Do property managers charge me or the property owner when I book a vacation rental through them? Are property managers available 24/7 if there is every a problem?
Thanks
Nick, management companies usually charge the property owners. But, that really does not matter, because ultimately the renter will pay those fees as vacation home owners will increase their prices to cover the management fees. So the main difference in general is that if you rent directly through the owner you will save 20-40%.
To book beautiful vacation rentals directly with the owners, I recommend the portal I work for at: MasterpieceRentals.com
Luxury Vacation Rentals by Owner
Why do management companies charge so much? Besides listing properies on vacation rental portals which is very cheap, what else do they do? If something needs to get fixed, doesn't the homeowner pay for the repairs? I can't seem to understand their high fees.
We are a rental management company in Ontario Canada, and charge between 10% and 23% for our services depending on the property. We only charge for the times we have rented; do not charge any set-up or advertising fee, and have a sliding scale of rental rates for longer term rentals.
Our owner clients use us because they don't want to deal with hundreds of emails and phone calls; manage rental agreements and money collection, or screening renters. They are busy people whose time is valuable and don't wish to use it on tasks that we are experienced in handling. We market and advertise in many more ways than listing properties on vacation rental portals. We use traditional print advertising; create TV and radio campaigns and market our properties at Cottage Shows. We have the buying power to get the message out about our properties to many more people than an individual might.
Many of our owners have been with us for years and appreciate we can bring them quality renter clients and increase their occupancy in the low and shoulder seasons, subsequently improving their overall income.
As with any purchase, you need to know what you are getting for your money, so if you are looking for a management company, ask plenty of questions and take up references. Using this type of service is not for everyone, but for those who want to be free of the hassle, I believe it is a great solution.
Heather
Visit Cottage Blogger for news, views and comment for vacation rental owners
Hi Nick,
In competitive vacation rental destinations the market will set the rates and owners and management companies will need to set prices that are competitive or they won’t rent. I have a management company in the Orlando Florida market that has over 10,000 homes available to rent. I do not get just choose my rates, the market place tells me what I need to price the homes at in order to rent them.
In our market like most there is a very large variation in the quality of the homes in the marketplace. Most good management companies would not rent out a home that is in bad condition or needing repair since there companies name would be affected long-term. In Orlando our vacation homes have private swimming pools and our season is for the most part year around so most good companies management companies operate more like hotels with 24 hour 7 day a week service to the homes.
No consumer should over pay for any rental home or hotel, but everyone should understand you get what you pay for and nothing is free. The benefit of vacation rentals is there is a vacation rental for almost every budget and expectations of quality and service.
I hope this helps.
Brian Brannigan
Florida Spirit Vacation Homes
Brian's response is spot-on. I particularly want to support his comment that prices must be set competitively or they won't rent. We too set our rates in line with what the market place in our area dictates.
I also manage properties in the Disney Orlando area. Our management fees start at $75 monthly so if you divide that by 4 weeks, I feel this is not an expensive amount. I and some management companies are on call 24/7 and things to happen in the middle of the night, so we do answer our calls then and sometimes have to go and see what the problems are with all our guests. Checking the homes weekly when vacant, making sure the lawn, the pool and everything else is up to standards is not an easy job!
We are all humans and try our best and hopefully owners can find the right management companies to fit their needs.
Regards
Patti
Vacation Villa Rentals and Mgmt
http://www.funfilledfloridaholidays.com
You pay either way. I recommend using the property owners, who most times are also their own property managers, if the place you are interested in has their own website. I've rented through property management companies; sometimes they have a 24/7 phone #. But the last time we used one, it was a joke. The owner told us that in the future we could just contact him & rent from him directly. The management company did nothing the entire week we were there. Called them daily.
We own a vacation rental, located on our 100+ acre property in B.C., and we manage it ourselves.
www.WolfCreekRentals.com
In Florida you are obligated to either have a care taker or Management. That is what is so great about our country, you can choose and as i know sometimes you have to go thru a few, eventually you will find the one that suites your needs and one that is honest.
If you own a home and you do not live hear how can you possibly help your guests? Especially if there is an emergency! I do agree most managements do not answer their phones, and do not help what so ever but as i said before sometimes It takes trial and error to find the correct one.
Vacation Villa Rentals