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I’m considering switching my airbnb property manager and have consulted a few companies. Was considering switching but not sure of the pros and cons. Would appreciate experienced hosts weighing in:
Current manager:
20% management fee after deducting consumables and maintenance costs
No superhost status
No access to my own listing.
Reviews are 5 star on average, with a few 4.5
$130 Cleaning fee passed on to guest.
New manager
16% management fee, but maintenance costs is separate. Most consumables are included in the cleaning fee.
Has superhost status (they promised my listing will be searchable under superhost filter), but in reality, most reviews are tied to the listing admin (therefore doesn’t affect their superhost status) and they are an equal mix of 5 star and 4.5 stars. One particular listing even had 4 stars. - I will be listing admin and will retain access to all reviews should I decide to take it back and do it myself.
Initially quoted me $170, but was willing to come down to $130 for cleaning fee, also passed on to guest.
Should I switch or not switch? I’ve resigned to the fact that all professional airbnb managers will use a one-size-fits-all template. My hands are tied - i can’t host remotely as i really don’t have a reliable pair of boots on the ground to attend to guest needs, however infrequent that might be. I am in Sydney and the property is based in Melbourne.
Of course you can host remotely, you can find a local superhost who co-hosts.
As I mentioned to you before take up references with two or three of your co-hosts current hosts before appointing anyone and make sure you have a proper contract in place that clearly outlines expectations around how you want your listing run, what is being offered and payment terms.
Does it need to be a management company as such? My feeling is that you’d be better off using someone who has personal, hands-on experience with Airbnb (not short term rentals in general).
Airbnb is very specific. Hosts (by which I mean co-hosts too) have to understand the workings of the company, the review system, the rules and regulations, the claims system and just about every aspect of the company. This can be a tall order.
You’ll have noticed that from time to time there are questions here from new hosts and experienced hosts will reply to their queries pointing out the most basic things. Some of us ran our rentals for a long time before we started to use Airbnb - and found that many of the methods we’d used in the past were just not going to work with Airbnb. In many ways it was like starting from scratch with no experience at all. So finding someone with provable Airbnb experience would be my first move.
If that person is adding value to what you offer guests then their fees are worth it.
