Frequently Asked Questions

Upon booking, we agree to uphold our agreement to our guests by reserving the home in the advertised condition for the dates of their choosing, at that time the Registered Guest knowingly enters into a two-way agreement to uphold their commitment to arrive as scheduled. We are not responsible for providing refunds due to circumstances beyond the Manager’s control like travel disruptions, guest travel restrictions, work and school scheduling changes, etc. Weather, tropical storms, hurricane threats, environmental conditions like red-tide, beach construction, or beach conditions cannot be guaranteed.

Red tide is a naturally occurring algae always present in the Gulf of Mexico. Typically it is a non-issue to the island but occasionally there may be a ‘bloom’ offshore which can result in fish kills, water discoloration, and respiratory irritation brought to our shores. This does not occur routinely every year but may be more prone to occur when the water is very warm in the summer/early fall months.  Typically any conditions vary greatly day to day and hour to hour depending on weather, tides, currents, water temperature and winds.  Therefore we have no way of predicting or guaranteeing any beach conditions should this be a concern during your stay.  

We highly recommend everyone purchase travel insurance and as such we have partnered with CSA to make that an option for our guests.  

Please see our Cancellation Policy

CONTACT US DIRECTLY FOR ANY QUESTION!

You have reserved a home with Once Upon A Beach Vacation Rentals, a locally owned and operated boutique vacation rental agency. Our business hours are Monday – Saturday 9a-5p for all non-urgent messages, texts, or calls. Any calls or texts received outside these hours will be screened for urgency and may be returned the following business day. Holiday hours may vary. We will always promptly respond to any off-hours urgent matters that need addressed. 

941-584-5844 (call or text)

info@onceuponabeachami.com 

Please note messages sent through booking platforms, contact forms, or email are monitored during business hours only. Please text or call for any urgent needs outside of normal business hours.

While we do our best to accommodate all of our guest requests, complimentary early check-in (as early as 2pm) or late check-out (as late as 12pm) requests will be granted if available but will not and can not be guaranteed and our subject to change at any time. This allows us our cleaners, inspectors, maintenance, and management to prepare the home for your arrival. If you have already requested an early check-in, please note that we will contact you if the home is ready any earlier than 4pm.  Please do not send multiple messages on your arrival day as this greatly slows our ability to get the homes ready in a timely manner.  Thank you!

Late check-outs will not be granted for requests made after 2PM EST the day prior to departure. Early check-ins as early as 10am and late check-outs up until 4pm may be granted if available for a fee of $50/hour for any additional hour in addition to complimentary times. 

We ask all of our guests to be respectful of this policy. While we do our best to accommodate everyone and get guests in early so they begin to enjoy their vacation… there are absolutely no early check-ins unless previously arranged or confirmed by the property manager. Housekeeping is not authorized to grant early access or late departure. This means no early entry on the property for any reason i.e. drop luggage, put away groceries, use bathroom, parking cars in driveway, etc. This greatly interrupts our cleaning and inspection process. Guests without complimentary early check-ins and who enter the property prior to 4pm without authorization from property manager, may result in property management and/or cleaning pre-arrival inspections to be cancelled. If this occurs, we are not liable for condition of home and cannot guarantee handling of any maintenance or cleaning items that may need addressed until the next business day. Guests may be subject to fee of $25/every 15 minutes for unauthorized early entries and/or late check-outs. Guests are not allowed to park in driveways or be on property or grounds prior to check-in time or after check-out time. We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in advance. We want to ensure your home is perfect for you… and that requires a process & adequate time. Thank you!

Golf Carts or LSVs (Low Speed Vehicles) are a great way to get around the island and making getting to and from the beach a breeze!  

Deciding whether to rent a car or simply shuttle to the island and then use a golf cart only is really personal preference.  Things to consider… if you are staying on island, don’t intend to do large grocery trips, and staying during cooler/dryer months a car may not be needed and a golf cart may be great!  However, if you like to explore the local area, need to rely on getting the grocery store for big orders, and don’t want to worry about getting wet during our rainy summer season a rental car may be a better fit.  Some people do both but its really up to you!

Please check our Rentals Information page for more information! 

All homes come with fully equipped kitchen, cable, internet, and air conditioning.  We also provide all the linens and towels you will need as well as basic beach gear beach towels, beach chairs, and beach umbrellas. Daily housekeeping service is not included in the rental rate. However, we can offer this service at an additional charge. Just contact us prior to your stay to arrange. More detailed information can be found at Planning for Your Visit Page

Anna Maria has 7 miles of beautiful soft white sand beaches.  That’s probably why you are here to enjoy it!  Let’s do our best to keep these beaches beautiful by following the rules.

Please check out our Beaches Information Page for details

Keep in mind beach access paths are easily accessible along almost every road ends on the gulf side of the island in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.  If you are staying on the bayside, there are several water accesses (you can launch a kayak) as well as bayside beach access points around the City Pier and northern tip of the island, Bean Point.  Please be advised we don’t recommend swimming at Bean Point as the currents can be quite strong.

Don’t disturb any marked nests.  During season lights on or near the beach at night are prohibited as turtles may mistake these for the moon, get lost, and not make it to the ocean!  Always smooth out sand and holes on beach prior to leaving for the day… those little guys like to fall in and can’t get out.

