Managing my neighbour's property - what to charge?
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:16 pm
Hi
I am not sure if this is in the best forum - I am sorry if it isn't.
We have a niche property in a place so remote that there are no full service management companies nearby. I market it myself (PR, social media, advertising on commission-based sites and listings sites, etc), and I have an local manager who manages the practical side of things, organises the cleaners, etc.
Our new neighbour is thinking of turning the building next door to us into a holiday let so she can stay there sometimes and get an income off it the rest of the time. We sleep six in three rooms, she would sleep three in two rooms, so we don't compete directly.
I am worried a badly run cottage next door will confuse guests, damage our brand and reduce our star rating on Google, Bing, etc and even on Tripadvisor if guests review the wrong cottage. She's quite naive about what's involved, so I certainly think it's possible these things could go awry.
I've offered to provide a full marketing and management service under my own branding and using my manager and cleaners - essentially to run and manage it as if I owned it. I see this as a way to protect myself and my brand from reputational damage.
My question is - what should I charge?
She would do literally nothing except receive a payment and some management reports each month, and pay her insurance, the utilities and any repairs. I and my team would do everything else.
I know that Airsorted (as was) and similar hosting companies charge 12% - 15% but that wouldn't cover the cleaning costs for a weekend stay, and short breaks are the name of the game.
When it comes to the marketing side I am even more uncertain. What percentage ranges do places charge for a full marketing service? Booking.com charge 17.5%, so I assume it's more than that for a full marketing service.
Any advice on what Sykes, Cottages.com etc charge and the services they offer would be very much appreciated.
I want to be fair to both of us - this has the potential to be a long term relationship so we both need to be happy with whatever we agree.
Thanks in advance
Aphra
[Edited for sense]
I am not sure if this is in the best forum - I am sorry if it isn't.
We have a niche property in a place so remote that there are no full service management companies nearby. I market it myself (PR, social media, advertising on commission-based sites and listings sites, etc), and I have an local manager who manages the practical side of things, organises the cleaners, etc.
Our new neighbour is thinking of turning the building next door to us into a holiday let so she can stay there sometimes and get an income off it the rest of the time. We sleep six in three rooms, she would sleep three in two rooms, so we don't compete directly.
I am worried a badly run cottage next door will confuse guests, damage our brand and reduce our star rating on Google, Bing, etc and even on Tripadvisor if guests review the wrong cottage. She's quite naive about what's involved, so I certainly think it's possible these things could go awry.
I've offered to provide a full marketing and management service under my own branding and using my manager and cleaners - essentially to run and manage it as if I owned it. I see this as a way to protect myself and my brand from reputational damage.
My question is - what should I charge?
She would do literally nothing except receive a payment and some management reports each month, and pay her insurance, the utilities and any repairs. I and my team would do everything else.
I know that Airsorted (as was) and similar hosting companies charge 12% - 15% but that wouldn't cover the cleaning costs for a weekend stay, and short breaks are the name of the game.
When it comes to the marketing side I am even more uncertain. What percentage ranges do places charge for a full marketing service? Booking.com charge 17.5%, so I assume it's more than that for a full marketing service.
Any advice on what Sykes, Cottages.com etc charge and the services they offer would be very much appreciated.
I want to be fair to both of us - this has the potential to be a long term relationship so we both need to be happy with whatever we agree.
Thanks in advance
Aphra
[Edited for sense]