Munsterfan

Does anyone have some information on Holiday Rental Management fees? Must include Meet n Greet, cleaning, exit review....and (I guess) being 'on call' for emergencies etc? I know, I know I can pick up the phone myself and call around but I'm deeply lazy and thought I'd just ask here. Only a ballpark fee range .

I THINK it's circa 15%-20% of the letting fees for advertising and booking but I also want to know the price of a full-service fee OR just the cost for a private person/owner operated business that does only the Meet n Greet n Clean n Exit part of the holiday-let management stuff. Thanks in advance

Munsterfan

shameless bump

MrBife

Unless you can find a housekeeper/maid that will do client contact stuff then you will have to go to a property management company which will cost an annual fee plus per maid hour and on top of that a fee per meet and greet depending on what time of day it is.

Property Management up to 1000 a year + IVA
Maid from a property company around 11-12 euros per hour including national insurance
Meet and greet daytime 25 euro night time probably 50

(There are ways of avoiding this by getting the keys to the taxi driver that picks up the clients from the airport or to the car hire company that rents them their car - a good property management company will know how to do this)

Don't forget you need a rental licence (AL) if you are promoting for rental !

Munsterfan

So we know a Dutch property management company which manages only villas in the 1,500 to 2,500 Euros per week range and they charge around 20% for their fees. Then a local couple who live near-by, charge another 15% to clean (5-6+hours) inside, all windows and the decks, do laundry, generally prepare the 4 bedroom home, + Meet n Greet + is 'on call' if the guests need anything or to manage emergency, + exit walk-thru. Does this seem high or reasonable?

Munsterfan

I must say that in 6 years the owners have never had a 'bad' holiday guest as the Service does a very good 'vetting' process ..... just curious about the seemingly high fees charged by the couple on the ground here in Portugal

MrBife

Any 'half awake' company can fill a holiday property for the ten weeks of summer season - the real value of an external company is what they can do with the other 40. Fully understand your interest in passing on the hassles but a bigger management company will have longer term rentals, they will be investing in IT that feeds trip advisor and a list of a dozen major portals to drive in some business outside main season.

There are hundreds of new managers moving over to coinicide with the completion of the new Ikea centre near you and they will probably not be contacting your Dutch couple.

Opinion

Mr Bife- Isn't the minimum wage in Portugal around €500 per month? If so, how is a pain from a property management company €11-12 per hour? Just asking, as it seems strange.

We've stayed in the same villa for the past 4 years. First year was something like €550 for the week, as it was its first season as a villa. After that and I guess based on the positive reviews the next three years we've paid €1,400 a week (middle/late June) The lady that owns the villa also owns another in the same "hamlet", 10 minutes outside Albufiera, lovely lady that comes in and cleans and is always around if you need anything. From our conversations it sounds like James Villa take a fairly big chunk of what we pay.

MrBife

Maids in the Algarve area receive between €7.50 and €10 per hour and generally work really hard for it + provide their own transport, the main income period being the holiday season which for most is ten weeks at that rate. However winter hours are a much more sparse so it evens out over the year. Property management company pay the National Insurance, pay the maids their holiday pay and add a margin for overheads and profit hence the €12

Munsterfan

My question is not about the pay of maids but about cost of a trustworthy service which includes "Meet-Greet" + cleaning + laundry, general preparing (decks, lightbulbs, fix small things) + the exit review and the being 'on call' service. For example Meet & Greet usually takes 1-hour : check their ID matches the one sent with the rental application, go over house rules & show guests how everything operates IE washing machine, safe, dishwasher, aircon, safety and emergency instructions, review Welcome Book with information for walks, events, restaurants etc., go over the pool stuff and so on. Then being available in case something breaks or they need advice/help. Is this service worth 15% of rental fee or even 10%? Just curious....

MrBife

The only way to really know the answer to your question is to do the job yourself for the first season, you may decide that the hassle of the night time calls, nitpicking from unreasonable guests that will try anything to get a discount, arranging and supervising repairs, arranging taxis, sorting out medical emergencies, handling all client questions day and night is well worth the financial saving.

MrBife

The only way to really know the answer to your question is to do the job yourself for the first season, you may decide that the hassle of the night time calls, nitpicking from unreasonable guests that will try anything to get a discount, arranging and supervising repairs, arranging taxis, sorting out medical emergencies, handling all client questions day and night is well worth the financial saving.

Munsterfan

Yes Mr. Bife, you are right, at this level of weekly rental rate most folks don't ask for a discount they only want excellent service IE spotless home, perhaps the deck swept of leaves each morning, WiFi working, sheets ironed, windows and pool sparkling and in some cases introduction to the interesting things of area, good restaurants etc. So yes I think peace of mind + happy guests are worth a lot. But is there a going 'rate' for the ' Meet & Greet' holiday let 'management service that does NOT include the advertising or booking service like OwnersDirect does. The other end of managment service the on-the-ground stuff.

RichardHenshall

The cost of the service you seek to provide isn't significantly related to the price your clients pay, in the sense that meet & greet etc in August shouldn't cost more than the same in April or October - though you will likely charge your guests more in August. Is meet & greet for a 2-week booking twice as time-consuming as meet & greet for a 1-week booking?

Linking what you're prepared to pay to your rental income may mean you pay too much in peak season vs. low season or for longer bookings vs. shorter bookings.

Munsterfan

good point richard

jdell

Hi . Are you listed on AirBnB ? They do a much better job of vetting than any Management company. World wide advertising and all year bookings . You will have to do a bit of work answering emails ,but it's not difficult . Find a good housekeeper for the changeovers and a handyman for the pool/garden and odd jobs . AirBnB guests don't expect a meet and greet and they have lodged a damage deposit with the site -so are very respectful of your property . I am 3 years listed and never had a problem or had to claim the damage deposit . They charge 5% and my housekeeper is 10e per hour . I use a lock box for the key .