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Signing a Contract

HOW IT WORKS

How the booking process works and what is expected of everyone

Who can use the property?

  • After being at F'inn for one year, each FT employee will have the opportunity to stay at Azul Paraiso for two weeks per year.  Partners get 3 weeks, and founders 4.  

  • If you are in Ocotal and want to stay longer, check the schedule. If it is open, you may request another week.  Do not expect more than 2 weeks, but we will consider your requests.

  • The property is meant for F'inn employees and their guests as a place to work remotely, take a vacation, or both. 

  • Initially, the property will be set up to sleep 8.  We may extend it to 10. There is a master bedroom with a queen bed, a guest bedroom with a queen, a second bedroom with 2 single beds, and a sleeper couch in the living room.  Each bedroom has its own bathroom.  

  • We do not plan to rent the place out but will evaluate that option if the property is not used as much as we expect.

  • A F'inn employee must be present. The property is NOT available to be gifted to others or donated/auctioned for fundraisers.

  • We may offer valued business partners, including clients, vendors, and irregulars access to the property.

How to book?

  • We will rotate the order for choosing vacation dates each year. If you get a low priority in one year, you should get a higher priority in the following year.  We will not share the order of who goes first to last.

  • Amber Bohnet will contact you when it is your turn to choose dates. You will have 1 day to respond. We recommend you come up with multiple dates in case your first few choices are unavailable.

  • At any point in the year, if you have not already booked 2 weeks of time you may go to the "book it" link on this website to look for open dates and book a visit.

  • We will NOT field ANY complaints about scheduling. We're doing our best to provide our team with a fun and exciting benefit, but there is no way to optimize scheduling so that each person gets to go first or second in scheduling.

  • Use it or lose it. There will be no carryover of unused time. 

  • If you don’t have kids, please consider choosing non-summer and non-holiday dates. This will give employees with families a chance to book when they can visit with their kids. This is a suggestion, not a requirement. Regardless of your household composition, if you're #1 on the list and you want Christmas or the middle of summer, you can take those dates with no questions asked.

  • Don't worry too much about the wet season (May to Nov) vs. the dry season (Dec-April). The Guanacaste Province is the driest part of Costa Rica. When it rains, it's often for a short period in the afternoon or evening, so you can still get in activities most of the day.  In the wet season, the jungle is green and waterfalls are rushing. Costs are also lower.

Costs

  • You will be required to pay for cleaning and electricity. There are no costs for using the property

    • Cleaning costs are $120. The fee includes cleaning before you arrive and after you leave.

    • Electric costs $100 per week

    • These fees may change in the years ahead

  • All other costs on your trip will be covered by you, including travel, rental car, food, and any other needs. If you purchase any services through our property manager (who doubles as a concierge), you will cover those fees. 

Rules

The property at Azul Paraiso is a privilege and one that we hope to extend to our employees indefinitely. However, we will not tolerate any misuse of the property and will revoke privileges to employees who misuse it. We are not creating a warning system. There is no 3-strikes law. Here are the strong DONTs if you want to continue to have access to Azul Paraiso.

  • Don't mistreat the property, cause damage, or take items from the unit that the next guest will need. Our property manager will take inventory on each visit and missing items will be recorded. Things will break. If it happens on your watch, let Maria (property mgr) know. If you break something, fix it or pay to get a new one.

  • Don't mistreat staff. You'll likely interact with Maria, our property manager, but might also interact with house cleaners or other staff members on site. We are in regular contact with Maria on issues related to the property and want to keep a professional, positive relationship with her and her team.

  • Don’t be rude or cause problems for any other residents or vacationers. Take family, take friends, and have fun. But be aware that others live at Azul Paraiso full time, and locals or vacationers may be nearby with their families. Our downstairs neighbor is a full-time resident and has a young baby. Watch your volume & language if; be respectful of other families that don't want to hear neighbors cursing all night long on the deck. Move it inside if you want to be loud in the evening.  Use good judgment. That's all we're asking.

Expectations & Tips On Using the Property

  • Leave the property as you found it, or better. If you use up the toilet paper, laundry detergent, aluminum foil, cooking oil, etc., buy a new one before you leave. If there is beer or rum in the condo when you arrive, make sure there is beer or rum when you leave.

  • Electricity is expensive in Costa Rica, so be energy conscious. Turn off all lights and the air conditioning when you leave. When you return, it will take less than a minute to cool each room. We've instructed our property manager to set the temperature to 22 degrees C (72 F). Feel free to change this to meet your needs, but please do not leave the A/C running in rooms that are not occupied or when you are not in the home.

  • The trash bin is outside in a covered box, behind the parking spaces directly outside the unit. Make sure to clean up food, crumbs, etc. when you are visiting. You're in the jungle, and there are lots of bugs who will feast on food scraps left out.

  • The unit includes a stacked washer/dryer. This means you can clean clothes throughout the week if you want to travel light.  Consider reusing your bath towels multiple times and taking a chair or mat to the beach instead of a larger towel to limit your laundry.

  • There is a kayak in the master closet. For now, this is locked and off-limits. We do not yet have life vests for the kayak, and at certain times of the year, there are off-shore winds. We want to better understand the risks before sharing the kayak. There are places on most beaches where you can rent kayaks, including at Ocotal.

  • You may find bees' nests on the porch. We ask our property manager to regularly remove them, but the bees in Costa Rica can rebuild an entire nest in a matter of days. Our downstairs neighbor has lived there for four years and has made no effort to eliminate the nests on his porch. He has never had a problem with the bees or been stung. But if you feel uncomfortable or are being bothered by the bees, please call Maria (number below) and ask her to have them exterminated.

  • There is a shower by the pool to rinse your gear.  If you take any gear from the house to the beach, please rinse it. If the valve on the shower is not working, turn the valve in the ground opening right below the shower.

Contacts

  • Maria is our property manager. She should be your first contact for any questions about the property. Coordinate with Maria on your dates before you visit, to make sure the property is ready.  

  • For emergencies, call 911

  • Medical & Dental needs:  Coco Medical & Dental Center

    • https://www.cocomedicalanddentalcenter.com/

    • +(506) 2670-1234

    • Location:  Travel from Ocotal back to Coco.  Turn right at Coco.  Look left.  The medical center has clear signage not far from the intersection.

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