A Complete Guide to Vacation Rental Property Management Fees

When hiring a property manager or property management company to oversee your vacation rentals, it’s important to understand how vacation rental property management fees work and how they will affect your rental revenue, plus how fee structure can change according to property management costs and any fixed rate agreements.

The structure and types of fees that you will pay as a property owner will vary across vacation rental property management companies. There are benefits to hiring a property manager or property management company to manage your short-term rental properties.

However, before you do, make sure that it’s the best decision for your business and your rental income goals.

What are vacation rental property management fees?

Vacation rentals come with a number of fees that hosts should pay to maintain them. Vacation rental property management fees are the fees that you pay to a property manager to cover the costs of the management services they provide for your rental.

These services could include booking management, guest communication, onsite maintenance, onsite maintenance, etc. This is usually a monthly payment made to the property manager, based on a certain rate.

What is the average vacation rental property management fee?

It can be difficult to determine an exact industry average for vacation rental property management fees. They often vary depending on various factors. These factors could be the type of property (a house vs. an apartment) as well as the property’s location.

Despite this, it’s possible to identify some distinct trends in vacation rental management fees.

The typical range of property management fees for vacation rentals is anywhere between 10% and 50% of the monthly rental income. Besides property factors, this range can also be explained by what degree of property management is offered. Managers can offer full-service management (where they manage all property duties) or only partial management (only marketing or perhaps only customer service).

The more commonly observed range is between 20% and 40% of the monthly rental income. Urban rentals generally have a lower vacation rental property management fee of 20% to 25%. When it comes to beach rentals, fees will range between 25% to 30%. Mountain rentals usually see a higher management fee range of 30% to 35%. Some have pondered that perhaps this is an access issue and property managers

Urban rentals tend to have lower management fees. They are easier to access and generally require less maintenance than beach or mountain rentals.

What are the most common fee structures?

How a management company decides to charge for its services will vary. But generally, there are three popular models that managers use to calculate their vacation rental management fees:

Guaranteed income model

In the guaranteed income model, the property manager pays a fixed monthly rate to the homeowner, even during months when the property has few or no bookings. This model ensures that property owners have a guaranteed passive income coming in all year round.

The catch in the guaranteed model is that your income will always be the same regardless of the season. Any income earned in excess of the agreed rate is paid to the manager or management company.

Fixed-rate model

If you select a fixed-rate payment model for your manager, then you and the manager agree on a fixed, flat fee that the manager will receive every month. This flat fee structure remains the same regardless of the number of bookings the property has in a month.

During the low season, this may not seem like an ideal arrangement as short-term rental incomes can rarely be classified as ‘fixed’ monthly income or a guaranteed income. But during high season you will pocket all profits made over and above the vacation rental property management fee that you pay.

The downside of this fee model is that the fixed fee structure will often have separate, additional management fees on top of it, that push up the final price.

Commission model

The commission model works on a percentage-based commission that you as the rental owner will pay to their property managers on a monthly basis. This is a popular fee structure because the monthly fee will be directly based on the amount that your rental made for that month.

The hidden cost lies in the exact percentage that the manager will be taking in their fee. As mentioned earlier, the commission rates will vary depending on the manager or company you hire.  Always be sure you know the exact percentage they will be charging for their fee. Also, make sure to ask if this percentage includes or excludes any additional fees that you need to pay.

What services are included in the vacation rental property management fees for my listing?

It’s extremely important to know upfront what service fees are included in the management fee, and what fees are charged additionally. A property manager might quote you a very low monthly fee, but then provide a list of separate fees charged on top of their rate.

On the other hand, a property management company may quote a seemingly high monthly fee, but it’s inclusive of all services.

The monthly management fee may include the following services:

Marketing services

Vacation rental property managers make a career out of understanding the STR market and staying on top of industry trends. Because of this, they have a good understanding of the best way to market a vacation rental, when to adjust prices, which platforms to market on, and how to attract ideal guests for your property.

Some managers will offer this service as part of their monthly vacation rental property management fee, and others may offer it as an additional service.

If you would like to have this service excluded, you may enquire with your manager, but first, decide if you have the time and skills to market your rental by yourself.

Cleaning services

Each time guests check out of your rental, the property will require a cleaning service. Some vacation rental managers charge cleaning fees in their monthly rates.

This means you will be paying for the cleaning services out of your own pocket, which can be earned back by charging cleaning fees on your chosen short-term rental platform.

Another property manager may add a cleaning fee as part of the rental fee and charge guests for cleaning. Make sure you know how the cleaning fee is structured and how it will be paid, before hiring a manager. The additional cleaning fees will depend on the property’s size, location, and amenities.

Maintenance and repair services

Maintenance fees are usually included in the monthly vacation rental property management fees charged by managers. This is because repairs and maintenance often need to be done on short notice and as quickly as possible.

If a pipe bursts or the washing machine leaks, guests are going to expect that it gets fixed promptly, otherwise, they may not leave a good review.

If a manager charges a maintenance fee, be sure to ask them exactly what maintenance it covers. Find out if they have their own maintenance team or if they outsource, and if the fee covers all necessary repairs for the month.

