Most holiday rental managers in Marbella promise the same things: more bookings, happy guests, no work for you. The differences are in the contract and in the numbers, and they only show when you ask. Below are the ten questions we would ask if we were handing over our own keys, what a good answer sounds like, and how we answer each one ourselves.
Ask every manager on your shortlist the same questions, in writing, and compare the answers side by side.
1. What is your fee, and what is it taken from?
The rate alone tells you little. Two managers can both say "20%" and leave you with different amounts, because one takes it from everything the guest pays, cleaning fee included, and the other from the nights only. Ask whether VAT is on top, too.
A good answer names the rate, the base and the VAT in one sentence.
Ours: 18% + VAT of the nightly rate, the cleaning fee excluded. On a week of €2,000 for the nights, our fee is €360 + VAT. The full breakdown is in our cost guide.
2. What will I actually receive from a typical booking?
Net income matters more than the commission. Ask for one booking worked through to the euro: what the guest pays, the platform's commission, cleaning, the manager's fee, VAT, and what reaches you.
A good answer is a worked example with real channel commissions, not a headline percentage.
Ours: a seven-night stay on Booking.com, €2,000 for the nights plus €80 for cleaning, leaves you €1,215 after Booking.com's commission, cleaning, our fee and VAT. Booked direct, with no channel commission, the same week leaves you €1,548. The largest deduction is the platform's, not ours.
3. What will my home earn over a whole year, quiet months included?
Summer sells itself on the Costa del Sol. What separates managers is November to February. A forecast that only gives a yearly total can hide a thin winter. Here is what the market earns month by month, by area.
A good answer is a forecast for your home, by season, with the occupancy and nightly rate behind it.
Ours: we prepare a rental forecast for your home by hand, at no cost. Ask us to show the winter months on their own and we will. We price every night with PriceLabs, the dynamic pricing tool, and adjust minimum stays to the season.
4. Is the contract exclusive?
Many contracts give the manager sole rights to the home. Ask exactly what that covers: the booking platforms only, or every booking, including your own guests and other agencies.
A good answer says what is exclusive and what stays yours.
Ours: exclusive on the booking channels only. While we manage the home, we are the only ones listing it on Airbnb, Booking.com and the other platforms. Bookings from anywhere else are yours to take, including one from another agency when it suits you; you just block the dates.
5. How long am I tied in, and what happens to bookings if I leave?
Look for the minimum term, the notice period and automatic renewals in the contract itself, not only on the website.
A good answer gives the notice period and says what happens to bookings already made.
Ours: no minimum term. You can leave at any time with one month's notice, and bookings already made are honoured, even when the stay falls after you leave.
6. What do I pay on top of the fee?
Cleaning, linen, laundry, consumables, maintenance call-outs, photography, onboarding: these are where a low headline fee can become an expensive one.
A good answer is a list of everything paid separately, with who sets the price.
Ours: no onboarding fee. The guest pays the cleaning fee and all of it goes to the cleaners. Repairs are charged at cost for materials, with the receipt, and labour per job. Photography only if the home needs it, quoted first.
7. Who decides on repairs?
A manager needs to fix a dripping tap before the next guest arrives without waiting for you. A new boiler is a different matter.
A good answer separates the small jobs they handle at once from the bigger ones that wait for your approval.
Ours: small repairs we sort on the spot. For anything bigger, we send you the quote first and wait for your OK. Every repair appears on your monthly statement with its invoice.
8. Who handles the tourist licence, and does my community allow holiday lets?
Every holiday rental in Andalusia needs its own tourist licence (VUT) in the owner's name. Since April 2025, a new licence in a building with a community of owners also needs the community's approval. Check this before you sign anything.
A good answer says who registers the licence and who checks the community's position.
Ours: the licence stays in your name. If your home doesn't have one yet, we handle the registration, including your community's approval where the law asks for it.
9. How and when am I paid, and what can I see?
Ask when money reaches you, what document comes with it, and whether you can see bookings as they happen.
A good answer gives a payout date, a statement with invoices and live access to the calendar.
Ours: between the 1st and the 5th of each month, for the month before, with a statement and every invoice attached. You can see each booking and block your own dates at any time.
10. Can I speak to an owner you already work with?
A manager's own case studies are a start, but an owner with a similar home will tell you what the brochure won't.
A good answer is a name and a phone number.
Ours: yes. Ask when we send your forecast and we'll put you in touch with an owner whose home is like yours.
The short version
Put the answers side by side in a table: fee and base, net from one example week, a year's forecast with the winter shown, exclusivity, notice period, extras, repairs, licence, payout and a reference. The manager with the lowest percentage is not always the one that leaves you the most.
Get our answers for your home
We will prepare a rental forecast for your home, by hand, with the nights, rate and net income we expect, at no cost. Get your free rental forecast.