Hiring a holiday-rental manager
What they do, what commission is normal, what the contract must include, how to change manager and the 20 questions to ask before signing.
What do I ask a manager before signing?
The questions whose answers tell you whether the manager is serious: commission base, sample statement, listings, licence, cleaning team, 24-hour phone, insurance, lock-in and what happens when something goes wrong. Print them and take them to the meeting.
Read the guideChannel manager or full management?
The channel manager works remotely: listings, pricing and messages, for 8-12 %. Full management also puts someone on the ground (keys, cleaning, breakdowns, traveller registration) for 15-25 %. A table of what each does, what the owner pays, what the guest pays and what the manager pays.
Read the guideManager or do it myself?
Managing it yourself saves the commission and costs 5 to 8 hours a week in season, living nearby and not travelling in August. At what revenue and in what situation each option pays off, with an example.
Read the guideHow do I change manager without losing the licence or the reviews?
Notice, bookings in progress, change of holder with the Junta, listings and reviews, keys and final statement. The order in which to do it and the three points where money is lost if it is done badly.
Read the guideHow do I know if my manager is bad?
Statements you cannot understand, listings that are not yours, expenses without invoices, fixed prices, falling reviews and a phone nobody answers. Ten signs, and what to do about each one.
Read the guideWhat should the contract with the manager include?
Commission and calculation base, statements, ownership of listings and licence, own use, expenses, insurance, duration and exit. And what you should not accept: long lock-in, exclusive listings without transfer and expenses without invoices.
Read the guideWhat commission is normal and what should it include?
On the Costa del Sol, between 15 and 20 % plus VAT, calculated on what the owner receives after the platform. What that commission should include, what is charged separately and how to compare two offers that look the same.
Read the guideWhat does a manager do?
Licence, listings, pricing, messages, keys, cleaning, traveller registration, maintenance, collections, statements, reviews and the three-in-the-morning call. What full management includes and what it does not.
Read the guideCan't find your question?
Write to us and we will answer. If it is a question that keeps coming up, we write the guide.
Other topics: Before you start · Licence and registration · Owners' association · The flat · Taxes · Day to day · Booking, Airbnb and others