That a vacation rental should feel like staying with a friend who happens to own a really nice house at the beach.
Jeff grew up in Queens, spent his twenties writing copy for a midtown ad agency, and discovered Destin in 2003 on a friend's wedding weekend. He kept coming back. In 2009, after a particularly grim Manhattan winter, he put a down payment on a tired beach cottage in Miramar Beach, fixed it up on weekends, and rented it to friends-of-friends.
Today Jeff still answers the email at ceo@destinbeachescapes.com, still personally vets every new property, and still flies down from New York once a month to walk the shoreline. The office address — 2337 Shinn Street, New York, NY 10023 — is a small loft above a coffee shop. The boots-on-the-ground team lives in Florida.
Anyone can hand over keys. We greet guests by name, stock the fridge with the brand of coffee you mentioned in your booking notes, and remember that you brought your golden retriever last summer.
Our cleaners, handymen, photographers, and concierge team all live within twenty minutes of the homes they care for. When something needs fixing, it's fixed in an hour, not a week.
The number you see at checkout includes cleaning, taxes, and any resort fees. No hidden $89 "destination charge" appearing the day after you book.
We cap our portfolio at sixty-five properties. Any more and we couldn't promise the personal attention that brought you here in the first place.
We participate in dune restoration, sponsor sea-turtle nest monitoring, and require our cleaning team to use marine-safe products in every home.
Vacation days are precious. Check-in is contactless. The Wi-Fi password is on the fridge. The beach chairs are already in the car.
Jeff buys a 1970s beach cottage at auction, restores it himself over six weekends, and rents it for the first time on July 4th.
Maria Alvarez joins as full-time guest experience lead. She still runs the Florida operation today.
We bring housekeeping in-house after one too many bad experiences with third-party services.
"The most thoughtfully run rental company on the Emerald Coast." We frame the magazine. It hangs in the office.
We launch curated boat charter packages with a local captain who's been on the water since 1987.
And a 98% guest return rate. We're growing slowly. On purpose.
Browse our rentals or just send us a note. We answer every message, usually the same day.