Hosting for Out of Country Property Owners

[Kristin1292]

I have my own air bnb however this year I took on hosting for a property owner who is out of the country for the year.  I am looking for some guidance from you if you are in a similar situation regarding what you charge and what is included in that price.  I am currently charging a flat fee of $200 per booking which in our agreement includes "advertise property online, meet with tenants, inspect property for repairs, purchase new items as needed and issue payment to vendors such as for lawn care and housekeeping".

The homeowner I am working with messages me on FB Messenger almost daily talking about how she's constantly doing research on how to maximize income.  I tell her whatever she'd like to do with the prices and lengths of stay I will accommodate but never gives me any instruction and continues to just discuss any possible thought she may have about this house and the listing which is very time consuming. 

A bigger issue than that is that I am running all aspects of this woman's house and life here in the US - including receiving her mail to my house, transmitting it to her, receiving and issuing payment for invoices for not only the handyman and cleaner as in the agreement, but also sending out payments such as for oil delivery, depositing checks into her US checking account, setting up tree removal services, setting up and being present for homeowner insurance inspections, contacting contractors and meeting them at the house for bids to add central air to the house, and her latest request is that I plant strawberries in the vegetable boxes in the back yard, which I told her I am not going to do.  

So please, if anyone has any experience hosting this type of situation, I would be very interested in chatting about what services should be included in my flat fee and what should be billed separately.  

THANK YOU! 

[Emilie]

Hi @Kristin1292, 

That sounds like a challenging situation, how are you getting on since you last shared your experience with us here? 

I'd love to hear from you, hopefully you've made some progress towards finding more sustainable ways of working with this person, or other Hosts here might have some more advice for you soon. 🙂

Emilie 

[Kristen402]

@Kristin1292, this looks almost identical situation as mine, I would LOVE to hear if/how you've reached resolution because I'm quite nearly at my breaking point. I'm shocked by the parallels to my own situation; please email me (if/when you have time, naturally).

**[E-mail address removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines] You're not gonna believe it 

[Jenny]

Hey @Kristen402,

Just a quick note to let you know that we had to remove your email address from your post, as it's against our Community Center guidelines to share personal contact information on a public forum.  If you're keen to have a discussion with @Kristin1292 or pass on contact info, then you can do that by sending a private message.  Let me know if you need any help on how to do that!

Jenny

[Kristen402]

thanks, @Jenny , i didnt't know!

[Helen3]

It's up to you as the business owner to agree rates for the work you do. 

if the host is asking for services outside of your agreed contract then just remind her what's inside and outside the scope of your contract and if the services they want are outside of your contract let them know what the additional charges might be . 

it's up to you to decide what services you include and which ones you charge additional ly for 

Like many costs I charge a percentage not s flat fee. 

I'm a cohost and I wouldn't pay for a hosts supplier invoices . They should be invoicing the host directly 

[Fred13]

@Kristin1292 The dilemma appears to be that your arrangement crosses the line back and forth between being simply employed by the owner to accommodate and handle guests to getting involved with all aspects of her personal life and business. And is constantly moving, subject to her imagination and enthusiasm.

   The original intent appears to be to take care of the meeting the tenants and pointing them in the right direction, but the minute you get into "advertise property online,  " or "purchase new items as needed and issue payment to vendors such as for lawn care and housekeeping" then it requires a more complicated arrangement, as in you having an open account belonging to her but you can use the money for managerial purposes.

    I suspect this is the usual morphing between starting one way and slowly is becoming something else. Deadly straight communications between parties is paramount in these situations.