TVA: 0% on a private let, 8.5% standard on a managed let with services
Guadeloupe sets its own overseas TVA rates, a standard 8.5 percent and a reduced 2.1 percent, both well below the mainland French 20 percent. A villa let privately by its owner as furnished accommodation is generally outside TVA. A villa let professionally with hotel-like services (parahotellerie) can carry TVA at the local rates. On a $40,000 managed headline, an 8.5 percent TVA line is $3,400, modest against the headline. Ask in writing which regime applies, because an owner-let villa may quote a TVA-free rate against a managed estate quoting TVA-inclusive.
Taxe de séjour: per person per night, set by each commune
Each Guadeloupe commune levies a taxe de séjour per person per night, set locally and collected by the manager, the same French structure as the mainland. For a furnished villa the rate is modest, a few euro per adult per night, so for a party of ten over seven nights the line runs a low-hundreds-of-euro figure, a rounding error against the headline. Confirm the exact rate for your commune (Saint-François, Deshaies, Sainte-Anne, and the rest each set their own) on the contract.
Service and concierge: 0 to 12 percent depending on management
The owner-let end of the market charges no concierge fee, just a gardienne and a welcome pack. The managed Saint-François and Deshaies estates bill a management or concierge fee of 5 to 12 percent, covering the meet-and-greet, the pre-stock, and the in-stay support. The spread is wide, so confirm whether a host and a concierge are in the rate or whether the villa is a self-managed let with a key handover and a cleaner.
Staff: housekeeping standard at the top, owner-let at the entry
The best Saint-François and Deshaies estates include housekeeping several times a week, a villa manager or host, and pool and garden maintenance in the headline, with a chef and a driver billed separately. Mid-market villas include a clean once or twice a week. Many Guadeloupe villas are owner-let with a gardienne rather than a full team. A daily villa cook runs 160 to 280 euro per day. Verify the bench and the hours in writing, because the market spans owner-let to staffed at similar headlines.
Evening chef: €350 to €700 per service plus food at cost
An independent evening chef runs 350 to 700 euro per service plus food at cost for ten, in line with the French Caribbean. Food cost lands at 45 to 100 euro per person depending on protein (lobster and reef fish, the Creole specialities, accras and colombo) and the wine, which is imported and not cheap. A daily cook for breakfast and a Creole lunch runs 160 to 280 euro per day. The local rhum agricole, Guadeloupe being a serious rum island, and the ti-punch are the house pours worth asking for.
Restaurant nights: €40 to €130 per head
The Saint-François marina rooms and the Deshaies seafront run 70 to 130 euro per head before wine, the beach lolos and Creole tables 40 to 70 euro, and the village grills under 40 euro. A long lobster lunch at a Sainte-Anne or Les Saintes table runs 60 to 110 euro. A family of eight at a marina room with imported wine can clear 800 euro, the wine doing much of the work. The roadside lolos for grilled fish and Creole plates are the value and the local flavour.
Boat day and the islands: €700 to €3,000 per day
The boat day to Les Saintes, the Pigeon Island marine reserve (the Jacques Cousteau reserve for diving), and the empty cays is the canonical Guadeloupe outing. A day-charter boat with a skipper runs 700 to 1,800 euro for a group, a larger crewed catamaran 2,000 to 3,000 euro plus fuel and a tip. The public ferries reach Les Saintes and Marie-Galante for a fraction of the cost. The Cousteau reserve off Basse-Terre is among the best diving in the Caribbean, a draw for a group that dives.
Car hire and driver: €45 to €380 per day
Guadeloupe needs a car, especially to cross between the two islands and reach the Basse-Terre rainforest. A self-drive SUV runs 45 to 100 euro per day, which handles La Soufrière volcano, the Carbet waterfalls, and the coast roads. A chauffeured car for the day runs 250 to 380 euro for groups that prefer not to drive. The La Soufrière trail, the Route de la Traversée through the national park, and the north Grande-Terre cliffs are the great Guadeloupe drives, all best with a car.
Transfers: €70 to €160 by road from PTP, plus ferries
Pointe-à-Pitre (PTP) is the gateway, with direct flights from Paris, roughly 30 km from Saint-François (about 40 minutes) and 50 km from Deshaies (about one hour). A private car or van from PTP to a villa runs 70 to 160 euro each way depending on the pocket. The smaller islands of Les Saintes and Marie-Galante add a ferry from Trois-Rivières or Pointe-à-Pitre, roughly 30 to 60 minutes, so build the boat into arrival days for those.
Gratuities: €100 to €300 per staff member per week
Guadeloupe villa staff are paid through the owner or manager. A cash gratuity on departure of 100 to 300 euro per staff member per week is the practice, more for a host who runs an exceptional week. For a staffed estate with three or four team members the gratuity line runs 350 to 1,000 euro across a week. The chef and the boat crew are tipped separately at 10 to 15 percent. Owner-let villas with only a gardienne carry a smaller, optional line.