Short Term Rental Riches 187. Property Management Fees Exposed: The Real Cost of Hiring A Manager
As many of you know we recently starting managing other properties - we’re really excited to bring on our new partners but as Ive been meeting with owners from all over the place (around the world) I'm finding that the competitive options differ quite a bit.
Not just in services but in fees. Many fees that owners don’t even know are being charged. I looked up an example with Vacasa recently to illustrate the example and a $500 reservation had over $1100 in fees.
So as we evaluate our options I thought it would be good to do a recap to make sure you’re totally aware of any and all “common” fees in the industry.
Please note that not all property management companies charge all of these fees, and the specific fees and amounts can vary depending on the company's policies and the services provided. It's essential to carefully review and understand the fee structure of any property management agreement before entering into a contract.
Short-term rental fees:
- Flat monthly management fee
- Cleaning fee per guest stay
- Booking/Reservation Fee per booking
- Advertising and marketing fee
- Technology/software fee for using property management software
- Furnishing and decor setup fee
- The maintenance fee for coordinating repairs and maintenance
- Seasonal rate adjustment fee for adjusting rental rates based on seasons or demand
- Guest communication fee
- Key exchange fee
- Administration fee for managing paperwork and documentation
- Monthly statement fee for providing financial reports
- Credit card processing fee for handling guest payments
- Inventory and inspection fee for conducting property inspections
- Security deposit management fee
- Late payment fee for managing overdue rental payments
- Cancellation fee for cancellations made by guests
- The utility management fee for managing utilities on behalf of the owner
- Emergency after-hours service fee for handling guest emergencies outside of regular business hours.
Remember:
- Your management fee comes off your GROSS income
- Who owns your reviews listings / whats your contract policy? Do you need to start over? That could be difficult in a down economy..
I’ve also worked with a lot of management companies more so on the Long term rental - sometimes it’s really hard to find the right one.. If you’re interested in help managing your properties and we’re a bit different in that we use my team to manage your properties
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