Fair compensation for co-host

[Diane452]

What is considered to be fair compensation for a co-host? Before I went away for 2 weeks vacation, I had blocked those two weeks from reservations. I currently have two long term guests - one staying 3 days a week for the entire summer, and the other every day since the beginning of July. We had discussed whether I should unblock the dates of my vacation so that I still may get reservations, and it was agreed that it was a good idea, so I  made one of my guests the co-host. (She is a periodic guest since December, so it is not like she is a stranger.) I added her as co-host on Airbnb and she was able to accept her duties on 2 listings but her computer crashed before she could accept the third. Long and short of it is that it was a lot of work, more than she expected. Now she tells me that her running the B&B prevented her from other jobs she may have been able to accept, prevented her from going to interviews, etc.  Today she approached me and demanded MORE than what the B&B took in during those two weeks. Am I wrong in thinking that 50% of the proceeds would have been fair compensation LESS what she owed for her room. She did buy food for guests rather than use the food that I had here because she preferred her way of cooking, which is fine. I am willing to compensate her for the food she bought.

What is fair compensation for a co-host in this situation? She won't hear me when I tell her the house is mine - all she is thinking is that she was tied down to this house. I want to be fair, but I don't think she should get everything that came in those two weeks. HELP!!!!

[Emilia42]

@Diane452, Of course she shouldn't get everything! ... you still had to cover all the bills for utilities, taxes, etc. in YOUR house while she/the guests used it for 2 weeks. For my co-hosting responsibilities, I get 30% of the bookings + the cleaning fees + reimbursement for any purchases that I need to make for the house. I think that is very generous. 

[Diane452]

Thank you Emilia! Does anyone have any thoughts on whether to charge her for her room (which I don't normally rent out to guests, but have been letting her rent for $10 a day)? 

[Kenneth12]

In brief:  well,  first,  I'd never do this  for an ABB guest.    TaskRabbit,   Craigslist,  something to find people to get tasks done,  but  I'd never allow a guest to become part of operations and thus confuse their role.

How hard is it to get set up as a co-host?   Her computer crashed?  Really?  Sounds like a piece of work there!  (If I have a computer issue I'll let clients know... with an apology... it's my responsibility to be prepared to get things done).

Next,   her reasoning sounds entitled and inappropriate.   Surely she did not lose such opportunities;  that's just hogwash offered as fine whine to accompany an ill-begotten negotaiation for your money.

At most,  1/3rd of profits is appropriate since you own the house,  and are thus supplying the majority of the capital and taking on most of the risk.  Likely,  1/4 or less is appropriate.

Once you've calculated appropriate compensation,   that can be applied to her housing cost at standard rates;  she shouldn't be double-dipping,  and getting both compensation that is high and a very generous discount on housing.

Sounds like she's attempting to take advantage of you,  despite your terms already being beyond generous;  compensation should always be worked out in advance,  of course.

[Diane452]

Thank you for your insight, Kenneth!

She was not an ABB guest, but that is beside the point.

As far as compensating her, she offered her help and when I told her I would make sure she got compensated, she said not to, that this was going to be good for her in that she likes to stay busy. I won't even get into how she rearranged things in the rooms, and all of my personal stash of food that she served up or made available to guests.

[Sarah977]

@Diane452  I think your mistake here was leaving the payment arrangement vague. This was a business deal and needed to be dealt with in a businesslike way, i.e. a contract. 

As far as how much a co-host gets paid, it would depend on what exactly they are doing, there is no cut and dried amount. Obviously a co-host who takes care of everything related to hosting would get paid more than one who simply meets and greets the guests, manages a 3rd party cleaner, etc. But her duties and the payment for them should have been clearly agreed upon beforehand, not after the fact.

[Lisa723]

@Diane452 seconding others that you should always have a written agreement before entering into any co-hosting setup. But to answer your question, 25%-35% seems to be the range, plus cleaning fees (assuming they handle the cleaning), and reimbursement of any expenses.

[Helen3]

And of course she should be paying rent and bills for her room.

[Emily487]

@Diane452 

I have no idea what other co-hosts make. I am the co-host/cleaner for one three bedroom apartment. We have self-check in but I do live nearby and can walk over if a guest needs me (this has happened only 2 times in 250 bookings). I make the cleaning fee - $60/booking. This is 2 hours of cleaning, coverage for laundry since I do it at my house, and a few bucks just to get it to a round number. If I get breakfast or cleaning supplies while I'm already at the store, the host can PayPal me the amount back to me. I also do all the listing details, adjust the pricing as needed, messaging with guests, etc. 

[Lisa723]

@Emily487  you are underpaid.

[Emily487]

@Lisa723 Well, I was 2nd grade public school teacher before this so I'm used to being underpaid, cleaning up after people who really should know bette, and explaining things with bullet points. Really though, it's usually super fun since I'm a stay at home mom right now, and the host helps me in a million other ways so I feel pretty lucky. I just wish that the other neighborhood AirBnBs had staggered check-in times so I could do the same thing for someone else. 

[Diane452]

Ok, so I made a mistake in not drafting a contract. She told me she did not want compensation and I told her that she WOULD be compensated, but not for how much. I did not put anything in writing, so I admit to that huge mistake. My profit from the time she cohosted was approximately $650, which includes several guests who had 2-night stays. She owed me $290 in back "rent." I owe her $33 for breakfast foods she purchased for guests. She greeted the guests, took it upon herself to decide the house was not clean enough (despite my ratings that say otherwise)and cleaned it AGAIN, plus did the laundry and dishes (I don't have a dishwasher); I handled the reservations and let her know as soon as a reservation came in.  I figured I would give her 50% of the profit plus her costs, less her rent. Thus: $325 + $33 - $290 = $68. I gave her $200. Am I being unreasonable in thinking $200 should be enough?

[Lisa723]

@Diane452 what are you counting as "profit"?

If she were my co-host she would get

- 100% of cleaning fees, or if you do not charge an explicit cleaning fee, for each stay $35 x the number of hours you think are reasonably required to clean the space

- 100% reimbursement for groceries

- 25-30% of gross rental income after subtracting cleaning payment (not "profit") 

Rent she owes you is an entirely separate matter.

[Emily487]

@Diane452 

This isn't going to end well for you. She DEMANDED more money than you took in? That is not okay and she is not an okay person to have in your life and in your house. If she is a guest and co-host, she may choose to use CS to her advantage, leave you a bad review, and just make your hosting life miserable. Thank her for all of her wonderful help, tell her how amazing she has been, pay her whatever you decide, decline any attempts at extending her stay, and then find someone else who can be your co-host.

[Diane452]

It's like this - I have three rooms, ranging in price from $35-$48, and I do not charge a cleaning fee since I usually do it all myself. I only had her fill in while I went on vacation. She is not an Airbnb guest, but was listed as cohost for those two weeks, and has since been removed. I told her that she was asking for more than what I earned. She then told me that she asked some of the guests how much they paid for their rooms and they named substantially higher prices, therefore that is how she based what she was asking for. She said that I would not have made anything at all if it were not for her, yet she asked for all of it and then some- which means I would not make anything at all. What I consider profit is my take after Airbnb takes the service charge. I do not count my own time as a deduction from the profit. 

On top of that she told me that as far as she was concerned, she did not owe anything for her room. She has since vacated the premises but is staying with a neighbor. I thought I knew her and believed her to be trustworthy because she has stayed here on three separate occasions in the last 7 months, ranging anywhere from a few weeks to a month. 

Regardless of how this ends, lesson learned. The next time I go on vacation, I will just block the dates. Period.