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Tool  ·  Chef, Driver, Housekeeping

Villa Staff Budget Calculator

A private chef runs $380 to $600 a day in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and a car with driver $50 to $150 depending on the market. This calculator turns those day rates into a weekly figure for your group, then sends the full line-item breakdown and the gratuity guide by email.

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Staff is the line most groups leave off the spreadsheet, then meet on arrival. A chef on four nights, a car and driver for the week, and added daily housekeeping can add $4,000 to $9,000 to a Mediterranean week before a single tip. This tool sizes that number from verified day-rate ranges. The chef figures come in at $85 to $180 a day in Bali and $380 to $600 in Provence, Tuscany, and the Caribbean, with groceries billed at cost on top.

The Tool

Pick the staff.

No. II  ·  The Day Rates

What each role costs.

RoleMediterranean / dayCaribbean / dayBali / day
Private chef (plus food at cost)$380 to $600$450 to $600$85 to $180
Car with driver$120 to $260$130 to $250$50 to $80
Added daily housekeeping$45 to $90$50 to $95$25 to $45
Nanny or childcare$160 to $300$180 to $320$45 to $90

The figures above are day rates for staff brought in on top of the villa’s included team, verified against management quotes and concierge guides to May 2026. Most luxury villas already include housekeeping and a pool attendant in the headline rate; the chef, the driver, and the nanny are the usual extras. Groceries for the chef are billed at cost, typically $60 to $140 a day for a group of eight, and are not in the table above.

Gratuity is the line buyers forget twice. The convention runs 5 to 10% of the rental cost spread across the in-house team, handed over at the end of the stay, with an added 15 to 20% on a private chef’s fee for exceptional service. On a $30,000 week that is $1,500 to $3,000 in tips, separate from the staff day rates. The calculator folds the rental-based gratuity into the total and the email breakdown itemizes it by role.

The Full Breakdown

The line-item breakdown, by email.

The free result shows your weekly total. The email sends the breakdown by role, the grocery and gratuity math, the questions to ask a management company before you commit, and a printable staffing brief. Free. We trade it for an email.

The For Kings Network

The rest of the trip.

Hotels, restaurants, and bars in the same destinations the staffing data covers.