As part of their commitment to the revitalization of downtown Christiansted, the owners of Caravelle Hotel & Casino have acquired the King Christian Hotel and Company House Hotel. Team Fedeles was honored to have been part of the sale and are thrilled with Caravelle’s role in making Christiansted even better.

CRG Holdings, LLC, acquired the 44-room Caravelle Hotel in 2015. They underwent $2.5 million in renovations and opened in February 2016.

Also in 2016, they partnered with VIGL Operations, LLC, to manage and operate the addition of a casino to the hotel. One requirement of the casino license is that the hotel have a minimum of 75 rooms. With the recent purchase, the hotel now offers 124 rooms

VIGL plans to undergo further renovations from May through September 2018 to repair damage caused by Hurricane Maria. For now, all three properties are open and accepting guests.

King Christian Hotel

King Christian Hotel, located at 59 King’s Wharf, Christiansted, St. Croix. The 44-room hotel overlooks the Caribbean Sea and historic sites including the Scale House, Fort Christiansvaern and the Customs House.

Company House Hotel

Company House Hotel, located at 2 Company Street in Christiansted, St. Croix. The 36-room hotel is steps from the Steeple Museum, Fort Christiansvaern, and the park.

Caravelle Hotel

Caravelle Hotel & Casino, located in historic Christiansted, is an easy-access Caribbean destination for U.S. citizens. Following a $2.5 million renovation in 2016, the waterfront hotel’s fresh new look incorporates natural stone flooring, bright open spaces and an on-site casino. The 44-room European-style waterfront hotel blends Old World elegance with 21st-century service and amenities including complimentary WiFi, an outdoor swimming pool, sun decks and an award-winning restaurant. Call 800-524-0410 to make a reservation or to request information.

All three hotels, Caravelle Hotel & Casino, Company House Hotel and King Christian, are walking distance from shops, restaurants, galleries, historic landmarks, as well as adventures including fishing, diving and sailing charters which depart from the boardwalk that both Caravelle Hotel and King Christian overlook.

The U.S. Virgin Islands and Airbnb have signed a tax agreement which will allow the online accommodations booking platform to collect the Territory’s 12.5% Hotel Room Occupancy Tax on behalf of hosts and remit the funds to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. The first agreement of its kind in the Caribbean, it goes into effect June 1, 2017.

Earlier this year on our blog, we shared the St. Croix Source‘s article stating that it’s possible the USVI is missing out on millions of dollars in revenue due to the rise in vacation rental web sites, like Airbnb and VRBO. This new agreement will ensure that taxes are being paid on Airbnb rentals, which we can hope will go back into our infrastructure so that St. Croix and our sister islands continue to be a vacation, snow bird and moving destination for years to come.

The agreement with Airbnb is a component of the Mapp-Potter Administration’s Five Year Plan to restore economic stability to the V.I. Government. Governor Mapp is quoted saying, “This is good for our Government because it streamlines the collection process and enables more of our residents to participate in the visitor industry. Our hospitality sector will also greatly benefit from the promotional reach of this multibillion-dollar organization.”

According to the local Government, Airbnb has about 2,000 active listings across the USVI and a typical Airbnb host earns $7,700 a year.

For our clients who use rental web sites to rent your home, condo, apartment, or villa, if you are using sites other than Airbnb, the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue Form 722 VI still applies.