How to change manager without losing the licence, the reviews or the bookings

Short answer: changing manager is simple if it is done in order: first you choose the new one and agree a date; then you notify the current one with the notice in the contract; in parallel you sort out what happens with bookings already confirmed and with the listings; the new manager communicates the change of holder to the Junta with procedure 7267; and on the last day keys, codes and the final statement are handed over. The three points where money is lost are bookings in progress, listings that are not yours and a final statement that never arrives.

Step 1: Read your contract

Look for the notice period (30-60 days is reasonable), whether there is a lock-in or penalty, and what it says about listings and future bookings. If it says nothing, general law applies: you can terminate with reasonable notice, and confirmed bookings are commitments to guests that someone has to honour.

Step 2: Choose the new one before notifying the current one

So the flat is never left without anyone for a single day. The new manager needs to see the flat, the licence, the listings and the calendar, and propose a changeover date (better in low season, between two bookings).

Step 3: Notify in writing

Email to the current manager with the end date, citing the clause of the contract, and asking for: calendar of confirmed bookings with amounts, status of pending payments, inventory, keys and codes, and date of the final statement.

Step 4: Bookings already confirmed

Three options:

• The outgoing manager looks after them until each guest's check-out date (the usual thing if it is a matter of a few weeks).
• They are transferred to the new manager, who looks after them and charges their commission; the outgoing one charges theirs for having sold them, as agreed.
• They are cancelled: never, except for force majeure. Platforms penalise it and guests suffer.

Step 5: Listings and reviews

• If the listings are in your name: the new manager comes in as a collaborator (co-host on Airbnb, user in the Booking extranet) and the old one leaves. You lose nothing.
• If they are in the outgoing manager's name: on Booking you can request a change of property ownership keeping the reviews; on Airbnb a listing cannot be moved between accounts, so you start from scratch unless the outgoing manager leaves you as co-host temporarily, which rarely happens. It is the most painful point and the reason we insist that listings belong to the owner.

Step 6: The licence

The new manager communicates the change of holder to the Junta (procedure 7267) with the new contract and the nota simple; the home's code does not change and there is no interruption. If the outgoing manager was the holder and does not cooperate, the new one can communicate it anyway with your contract: that is the title that entitles them. See Changing the licence holder.

Step 7: Keys, codes and data

On the last day: all keys, change of lock and key-box codes, access to the traveller registration platform account, Wi-Fi passwords and utility account passwords if they managed them, signed inventory.

Step 8: The final statement

With all bookings up to the end date, payments pending from platforms (Booking pays the month after), deposits returned, expenses with invoices. It is where there is most argument; a written closure signed by both parties avoids months of emails.

How long does it take?

Between 30 and 60 days from the notice, set by the notice period and by bookings in progress. A serious manager has played both roles, incoming and outgoing; the clean process is the one that starts with a list and a date.