Managing a property for someone else

[Proud Texan]

DW and I have actually been approached by two different individuals with the thought of us running a facility for them. These would actually be whole house rentals with a stocked kitchen etc. Our B&B has really taken off and I guess others want in on the action. We would, in essence become a booking agency for ours and other's property.
I can see this as a positive thing because we can only accommodate 4 people at a time; whereas these facilities could handle many more. These houses could be used for corporate retreats etc. and we could ask $$$$ with us getting a nice percentage.
Do any of you manage properties other than your own? What are the pitfalls? What, as a non-owner, would be the liability of us serving as the agent?

 

[gillumhouse]

I am no expert - you can probably take what I say with a grain of salt - but I think first of all you should be listed on their insurance so you are covered by their insurance and secondly have a contract drawn up by a GOOD lawyer spelling out who does what, who gets what, exit clause for both parties. If you have not yet, do it before you enter into this to set the business away from your personal and do this as the business rather than you personally. XYZ Cottages contracts to ........ rather than Proud Texan contracts....
The exit clause for both parties is vital in my estimation in case either is disatisfied with the arrangement once it begins. Include who decides what marketing is to be done, protocol for decision making, repairs, replacing equipment....... Make a list of everything you can think of that could happen and who does what it it does happen. Think minor to catestrophic.

 

[Morticia]

Excellent that your business is attracting more business! As gillum house said, be sure you have a good division of duties. You don't want to be stuck with everything, while the other guys just rake in the money! ie- Something goes wrong and you're on the hook because you're the person they dealt with. Now your place gets the bad review because the other places don't have any online listings.
Just watch out for yourself. But, obviously, you're doing the right things for marketing, so this could be additional income for you as long as the folks who own the properties are the ones who answer the emergency calls and handle the problems.

 

[swirt]

IN addition to the suggestions already made, I would make sure there is a division of business identites so that someone unhappy with their corporate retreat (for wahtever reason) can't make the connection to your B&B and make the complaint (on TripAdvisor or anywhere else) against your place.

 

[happykeeper]

This is of great interest to us as well. We are looking into working with a property that is nearby and has a great potential for retreats and weddings. It allows us to transform ourselves into a much larger facility.
We are also partnering with other inns in an around the island package. So far it has been quite popular and mostly trouble free, but we realize that we want to formalize the procedures we use.
I think keeping your identity apart is very important. Our arrangements include booking the reservations, accepting payment, and sending out the confirmation. We have some procedures in place to handle the unusual situations, but Hawaii is less prone to them. Each inn is accessible to guests on line and once the dates are booked, each inn assumes full responsibility for their reservation and for their guests. The inn that takes the booking and provides the concierge servcies retains a very small percentage to cover their CC costs and such.

 

[Copperhead]

This is of great interest to us as well. We are looking into working with a property that is nearby and has a great potential for retreats and weddings. It allows us to transform ourselves into a much larger facility.
We are also partnering with other inns in an around the island package. So far it has been quite popular and mostly trouble free, but we realize that we want to formalize the procedures we use.
I think keeping your identity apart is very important. Our arrangements include booking the reservations, accepting payment, and sending out the confirmation. We have some procedures in place to handle the unusual situations, but Hawaii is less prone to them. Each inn is accessible to guests on line and once the dates are booked, each inn assumes full responsibility for their reservation and for their guests. The inn that takes the booking and provides the concierge servcies retains a very small percentage to cover their CC costs and such..

KnK - you need to check into your insurance policy about the island package. You stated "keeping your identity apart is very important" but if you are accepting the payment for the package you could possibly be setting yourself up for a problem down the road depending on your state laws and your ins. coverage. Just because 'Hawaii is less prone to them" does not mean you should not be prepared for the "what if". IMHO

 

[happykeeper]

This is of great interest to us as well. We are looking into working with a property that is nearby and has a great potential for retreats and weddings. It allows us to transform ourselves into a much larger facility.
We are also partnering with other inns in an around the island package. So far it has been quite popular and mostly trouble free, but we realize that we want to formalize the procedures we use.
I think keeping your identity apart is very important. Our arrangements include booking the reservations, accepting payment, and sending out the confirmation. We have some procedures in place to handle the unusual situations, but Hawaii is less prone to them. Each inn is accessible to guests on line and once the dates are booked, each inn assumes full responsibility for their reservation and for their guests. The inn that takes the booking and provides the concierge servcies retains a very small percentage to cover their CC costs and such..

KnK - you need to check into your insurance policy about the island package. You stated "keeping your identity apart is very important" but if you are accepting the payment for the package you could possibly be setting yourself up for a problem down the road depending on your state laws and your ins. coverage. Just because 'Hawaii is less prone to them" does not mean you should not be prepared for the "what if". IMHO
.

That's an interesting thought. I was mostly referring to the occasional cancellation. Nonetheless, it is something to look into.