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My husband and I are considering the purchase of a property on the Eastern Shore of Maryland which we would rent out as an Air BnB during high season. We live in Washington DC and realize the only way we can make this work is to use a co-host. We plan on using a digital lock that can be programmed via the internet so guests could self check in. We will also handle all reservations. What we need the co-host to do is be available if any issues arise and to do a check of the property each time guests check out and let us know when coffee supplies run low. We may also decide to ask them to arrange to stock limited breakfast items (like juice, creamer, milk , cereal and pre-packaged breakfast items) if we decide to do anything with breakfast items. We would of course arrange to pay for these items. If the person wants to also do the housekeeping, we would welcome it. Hereâs my question: If the person want to handle only the limited co-host duties listed above, what is fair pay? We would like to do a set rate as opposed to a percentage. We were thinking somewhere around $30-45 per stay. We arrived at this figure by calculating approximately 3 hours of work on average at $10-15/hour (sometimes more than 3 hours, most of the time less). If they want to handle housekeeping and co-host duties, they would get the cleaning fee plus the co-host fee. Does this seem fair?
Second question. This will be a 3 BR, 2 BA house that could sleep up to 8 people. What is a fair cleaning fee? I am assuming that most of the time, cleaning will consist of the 2 bathrooms, the kitchen and any bedrooms the guests used plus vacuuming common areas. House has hardwood floors. Also, if you have long term stays (ie a month), how often do you arrange cleaning? Does the cleaning fee differ if you offer housekeeping once a week or a couple of times a month?
Third question: what about pets? Do you recommend accepting them? Do you charge a fee?
Cleaning feeâs are largely driven by the local market. Will be similar price to what it would cost you to clean any house in that market. I suspect you may have better luck if you try to combine the two jobs of cleaner and property manager. Your cleaner will be the most connected to issues / stains / broken things at the property so that helps.
You also will need to figure out linens. Best to get two sets of everything for same day turnovers. Will need to pay whoever washes them and makes beds.
I donât accept pets as I can book up without dealing with them. Others do accept pets and it works well for them.
Thanks. How would you suggest I go about finding a combo host/housekeeper? I was thinking about running an ad in hopes of finding a responsible college student with a car or a retired person who wants to make a few bucks. My husband is more in favor of contacting cleaning services because he feels they will have personnel to act as back ups if needed. Iâm concerned they wonât be interested in washing linens or restocking kitchen items. We had already anticipated needed at least 2 sets of linens for same day turnovers.
I would message other hosts in the area. Check VRBO as well. You could also put in Ad in craigslist. If it is a huge resort area there likely are MGT companies specializing in STR.
As a college student, I would love to have made $30+ per week when all I have to do is check a house, go to the grocery store (if needed) and be available if there is a problem. I wasnât aware I was planning on paying an unfair amount of money for what amounts to what seems like a minimal amount of work. Can you suggest what you believe would be fair?
See if there is a local host group and advertise there for a co-host.
Co-hosting is so much more than checking a house and going shopping. You need someone who can be on hand in case there is a problem with appliances or other issue such as leak, someone who has the professionalism and know how to deal with difficult guests such as having to evict them or resolve issues like more guests staying than have booked.
A co-host can advise you on the ins and outs of managing your listing, cancellation policies, claiming on Airbnbâs guarantee etc
A co-host will record evidence in the case of damage/theft etc.
You canât compare this to unqualified work a student normally does for $10 an hour.
I second (third?) the advice to not use a college student. Murphyâs law is that they will have their phone turned off during an exam just when you have a water leak in your house, and youâll get a bad review and maybe issues with your home.
Sorry but this is a really crazy idea. A co-host needs to be experienced in the Airbnb system as well as hospitality. Itâs a tough job. Just read through the forum here and see the sort of thing guests get up to - then imagine a college student dealing with that.
This mustnât vary greatly. In the last 2 years I have had only 3-5 items that required on site help. Most were toilet paper ran out. Only 1 was a repair item.
