How to Switch Holiday Let Management Company Without Losing Bookings
If your holiday let is not performing, switching management company is usually less work than staying. The big worry most owners have is losing bookings or upsetting guests mid-season. Done in the right order, neither has to happen.
Here is how to switch cleanly.
1. Read your current contract first
Before you say anything to your current manager, check three things:
Your notice period, and whether it runs from a set date or from when you give notice.
Any exit fees or charges for leaving early.
Who controls the listing, and what happens to it and its future bookings when you leave.
Knowing this up front tells you your real switching date and stops any surprises.
2. Choose your new manager before you give notice
Line up the new manager first, so there is no gap where nobody is looking after your holiday let. Speak to more than one, ask for a projection based on your own local market, and ask for their full fee schedule in writing.
3. Agree how existing bookings will be handled
This is the part owners worry about most. A good new manager should honour every existing booking at the price the guest paid, and take over guest communication from day one so the guest never notices the change. Ask them exactly how they do this before you sign.
4. Plan the handover
Make a simple list for the changeover:
Keys, key safes and access codes
Cleaners and maintenance contacts, and whether they are staying or changing
Linen, consumables and anything stored at the property
Utilities, wifi details and any compliance certificates
The new manager should take most of this off your hands, but having it written down speeds everything up.
5. Go live
With us, onboarding takes 7 to 10 days from signed contract to live listing, including professional photography. How fast it goes mostly depends on how quickly the onboarding forms come back, and bookings typically start inside the first two weeks.
Questions to ask any new manager
Who will be my named point of contact?
How quickly do you reply to guests, and at what hours?
Is cleaning charged at cost, or with a markup?
How is maintenance handled, and when do I get asked to approve costs?
What is the contract length, and is there an exit fee?
What do you project my holiday let will earn, and how did you work it out?
If the answers are vague, that tells you something too.
Want to know what your holiday let should be earning?
Book a call and we will look at your holiday let against its own local market and show you the numbers, fee included. Book an intro call.
