How much does a co host get paid?

[Chad-and-Noel0]

Hi,

My husband and i have a listing but we are going to be very bussy in the future months and we were thinking in getting someone to co host our place while we are busy or out of town?

Our question is;

How much does a co host gets paid? 

Thanks in advance !

[Welcome0]

To manage and clean a place takes a lot of work. It should be profitable for both the absent owner Host and a Co-Host manager. The Co-Host who assumes all the tasks to run and operate an Airbnb has 24/7 responsibility of the business and should be compensated properly. Probably 50/50% is acceptable and a fairer share. It all depends on the number of bookings. 

The owner Host can write off expenses associated with the running of the business for AC/heat, electric, products, etc. 

[Karen605]

@Welcome0 Now that I think about it, I probably am not getting enough as a co-host.  I do everything except personally clean it after each guest. I do coordinate the cleaners though. I'm  only  charging 20% and 50% seems alot fairer. I think I did not advocate for myself enough!

Now I'm bummed!  Karen

[Welcome0]

@Karen605  So, who is paying for the cleaning? If the Host is paying it, than I think you're receiving a fair amount. It all depends how frequently there is a turnaround.  I would set up minimum stay 3 days. The biggest job is the cleaning. It takes me 7 hours to clean, do laundry, and prep an apartment. It doesn't make too much of a difference weather I've had 6 guests or 2 guests.  The whole apartment must be cleaned, etc. 

[Karen605]

She pays for the cleaning. I just manage the folks that come in to do the cleaning.

We have a min of 2 nights and we are gettig busier with the warmer months upon us. Our occupancy is about 75%. I also provide home baked chocoalte chip cookies or brownies and a bottle of wine!

[Sarah977]

@Karen605   If I were co-hosting, I'd work out how many hours my work entailed on average, how much I was willing to work for per hour, then come up with an appropriate precentage which reflects that. At 20%, what do you end up making per hour? $2, $10, $20? Not asking you to give me that figure, just suggesting you work it out that way to deduce whether it's worth your while to do at the current percentage.  If you're only making $2/hr, for instance, when all is said and done, (not to mention being a reliable person who the host can count on, which also has value, just not one you can assign a particular monetary value to) I would think that being able to present that fact to a host, rather than just saying you want to be paid a higher percentage, might meet with a better outcome. If a host has in fact never done any of the things you are doing for them, they may have little idea of how much time you are actually putting in.

[Karen605]

Thank you for that suggestion Sarah.  I appreiciate that.

[Sarah977]

@Karen605   It also seems to me that a great co-host who goes above and beyond for the guests (like you saying you do home-baking for the guests) results in great reviews, which in turn leads to more bookings. So a stellar co-host is pretty much the one who is responsible for the $ that is rolling in if the host doesn't really interact with the guests at all. Off-site hosts should realize that and show appreciation by paying well.

[Betsy16]

@Welcome0 I read your response, I am only charging 10% before and fees. We get $125 to clean and do all the laundry. I am on call 24/7. I am attached to my phone on vacations etc. I always have my phone. 
The owner pays for supplies, utilities and anything that goes wrong. 

[Sonja349]

I am trying to determine what an appropriate co-hosting payment should be. I plan to discuss it with my co-host as well.

I have heard of rates varying from 7% - 50% . Some as high as 75%

I think the following question might be important questions to discuss:
Is the co-host handling all the bookings, replies, emails, etc for you?
Is the co-host handling the cleaning? 

Is the co-host handling simple maintenance?

Are they on-call for the guests?

I handle all the cleaning (I pay a cleaning company), bookings, and emails.

My co-host is on call for guests questions, once they arrive, when I am not available. My co-host does not do cleaning, maintenance, bookings or initial replies. However, we do discuss hosting requests and he helps guide me on what to lookout for when adhering to Airbnb guidelines.

I thought 10% would be reasonable under the circumstances as there is very little profit. Enough to cover cleanings, maintenance, and supplies. I handle most of the maintenance myself as it relates to small repairs or installations around the home. I pay contractors to repair or install what I am not equipped to handle. 

For example with my last booking the co-host responded to a need for batteries, greeted the guest with me upon arrival , and collected the keys upon departure. He is an amazing friend and resource.

What do you think? 

I thought 10% might be reasonable.

[Paul1255]

Hi @Sonja349  I hope you’re well!

It sounds like your co-host’s duties are pretty much limited to checking guests in and out, and being on call in case of the guest needing something on the ground.

If that’s the case it might be a good idea to pay a set $ fee for each booking, covering checking in and out-  and agreeing on a set hourly $ rate in case a guest needs support during their stay.

[Sonja349]

Thank you, Paul.

[Sarah977]

@Sonja349  I've never had a co-host as I home-share, but it seems to me that the fairest way to work out payment for a co-host is to make a list of the tasks you need the co-host to handle, as you have done, and then assess how much time, on average, those tasks will take. If the average is 1 hour per night booked, for instance, you look at how much is a reasonable per hour rate that is at least a living wage for your area.  Some areas of a country or the world have much higher cost of living than others, and the going rate for services rendered varies greatly.

Once you figure out a reasonable hourly rate, you can translate that to a percentage of the nightly fee. So if it takes 1 hour per night on average, an hour of time is worth $10, and you charge $100/night, then 10% is reasonable.

And then you also have to factor in that it's not just the time itself put in, but the value of having someone trustworthy you can rely on to be available whenever needed. Some guests require a lot of hand-holding, others are quite self-sufficient and you never hear from them during the stay.

[Jennifer2682]

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[Jennifer2682]

@David126 Because they're still making more money than if they weren't renting it at all and if they have a co-host managing it, they are doing minimal work for it. 

[Tamika6]

If anyone is looking for a co-host in the Chicagoland area, please feel free to contact me.