The last thing you will want is to have to top up the maintenance fee if it runs out during the month.

Which additional fees can a vacation rental owner face?

Often short-term rental management companies charge additional property management fees on top of the regular ones. Additional fees are for services that exceed the essential cleaning, maintenance, and guest management services that property managers offer.

Additional fees could include things like:

• Booking fees: if a guest books a stay at your rental through your manager instead of booking directly through your listing.
• External amenities fees: external amenities could include a garden, pool, or hot tub maintenance and repairs.
• Customer service fees: this could include guest communications and overseeing check-ins.

Should I hire a third party to run my vacation rental business?

Before hiring a property manager and paying the relevant vacation rental property management fees, ask yourself these questions:

• Am I able to devote the necessary time to manage my properties?
• What is the annual occupancy rate I am aiming for my rentals?

If you own a few vacation rental properties, managing and overseeing them yourself will be a lot easier than if you own multiple properties.

Your decision should also be influenced by how much time you can commit to managing your listings. Managing a vacation rental business requires a lot of work. If you already work a full-time job, you might have less time to focus on your listings.

In this case, it might be a good idea to pay a monthly vacation rental property management fee to a hired manager. This will put your mind at ease, as they will handle all the necessary work.

If your vacation rental business is your primary focus, you may be able to handle the workload on your own without a manager’s help.

Finally, your rental goals should also influence your decision about hiring a manager. If you live in your rental property and only rent it out when you are traveling, you may be able to manage it yourself.

On the other hand, if your listings are vacant and you want to maximize their occupancy potential, then hiring a manager to oversee all operations would make more sense.

Individual Manager vs Management Company: Fees, Pros, and Cons

Individual Manager

By hiring a property manager instead of a bigger company, some vacation rental owners and property owners believe that they’re giving their listings the best chances of success.

The property owners and property managers will need to work in tandem at the start in order to ensure the property management agreement is working and to iron out any smaller details.

Management Fees:

• Likely to charge a lower vacation rental property management fee than a company.
• May also be more upfront with the property owner about total fees.

Services:

• Will offer the same services as a company.
• May be more flexible in altering the list of services depending on your requirements.

Reputation:

• May not have the same established reputation as an industry corporation.

Guaranteed Fees:

• Will not have the same level of brand identity to protect as a company.

Management Company

Property management companies generally have a very good reputation and with good reason. A single vacation rental property manager has semi-limited resources, compared to that of bigger property management companies. Property management fees from vacation rental management companies are usually

Management Fees:

• Will likely charge property higher fee than a freelance manager.
• May also be more likely to charge additional fees on top of the monthly rental management fees.

Services:

• Will likely offer either partial or full-service management options.
• Less likely to be willing to negotiate services.

Reputation:

• Will likely have a better reputation than a solo manager.
• Should have successful case studies of past or current clients.

Guaranteed Fees:

Will be more likely to guarantee management success due to the company wanting to protect its brand identity and reputation.

There is no right or wrong option for choosing a property manager or vacation rental management company, it depends on your property needs and business goals.

Either way, it’s best to do some research about the individual or company after you’ve discussed their vacation rental property management fees and services with them.

Ask for opinions from other vacation rental owners who have worked with a property manager or company you are interested in, and see what their feedback is.

What key questions should I ask when assessing rental management fees?

Before hiring a vacation rental management company, it’s a good idea for rental owners to ask some important questions about the exact services they offer.

By asking detailed questions you can find out exactly what vacation rental property management fees you will be paying.

Some questions to ask include:

• What are the primary management services that you offer?
• What are the additional management services?
• Which of these services are included in your monthly vacation rental property management fee?
• Which of these services (if any) are charged separately from the management fee?
• Are there any other admin fees that I need to be aware of?
• Is your monthly management fee structure a flat rate or commission-based?
• What platforms and technology do you use for managing properties?
• What marketing strategy will you use to market my property?
• How do you handle property maintenance and maintenance fees?
• How often do you do property inspections, and do you use a checklist?
• How do you handle guest bookings?
• How do you handle communication with guests?
• What security measures will you use to keep my property safe?
• What is your process for contacting me in the event of damage or an emergency?
• How long have you been in the property management business?
• May I receive references from past and current clients?

How to Save on a Vacation Rental Management Fee

If you don’t want to pay continuous vacation rental property management fees to hired managers, consider using vacation rental software to handle your properties for you. Property management software like iGMS makes managing properties easier, with functions like these:

• Managing multiple accounts and listings on the top OTAs from a single interface.
• Synchronizing reservations across multiple platforms to eliminate double bookings.
• Using the unified inbox to organize your messages into a single feed to ensure prompt replies.
• Using automated templates and triggered messaging to improve communication.
• Creating and coordinating cleaning tasks with live tracking to completion.
• Building your own direct booking website.
• Managing direct bookings using a direct booking management toolkit.
• Securely processing payments via integration with Stripe.
• Creating essential reports on your business results within minutes.

By automating all of these management tasks, rental owners can save on management fees by running their business on autopilot with iGMS.