CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE – ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO

★★ Relax – Reconnect – Rewind……as you gaze at THIS view – cold drink in hand – from the exclusive privacy of your own solar heated (for the warmer months) AND heat pump heated (for the cooler months) infinity pool at this private oceanfront home. Consistently rated 5 stars, with unobstructed 360º views of sunset and sunrise, Casa Música del Caribe is a favorite of both honeymooners and families. Walk the white sandy beaches of Playa Norte – one of the top ten beaches in the world – just an 8 minute walk away. We are a short 5 minute walk to Centro (town). You deserve a vacation of luxury in paradise – without the luxurious prices. ★★

Welcome To Our New Website

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan Launching Our New Website July 19, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

It has been quite a journey building this new website from scratch. We wanted to be able to present CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE and Isla Mujeres in the best light possible – providing information about Isla and everything this spectacular island has to offer.

In addition, with the announcement made by Expedia, who recently purchased VRBO/HomeAway, that they will force their booking fees of 5-15% on travelers and property owners by the end of the year, it was time to aggressively seek an alternative way of advertising and a more efficient way and a no cost method for travelers to connect with property owners. The bottom line is this: when you book directly with the property owner of CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE, you will pay no booking fee or service fee. More on that later.

For now, please feel free to look around our new site and tell us what you think.

Travelers Take Note…Know Who You Are Renting From

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan We Are Booking Fee Free October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 0 Comment

Travelers may not be aware of VRBO/HomeAway/Expedia’s most recent changes. They are now beginning to block all travelers’ contact information from homeowners.

This will make it much harder to book direct with the owner AND it will cost the traveler up to $499 more per booking (they have capped their “booking fee” at $499). The percentage of booking fee is 5-12% (which seems to change on a whim). The owner no longer have the opportunity to exchange emails pre-booking with questions, special requests, etc. and the owners can no longer offer discounts since they will no longer have the capability to invoice the guest directly with HomeAway insisting on Online Payment (to a bank that is headquartered in IRELAND.)

There are things you, the traveler, can do to save yourself money so you can use it on your vacation, rather than paying extravagant booking fees.

Most properties have a name – i.e. CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE. If you see a name of the property on the property booking site, google it. Chances are the homeowner has a website, which will allow you to direct book with the owner and save yourself those fees. When you are inquiring about a property, tell the owner your full name, city you are from, and where you work (if possible to be contacted there). Phone numbers and emails will be redacted by HomeAway/VRBO/Expedia so don’t bother giving that information. Yes, we owners know it is very frustrating!
Look for the property on other sites. On TripAdvisor, if you can see the owner’s phone number, you can call. In addition, when you make an inquiry, the owner will see your contact info.
Download StaySvr. It will unmask owner contact info when you are looking at HomeAway/VRBO/Expedia listings.

As more owners join the project, you’ll see more and more properties with a direct email and a link to the owners’ web pages too. On the hotel booking sites you will see the hotel phone number and web link. When calling a hotel, ask for the “StaySavr Direct Booking bonus!”. You will only see the information if the owner has also downloaded StaySvr

The StaySavr app can turn this

Into To This

Island Music

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan Launching Our New Website September 29, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

Why Don't We Just Dance

Build Me Up Buttercup

Tequila Sunrise

The River Of Dreams

06 Southern Cross

Isla Mujeres Events and Celebration

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan Isla Mujeres Events and Celebrations September 10, 2017October 6, 2022 2 Comments

Special Events on Isla Mujeres are indeed special. Not to be missed is the New Years Eve celebration in the town square, a party that lasts all night long! The Isla Carnival (February or March depending on the year) with a full 5 days and nights of dancing, parades and shows.

Top Ten Things To Do On Isla Mujeres

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan Things To Do On Isla Mujeres August 22, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

……… (That You May Not Know About)

Just say at the word “Mexico” and you see swirling red dresses, margaritas, tequila, and sombreros. There is ohhhhhhh soooo much more to Mexico and Isla Mujeres.

Sure, you might have already seen the standard ‘must do’ things, like snorkeling, renting a golf cart and the turtle farm. Here are other ideas you may not find on the other lists. These are insider tips of top ten activities to do while on the island.

