Managing my neighbour's property - what to charge?

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
Aphra
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Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:29 am
Location: Caithness, Scotland
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Managing my neighbour's property - what to charge?

Post by Aphra »

Hi

I am not sure if this is in the best forum - I am sorry if it isn't.

We have a niche property in a place so remote that there are no full service management companies nearby. I market it myself (PR, social media, advertising on commission-based sites and listings sites, etc), and I have an local manager who manages the practical side of things, organises the cleaners, etc.

Our new neighbour is thinking of turning the building next door to us into a holiday let so she can stay there sometimes and get an income off it the rest of the time. We sleep six in three rooms, she would sleep three in two rooms, so we don't compete directly.

I am worried a badly run cottage next door will confuse guests, damage our brand and reduce our star rating on Google, Bing, etc and even on Tripadvisor if guests review the wrong cottage. She's quite naive about what's involved, so I certainly think it's possible these things could go awry.

I've offered to provide a full marketing and management service under my own branding and using my manager and cleaners - essentially to run and manage it as if I owned it. I see this as a way to protect myself and my brand from reputational damage.

My question is - what should I charge?

She would do literally nothing except receive a payment and some management reports each month, and pay her insurance, the utilities and any repairs. I and my team would do everything else.

I know that Airsorted (as was) and similar hosting companies charge 12% - 15% but that wouldn't cover the cleaning costs for a weekend stay, and short breaks are the name of the game.

When it comes to the marketing side I am even more uncertain. What percentage ranges do places charge for a full marketing service? Booking.com charge 17.5%, so I assume it's more than that for a full marketing service.

Any advice on what Sykes, Cottages.com etc charge and the services they offer would be very much appreciated.

I want to be fair to both of us - this has the potential to be a long term relationship so we both need to be happy with whatever we agree.

Thanks in advance

Aphra

[Edited for sense]
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CarolineJ
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Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: North coast of Scotland
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Post by CarolineJ »

Hi Aphra,

I'm just over the border from you in North Sutherland. Cottages.com offered me 18%+VAT 2 years ago because they're short of property in this area, their 'normal' rate is 24%+VAT.

We're just doing our second one further west, which is a large 3-bed house sleeping 6. I've been quoted £55 for cleaning, £80 for laundry (those based on 6 people staying and will reduce if not all bed linen and towels need washing) and £25 for management (emailing guests prior to arrival, writing welcome notes, dealing with queries, accepting Tesco delivery etc. etc.), a total of £160 per changeover on full occupancy. I'm happy to pay that because I've seen the Airbnb reviews for the other houses they look after in the area and they're superb.
Faint heart never won fair holiday let...
Aphra
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:29 am
Location: Caithness, Scotland
Contact:

Post by Aphra »

That's really helpful, thank you Caroline.

The changeover fee I charge my guests is £90 and now I've got a year's bookings I can double check it covers all the changeover costs.

I am thinking of asking my neighbour to pay me the full changeover fee for each of her bookings, then charging a percentage of the accommodation. That way all costs are covered. I'll only actually make money on bookings from sites with no commission or low commission but I am ok with that.
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