Are you paying VACASA 39 percent of revenues? Probably!

[Collin Hays]

Follow along with me here.  You owe it to yourself.  I was tipped off by this from a client that we took over today.  

I went to VACASA.com and booked this cabin for January 11-14.  The nightly rate is $127.  The total rent is $381.  But notice the "fees" that VACASA is adding on:  A $45 "hot tub" fee, a $66.60 "booking fee", and a $49 "limited damage waiver".  

Well, that's $160 in purely junk fees, straight into VACASA's pocket.  They don't share this revenue with the owner.  And then then are charging the owner 18 percent of the rents.  VACASA is pushing down the rent so that they can charge these fees and keep the total is palatable to the guest.

So the total revenue, not including housekeeping and taxes, is $541.  The homeowner gets $312 of the $514.  61%.

Here is a photo of the deal.  Moral of the story: If someone is charging you "only" 18 percent, they are getting money from you in other, creative ways.  Wise up.

[Ken Boone]

@Collin Hays Dude that is a really good breakdown.  I think you nailed it with your assessment of what is going on.   I have heard similar stories from other folks on how some mgmt companies are offering lower fees, but at the end of the day, a lot of nickel and dime stuff gets added back into the mix and that 20% fee becomes a lot larger.