Expected Running costs

Expected Running costs

When a home joins our group, we use our experience to work out the expected revenue for that home, and let you know the average Running Costs to expect when holiday renting your home. These Running Costs are deducted from the monthly income and listed on your Statement (see How to read your Monthly Statement for more details).


As per our communication before joining our group, we know from experience and lots of data, that the Annual Return to owners (paid monthly), is an average of 65% - 70% of the sum of Gross Rental for all stays at your home. Of course, this means that some bookings/months will generate higher % net returns to owners (e.g. Moto GP, NYE, January bookings) and some will be lower (e.g. 2-night stays and Winter bookings).

As per that previous correspondence, “This [average] would usually exclude setup costs (such as linen, photography, etc) or any major works.” Another factor that can impact an owner's net returns are how often they use the home for an Owners Booking and get a cleaner through afterwards (i.e. a booking that generates zero income but incurs a cleaning cost).

Expected Running Costs can be thought of as Direct (created by a specific booking) or Indirect (part of the running costs of having a Holiday Rental). These could include (but are not limited to):


Direct Running Costs

Our Commission of 14% - 16% + GST (this represents about half of your Expected Running Costs)

The cleaning fee after each booking (a fixed cost per stay)

3rd party service fees (Refer to Pricing Your Home for more detail)

Indirect Running Costs

Laundering doona covers/mattress protectors (Refer to Linen for more detail)

Consumables (see Consumables for more detail)

Lawn mowing/garden services (when requested)

Pool/spa services (where appropriate)

Where you request us to send a handyman/tradie out

The cost to get a handyman/tradie out when trouble shooting with guests is not successful (seeTroubleshooting with Guests for more information)

The need to get bins emptied by contractors (see Rubbish for more detail)

Replacement costs for the inevitable attrition/degradation of linen over time (see Linen for more detail)

Replacement costs for items in your home where the cost is not able to be claimed from guests, or comes about because of wear and tear (see Claiming Funds from Guests for more detail)



Aside from these costs, owners will of course have costs associated with the use of their home (for themselves or guests) in the form of utilities (electricity, gas, water), body corporate fees (where applicable), etc. These costs are paid by the Owner directly.

If your home has bottled gas (for the hot water system, stovetop or plumbed-in BBQ gas), we will arrange for the local gas supplier to swap empty bottles, and you will receive the invoice directly from the gas supplier for you to pay. Gas bottles for your BBQ (if applicable) fall under Consumables and we will arrange them to be swapped over (often without additional charge) and the cost of the swap-n-go added to your monthly statement.

One tool we use to determine how a home is tracking, is to take the previous 12 months of Income and Expenses (from the monthly Statements, remembering to remove any costs for setup, cleaning after owner bookings, etc) and determine the % net rental. We would encourage you to look at this data regularly, and to be mindful that the net % return in May – August will be very different from September – April, and a full year average is the only way to get an accurate picture of how a home is tracking.

If you ever have questions about any of these Expected Running Costs, please let us know.


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