Our cleaner charges $50 flat fee to clean our 1BR 1BA 700 sq. ft. apt. Her typical rate is $35 per hour, so it all averages out, as some turns she can get done much more quickly and some take a lot longer. She is on the very cheap side for our area (Seattle). Sheâs also extremely efficient, as it takes me 2-3 hours to clean the place, no matter what. She is worth every penny as we have been through numerous cleaners that just donât âgetâ the airbnb thing. Itâs not a typical cleaning as everything has to be pretty much perfect EVERY TIME! If someone cleans your house and misses some crumbs in the kitchen or a hair on the shower surround, you might be irritated but itâs not a big deal. With Airbnb your guest might give you a bad review that could really affect your business or get you kicked off the site. Anyway, that is just the cleaning aspect. I would suggest more than 2 sets of everything if you are planning same day turnovers just in case a little mark or stain has gone unnoticed until you go to make the bed. Or something odd happens, like your cleaner cuts himself and doesnât realize it until heâs streaked a little bit of blood on the sheets. (Yes, this just happened to me) By the way, the amount of blood was negligible, and at the foot of the bed that gets tucked in (which is why it got on the sheets in the first place), and Iâm afraid someone else may have just tried to lighten it, tuck it in and put the cover over it and called it good. Luckily my cleaner told me immediately and changed all the bedding. Anyway, sorry to get off on a tangent, Iâm just worried that youâre underestimating the amount of work it all takes.
omg, NO. I would challenge you to manage the rental completely by yourself for a month before you hire anyone. (I realize that you donât live there, but how can you reasonably run a business in a field where you have zero experience and do it long-distance, hands-off? Unless you are hiring a professional property management company [who would also be responsible for managing the cleaning staff], you are destined for failure.)
Clean it yourself and see what kind of time and skill that requires. When you are cleaning in the hospitality industry, you are looking for every little crumb and speck of dust, every hair that might have worked its way into the threads of a towel in the dryer, fingerprints on the TV, crumbs vacuumed from under the couch cushions, etc. You also have to make sure that all amenities in the house are stocked enough (but not too much) for the upcoming guest- toilet paper, paper towels, soap, extra garbage bags, dishwashing detergent, snacks, etc. This is NOT a minimum wage type of job unless you are marketing to the Motel 6 crowd.
OMG, Iâm not the only one that has tweezed a hair or something from a towel?? I think this might have to go on that other threadâŚâyou might be an airbnb host ifâŚâ
Seriously, I donât know how the washing machine works those hairs so deeply into the threads of the towels! I pick out no less than 5 hairs per load as Iâm folding. Blech.
That can be applied to everyone just replace exam with âpersonal issuesâ
Why does nobody trust the youth? Iâd say go for it. You guys tell him to hire a management company but will they be there at 9pm in case of a problem? Most likely no. Why would he spend so much money for some professional? Emergencies will happen like 1-2 a year. A 20 year old could actually have 4 years experience in customer service. Most people I know work/worked at bars/restaurants part time during their studies. Not all students are irresponsible drunks.
@ksegers Just go through a process of interviewing few people and you can decide if you can trust a student or not. Dont let the negativity of everyone affect your choice
Because they have experience, expertise and most importantly responsibility and accountability. If they mess up you have some come back. A property is a massive asset and we have huge responsibilities towards our guests safety and neighbours wellbeing. Property management is categorically NOT a minimum wage job for the inexperienced.
Actually, nowadays you just do not have a big margin of error to âjust try outâ. Airbnb are seriously weeding out listings that fall below 4.7 âŚtheir proclaimed average âŚor make it 4
New accounts that rake up a couple of low ratings are gone before they catch on or even notice a problem. Good for experienced hosts, but not if you are seriously relying on the income for newly purchased properties.
I think this might have to go on that other threadâŚâyou might be an airbnb host ifâŚâ