to want it returned, which encourages parents to watch over their children when they want to run around the house eating messy food or spilling grape Kool-aid, or take the vacuum cleaner out to the beach…(all have happened)

I have only withheld a portion of someone’s deposit one time in 2 years..When they set the thermostat on all 3 A/C units to 65 degrees and turned the fans to “on” from “automatic”.  Two of the units froze up and the fan bearings on the third started to squeak. After a $700 repair bill…I kept the $150 they hadn’t spent on long distance calls.