Read more

To VRBO Or Not To VRBO – That Is STILL The Question – Part 2

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan We Are Booking Fee Free August 15, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

Book Your Next Getaway Without Paying

A “Vacation Penalty” Imposed On You By Booking Sites

TO GUESTS OF CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE: Rest assured, that you can book directly with us, the owners, with confidence. You do not need to do an online booking with ANY listing site to have complete faith that your stay at our home will be better than you can imagine! AND, when you book directly with us, you will not incur a booking fee of 5-15% that is charged to all travelers who use online booking with VRBO/HomeAway or AirBnB and other travel sites that charge the traveler a “booking fee”, or, like some like to call it, a “vacation penalty”. Save your money! Use it for something fun on your trip.

We want to be able to communicate directly with YOU so that we can effectively deliver the service we’ve always believed in and the vacation experience that not only our returning guests have come to expect, but what WE expect when we travel. At this time, we plan to continue to list our property with VRBO/Homeaway/Expedia (or whatever they decide to call themselves next) because we realize that some people prefer to book their vacation using that form of venue.

Two Helpful Hints On Booking

Any Vacation Rental Online:

Search for your perfect vacation rental on any of the listing sites like VRBO, HomeAway, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, etc. Make a list of your top 3-5 properties and note the name of the property and location (town, island, etc.). Most owners call their house a name. If you Google CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE you’ll immediately find our website and Facebook page.
Do a Google search for the house name and location to see if some of your favorite properties have a website or a Facebook page; many do. From there you can contact the owner/manager directly and cut out the third party.

If you would still like to complete your bookings through the VRBO/HomeAway websites, we will do this for you as long as we have listings with them. If you would like to continue working directly with us to book our property, you can do so by contacting us through our website BOOK YOUR GETAWAY HERE or our Casa Música del Caribe Facebook Page.

CASA MÚSICA DEL CARIBE is owned by us — and there is no-one, except you, who cares more about your vacation or holiday experience than we do. For many years VRBO brought the majority of guests to vacation home owners. Unfortunately, we now feel our guests are penalized with large booking fees and lack of access to vital information about our property.

If you look at traveler reviews about HomeAway and VRBO’s customer service, you’ll find they are overwhelmingly and undeniably negative. We are saddened to lose what once was a valuable relationship. However, having guests contact us directly to book will keep your vacation hassle-free (and you’ll save money to use on your getaway).

If the thought of a trip to a beautiful tropical island – where you can take off your watch and ditch the shoes – going completely on island time – brings a smile to your face, you know how and where to find us. We would love to help you plan an amazing trip.

At this time, we plan to continue to list our property with VRBO/HomeAway/Expedia/Airbnb because we realize that some people prefer to book their vacation using that format. However, we hope that you’ll consider this route as well – booking directly with the homeowner or property manager.

What’s in it for you? Extra spending money on vacation. What’s in it for us? Continued happy and repeat visitors…most of which have now become friends and family.

To our past guests: Thank you for staying with us. Many of you have become friends, and some even “family” and that doesn’t happen without the personal touch.

To our potential guests: Thank you for stopping in on our page. We look forward to hearing from you and putting you in the columns marked “friends” and “past guests”.

Take off your watch, lose the shoes, surrender to island time and enjoy that extra money you have to spend because you booked direct with the owner!

To VRBO Or Not To VRBO – That IS The Question- Part 1

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan We Are Booking Fee Free August 9, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

Since 1995, VRBO/HomeAway, has operated as online classifieds where vacation rental owners pay to advertise their homes. The site puts guests in contact with owners or property managers.

After collecting all of the traveler’s preferences (think online dating for vacation rentals) several matches would be made for you consider. Once you found the type of property you were looking for, the site would put you in contact with the owners or managers of that particular property. After that, the rest was up to you and the owners to arrange. It was a great idea as it allowed property owners a larger format to share their homes and vacationers a broader array of options to choose from. From those with large families who want to stay together to those with health complications and need more than a hotel room, who may have thought that travel was largely out of the realm of possibility, to everything in-between, this was a fantastic and brilliant vacation option for the owners and travelers alike. Now comes the “However”……..

Isla Ziggy – From Street Dog To Island Celebrity To Sweet Home Alabama

Sue Terrell and Ed Sullivan Launching Our New Website August 3, 2017October 6, 2022 0 Comment

My name is Isla Ziggy. You can call me Ziggy. My name used to be Lloyd. I live on an island called Isla Mujeres which is in Mexico. I am part yellow lab and ALL lover. I love everybody. My four legged furry mom and dad couldn’t keep me so I was on my own for awhile – living on the streets of Isla Mujeres. I ate rocks and whatever friendly humans would feed me or throw away in a plastic bag. It was very hard living on the street – especially when it was really hot or really rainy.