We welcome everyone to celebrate and enjoy their time with us but you are vacationing in a residential neighborhood and each home has strict person occupancy and cars limits as well as quiet hours. An extra friend or two stopping by to swim or enjoy dinner with you is fine but PARTIES AND EVENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED. You may not bring in outside vendors like caterers, musicians, private chefs, etc without our express permission. No daytime guests are allowed to stay overnight in the property if it exceeds the maximum overnight occupancy limit. Any person on property is the responsibility of Registered Guest per Terms & Conditions. 

No!  We keep the pools heated year round at no additional charge for our guests’ comfort. We ask that guests do not adjust settings on pool heaters. Generally speaking, our winter months are considered from November through April. During these months we do our best to ensure that the pools are heated to a temperature of 82 degrees. However, please be aware that we do occasionally get cold spells that can send the temperatures down into the 30’s for a few nights in a row. This will cause the pool water temperature to draw down to in the 70’s and a pool pump will automatically shut down if the outside temperature gets too cold. The pump will then kick back on in the morning and begin re-heating of the pool back to 82, which may take several days depending on the severity of the cold spell. Ultimately, these situations are beyond our control.  Due to the island’s strict 10pm noise ordinance, the pool heaters will not run overnight..

Please note that a residential spa is a section of pool that once turned on provides relaxation, misting bubbles and warmer temperatures in the high 90s – low 100s but are not permitted to remain on 24/7 or will not reach temperatures like that of a commercial hot tub. Spas may not be operational during the months of June – September to avoid high temperatures of pool water which is detrimental to keeping proper pool chemical balances. 

Spas are not set to be heated at all times. You must turn on spa with pool remote (handheld or wall mounted) and allow for spa to heat for up to 30-40 minutes. Spas are set to auto-shut off after some time and you can push button again to turn on. Please see above for temp notes.

Information regarding grocery stores and delivery services can be found at Guest Information Page

Unfortunately no.  Due to the fact that our homes are located on an island… cell, internet, and even power can go out unexpectedly without warning.  We have no control when a service provided by someone else goes down.  These outages are usually very brief and restored in no time.  We ask that guests report outages to us so we can investigate and report them to the service providers.  Cell service has vastly improved with the installation of cell towers on the island.  However service can be spotty on the island depending on your location on the island and what carrier you have, Verizon tends to be fairly consistent while AT&T has some dead zones.

No, the Registered Guest (equal to or over the age of 25) on file must be required to be staying in the home for the entirety of the stay.

Designated parking is limited but every home has at least one designated spot and nearby first come first serve parking.  Vehicles are to be parked in designated areas only.  If parking on street… always abide by no parking signs, park with tires completely off pavement and in same direction of traffic anywhere you are on the island!  Check out Getting Around & Parking Page for more info

ALL RENTAL PROPERTIES ARE SMOKE FREE. Smoking of any kind (cigarettes, vape, e-cigarettes) anywhere on property including on patios or near open windows or doors will result in a $200 charge per day to Registered Guest. Any additional damages exceeding this amount will also be charged to the guest’s credit card or taken from the security deposit.

We take great steps to ensure the safety and security of our guests.  Homes are equipped with locks, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and detailed instructions and information regarding emergency services and local contacts.  

We have an electronic lock system on most homes which have unique codes and limitations to allow us to keep the homes safe and secure as well as track all comings and going.  We ask our guests to keep the home locked when you are out.  We do not give more than one key or code to guests at any time.  If needed, keep key in lockbox to allow multiple people to come and go as needed.  Please do not give out codes to any non-registered guests.

We greatly respect our guest’s privacy but should we need to enter the home for any reason such as maintenance issues, we will always notify you ahead of time.

Homes may be equipped with Ring, Nest or other exterior cameras viewing front door, driveways, pool equipment, and entry/exits of backyard areas only. Cameras are only intended to keep property safe and secure, monitor deliveries, assure occupancy, and are not angled into any areas where guests would assume or expect privacy. 

NO FIREARMS ARE ALLOWED ON PROPERTY.

While none of the beaches are pet-friendly, the island is considered very pet-friendly in general and we have many pet-friendly homes.  Please check out our Pets page for more details.

We greatly respect our guest’s privacy but should we need to enter the home for any reason such as maintenance issues, we will always notify you ahead of time.

Guests are not allowed to deny pool service or landscape technicians entry to the property to perform treatment or maintenance.  Homes are serviced once or twice a week depending on season and must remain on that set schedule to ensure the yard and pools are properly maintained for safety, sanitation, and enjoyment of all guests. With rain and storms, the pools can very quickly overnight get off balance with chemicals and filled with debris. Pool service technicians do not work on weekends and will quickly address any needs following storms. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and patience with this effort.

Florida loves its bugs!  Mosquitos and Noseeums are prevalent particularly during hot and wet summer seasons.  In addition, to our routine basic pest and rodent services we provide in each of our homes… we do regularly spray homes for mosquito prevention or have installed mosquito prevention systems. We recommend using repellents with DEET, No Natz, or Skin-So-Soft.  

Check out the CDC’s recommendation for prevention!