Holiday Rentals

Answers to some FAQs about your stay

Occupancy Capacities

Villa Koukouvayia Farms is a unique property, with unique residences, rooms and capacities.  By design, she is not a hotel filled with a bank of identical rooms, but a home to share with those who want such ambience.  And while her lodging capacities are not simple to describe, their flexibility is her greatest asset, whether for a small family wanting a cozy cottage, a strategic program needing a coherent campus for multiple private individuals, or a large, loving family or friendship group seeking a unified estate for gathering and celebration. 

To ensure your group’s lodging needs are comfortably met, review the table below.  The numbers describe sleeping capacities for each of the residences and the entire estate from a variety of perspectives, including what we might suggest and what is possible depending on your group’s needs. 

Note:  For groups or events needing lodging capacities beyond Villa Koukouvayia’s capacities, we have relationships with several nearby homes—one of which is a charming private cottage only a few steps through the olive groves from our the VKF estate.  We can often secure these homes at discounted rates and can easily integrate the cost within your invoice.

Your Total Costs

Our goal is to be fair and transparent in our charges and to avoid surprises once you decide to stay with us.  We charge no hidden fees, and any offer we send you will include all taxes and fees we must pay the government or your chosen third-party booking agent as a result of your stay with us, so that your price is final.

The table below lists Villa Koukouvayia’s base lodging rates by season for each residence—and the entire estate should you need that capacity.  Each rate, multiplied by the days you will lodge your group, will form the basis of your costs.

Note: To ensure your arrival’s timing doesn’t affect costs, reservations bridging multiple rate-seasons are calculated by each day within a seasonal rate, and the two subtotals are simply added.

Occupancies Included & Available

To fairly price a variety of group sizes, we set base prices to allow inexpensive stays for smaller groups and then use a simple supplement (€10/extra-guest/night) to let larger groups match cost to their greater lodging needs & value.  The table below specifies the guests included in the rates above, and those allowed at extra charge.

Minimum Stays

As you can imagine, the majority of labor that creates your comfortable stay occurs in the fixed costs of preparing the property for your arrival.  As a result, we have minimum stays (described below) so we can spread those expenses across lower rates. 

Note: If your fixed itinerary demands a shorter stay, at your option we can easily accept a shorter booking at the minimum-stay cost.

Extended-Stay Discounts

We provide generous, season-based discounts for guests staying longer than two weeks.  These discounts are shown in the table below, apply equally to all residential options, and are applied before taxes or extra occupancy charges.

Note: As with rates, discounts across “seasons,” are calculated per day, then subtotaled to ensure a full deduction.  Third-party sites rarely calculate this accurately, but we will in the offer we send.

Taxes & Government Fees

Your reservation is subject to an 18% Greek tax we must pay on the total value, and a mandatory “Climate Resilience” surtax that varies per season but applies only to the number of days of your stay, regardless of reservation value, guest count, etc. 

Note: For the Guest House the climate tax = €2/night November thru March or €8/night April thru October.  For the other residences the tax = €4/night or €15/night for the same dates.

Damage/Security Deposits

While not affecting your net costs, once you decide to book with us, your payment will include a security deposit to hold that time against other requests and then later to serve as a damage-deposit during your stay.  We set these amounts low to reflect typical guests, but will increase them for groups that present a higher likelihood of damage, such as those bringing pets, large or youth groups, etc.  Of course, assuming no major issues, deposits are always returned via bank transfer upon your departure.

Note: We never confuse ‘damage’ with ‘use.’  Yes, we assume your group will respect Villa Koukouvayia, but we also expect you to use the home you’ve rented and enjoy yourself during your stay.  And we’ve been hosting groups long enough to understand that any gathering of happy people—particularly if happy children are part of the mix—will drop a glass or two.  And while we don’t like broken glass, we do like it when you’re happy 😊.)

Other FAQs and Policy Notes

Currency:  As our location demands, we calculate all charges in Euros.  We can accept USD payment if you wish, and unlike all other banks, card-processors and third-party platforms, our offer will reflect the simple IMF exchange rate on the day we make that offer, with no surcharges or extra fees.  Assuming you accept within seven days, that rate will not change, so there are no future surprises as your arrival date nears.

Payment Plans:  Reservations are typically booked via full payment of the reservation’s cost and security deposit.  Plans with up to 4 payments are available but only for larger reservations (over €3,000, €4,000 & €5,000, respectively) that are booked well ahead of arrival (6, 4 & 3 months, respectively).   When you submit your inquiry, we will automatically calculate those options and share their details in our offer.

