Free rent for House manager vs Property Manager fee

[Debra108]

I currently manage an Airbnb property for a friend who lives abroad. I occupy one bedroom in the property and rent out the remaining three through Airbnb. As the host, I handle the listing, finances, taxes, and some of the expenses such as a portion of utilities, supplies, and repairs. In exchange, I receive free rent. I am curious to know the average cost of hiring a professional property manager for an Airbnb and if receiving free rent is a fair compensation for the responsibilities I have taken on. Can anyone share their experiences or insights on this topic?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Debra108 the expensive managers charge around 20%. If you do cleaning perhaps a greater fee is justified. That said 20% for a few hours on a computer may be excessive.

[Debra108]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 ,

I do a lot more than spend a few hours on a computer.  In fact, spending time on the computer is the least time consuming thing I do! 🙂

I clean up the kitchen every night, making sure it is clean for the guests in the morning. I am responsible for the repairs in the house, and sometimes I pay for them. I check-in the guests, and orient them.  I shop for supplies, keeping the house stocked with consumables. 

Do you still think 20% is excessive?

[Jeanette428]

You should be be getting paid to do that and free rent . I do all computer work and clean and I charge $150 a day 5 days a week .

[Debra108]

Hi Jeanette,

We pay someone to fully clean the house once a month.  I do spot cleaning in between.

[Inna22]

@Debra108 as @Mike-And-Jane0 said co-host or co-hosting companies usually charge 20%. There is usually a minimum in place. If the rooms go for $40 a night, it will be hard to find someone to do the work for $4 a day (depending on the location of course). This does not include cleaning. It is my understanding that if an owner puts some effort into the search, they can usually find someone for about 10%. I hope this helps

[Debra108]

Thank you for your response!

[Lorna170]

@Debra108  When I used a property manager, they charged 25% of the gross rent.  They also charged extra for cleaning, troubleshooting guest complaints (like changing a light bulb) and collecting and disbursing the rent and completing tax reports.  Very expensive.

What is the average rent for a room in a shared house in your area?  Have you tracked the number of hours you spend on average on the computer, handling the turnovers and being available to the other guests?

[Debra108]

Hello @Lorna170,

Thank you for your response. 

The average rent for a room in this area is probably between $750 and $900/month.  I haven't really kept track on the amount of time I spend taking care of the Airbnb.  Maybe it averages to about 10 hours a week: keeping the house clean, being available to guests, etc.

[Helen3]

Why are you paying for consumables associated with the listing rather than charging them back for the listing owner @Debra108 ? 

[Debra108]

Hi Helen,

Since I also live in the house, I pay 1/4 of the consumables, except those that get used by the Airbnb guests.  Does that make sense?

Thanks,

Debbie

[Helen3]

Not really the owners should be handling and paying for the utilities and then you pay the owner for your proportion of the utilities @Debra108 

[Jason114]

Hi @Debra108, In most cases short-term rental property managers charge around 20% of the accommodation fare as their ongoing management fee. In addition, they usually retain the cleaning fees collected from Airbnb to pay cleaners and cover turnover costs, separate from their commission.

Since you have a closer, more personal arrangement with the owner, free rent can be a fair trade-off depending on the property's rental value and workload.. but in a strictly professional setup, managers would typically receive both commission and cleaning fee handling rather than free lodging.

[Helen3]

Are you a cohost @Jason114  your profile shows you as being a guest rather than a host or cohost - so wondering how you know what cohosts charge (which actually varies widely depending on location and support offered) .

[Jason114]

Hi @Helen3 I started back in 2012 renting out a spare bedroom on Airbnb. From there, I expanded into renting out my own properties, and eventually moved into full-scale property management for other owners where my rental activity was transitioned onto a separate account ...but you should still be able to see previous reviews from further back on this account by selecting "show more reviews" on my profile. Today, I run an accounting firm with a lot of clients in the space.. I've seen just about every scenario and pricing structure, and so I often have insights to share on both hosting and accounting best practices.