I’m the cleaner and the money goes in a separate fund than the airbnb payment. When I did have a cleaner, I was always in the STR doing other things like restocking and laundry so they never could rush.
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I don’t use a management company, but that sounds CRAZY! we self clean when we can, and pay $25 per hour when I need to enlist cleaning help, our properties are usually 2-3 hours to clean, longer if it was a longer stay, or we are doing a monthly deep clean, they are SMALL. I charge $85 at one property, and $110 at the other (reason for higher price on other is thats the going rate in that local) I also have more rugs that require dry clean, and we go through a TON of linens there as it is on the beach and we always seem to be getting stains (sun lotion etc.) we also use a lot of white there the extra money goes towards times it takes longer or clean supplies, I would guess over the year we are about even if i was to pay myself the money when I clean them. We really look at the local, research what others are charging for similar units, and we skip over the ones that are run by management companies, as they are e always higher, I wasnt sure why, but I guess you answered my question with your post, they are skimming the cleaning fee too, because the cleaners that work for the management companies get paid $12-$15 an hour, I have one that does backup cleaning for me and she will ALWAYS take off to do mine if I let her know ahead of time because I pay her $25.
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i am also worried about this, i have now read through about five cohost companies “fine print” and they are all adding little costs here and there above the management fee, i get the cleaning is separate fee but i also think it is a cleaning fee, to go to the cleaners.
I live in QLD and the property i want to airbnb is also in Adelaide, its frightening to try and guess which cohost company will work for you also
When you hire a manager they will have their fingers in every bit of your business. I would just figure on bringing in half of what I would if I managed it myself
RR
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I would need more than half to manage someone else’s Airbnb. But I would be worth every cent.
I really can’t imagine having someone else manage, or even clean for that matter.
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Ditto. I can’t quite understand how remote hosts who have zero hands-on involvement in their listings expect that they would get consciencious full-service management for 15 or 20%.
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Me too, Its no wonder these managers nickel and dime the owners they are not charging enough to begin with.
RR
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yes, that does make sense, its finding a good one that is a bit scary, most at around the 20-23% of the nightly rate, which does not bother me, but if I am paying that I would prefer the cleaning fees go to the cleaners, some of the contracts they have sent me are also a bit of a worry to me, but I guess that’s all part of the way they make their money, its all new to me, but i will research my butt off and hopefully get my way through the maze 
Think about how much you could lose from one rental turning into a mishandled party alarm, and think about how little it will cost to pay a lawyer for half an hour of their time to read and discuss a contract.
I’m not a lawyer, but the one time I had a bad tenant issue as a landlord, I had been at the wake a week before of the one attorney I would have called before I wrote the letter that cost me $3,000. And this was after 3 years of rental management experience with him as our attorney on retainer.
Since then, I’ve had the landlord lawyer I might need in my phone contacts. I would never sign a contract that I don’t understand.
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yes this is a real consideration, legal fees can easily get out of control, and it is worth having my lawyer go over the contract i decide on before i sign, thank you for your comment
Why don’t you use a local co-host rather than a management company ?
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i would be open to either, just have no idea where to find a cohost
Ask for recommendations on your local host forum ?
i will be asking them for sure, just need to wait for settlement and then I can be added to the pages, most require your listing link to be added
I think it is difficult and unfair to pay a fixed percentage, say 20%.
The absolute difference in payment, whether a guest stays 4 days or 4 weeks, is very big.
Most of the effort consists in preparing the accommodation before arrival and cleaning it up afterwards.
Maybe once a week to check that everything is in order and bring fresh laundry … or answer a question or change a batterie from a remote control …
If an overnight stay costs 100 USD, then the cohost earns 80 USD for 4 days, 560 USD for 4 weeks with just a little more effort.
My policy is that my co-host earns at least X USD per stay (no matter what % it is), but reduce the percentage for longer stays.
Unfair to who? If you are paying a percentage then it would be assumed that sometimes it would be harder, sometimes easier but in the end it would all even out.
Oh, I see the answer is right there.
You are right, you are likely not paying fairly IMO
RR
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When you have someone who works for you on a flexible schedule, i.e. they are on call and expected to be responsive whenever you or a guest needs them, that is something that you have to take into consideration when coming up with a fair percentage. It isn’t just the number of hours on average they are putting in.
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