Savings over AirBnB, VRBO, and other 3rd-Party Sites:  We promise you that directly booking through Koukouvayia.com will provide considerable savings.  You’ll not only avoid the fees that 3rd-Party platforms charge you, but also the higher rates we must put on those sites to cover fees the platforms charge us. 

Price Variations among 3rd-Party Sites:  If you compare Villa Koukouvayia’s reservation prices on more than one 3rd-Party Platform site and the prices are different between the sites, the difference is due to a variation in the sites’ platform fees, tax-collection methodology, or policies, not us.  We always strive to create the same rates across all 3rd-Party platforms where we list.  So, if you do want to rent through a 3rd-Party site and find two prices, just choose the best one!

Policy Variations among 3rd-Party Sites and Koukouvayia.com:  Likewise, there are times 3rd-Party platform policy options limit us or differ between platforms, but we strive to make all our policies parallel across all platforms, including our own.

Other Direct 3rd-Party Booking Differences:  While booking with us directly will yield considerable savings, there are some features available from 3rd-Party platforms that we cannot provide.

·       We encourage direct (IBAN or, in the USA, intrabank) transfers that are easy, safe and free.  We can accept payments through credit cards and are happy to do so, but unlike larger third-party sites, we do not hide the inevitable payment-processing fees across all our rates and in doing so charge all customers the 3% to 5% fee from which only some customers benefit.  Card options and the processing details will be itemized in any offer we send, so that you can be sure to choose a payment method that works best for you.

·       VRBO, AirBnB & other third-parties often put only a ‘hold’ on your credit-card to cover potential future damages, but we need to have actual funds under our protection once you reserve and until your departure.  On the flip side, third-party platforms almost always charge the full reservation value immediately, but as noted above, we can sometimes allow multiple-payment plans.  If eligible for partial payments, those amounts and expected dates will be noted on the offer we send you.  If not eligible, payment is expected similarly to the third-party sites: in full at time of booking.

·       While we will always work to refund cancelled stays and never charge a fee for this service, we can only do so to the degree we are able re-book your time.  And while some 3rd-Party sites do charge fees for cancellation, some also guarantee those refunds regardless of whether and when you cancel.  Make sure you are comfortable with the policy of whichever platform (including ours) that you will use to book us.

If you do prefer booking through a 3rd-party site, you can find Villa Koukouvayia’s homes at the following links:

·       VRBO Listing# 1883709 (Main House):  https://www.vrbo.com/1883709?noDates=true

·       VRBO Listing# 858887 (Guest House):  https://www.vrbo.com/858887?noDates=true

·       VRBO Listing# 3096792 (Garden Suite): https://www.vrbo.com/3096792?noDates=true

·       VRBO Listing# 3087102 (Entire VKF Estate):  https://www.vrbo.com/3087102?noDates=true

·       AirBnB Listing# 51834542 (Main House):  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/51834542?

·       AirBnB Listing# 10459622 (Guest House):  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10459622?

·       AirBnB Listing# 755484438431691642 (Garden Suite):  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/755484438431691642?

·       AirBnB Listing# 7562178281541957750 (Entire Estate):  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/756217828154195750?

Smoking:  We are among groves of olive trees, all beautiful, but all susceptible to tragic fires.  Smoking is therefore severely restricted, especially during the 3 fire seasons.  Wet ashtrays always, always outside, only on verandas, and only on windless  days.

Check-In & Check-Out Times:  As always, our goal is to make not only your stay stress free, but your arrival and departure the same.  While we guarantee an arrival day check-in of 16:00 and departure-day check-out of 10:00, we almost always happily advance or extend those in your favor.  There are times, however, when guests depart close to your arrival or arrive close to your departure, and we must follow those times strictly.  So, be prepared.  For those whose flights coming or going are at odds with such check-in & check-out times, we’ll always offer an early luggage-drop and/or late luggage-hold so you can hit the beach or do something enjoyable while waiting—either for us to ready your home, or the airline to ready your flight. 

Individual Bargaining over Standard Price:  Although we understand your individual desire to get a “better” deal than others, please understand that in our interactions with each guest we must consider all our guests.  So, we simply do not make individual “deals” that favor guests who request special prices.  If we did, we would effectively overcharge guests who fail to negotiate a lower price—guests who correctly trust us to set & publish prices that provide good value and reflect our honest rates.  Instead, we simply work hard to make sure our prices are low.  And for anyone wondering about our value, we recommend they look around at comparable lodgings and read what other customers have said about their experience with us.  Our reviews have not been selected or edited.  We post every review written by guests, and we are proud of the consistency with which they agree about the value of staying with us.