Shortlet Management Company or Manage It Yourself?

Hire a shortlet management company if you do not have the time, the helpers or the nearness to run guests, cleaning and repairs yourself. Manage it yourself if you live close by, can answer guests quickly and want to keep the fee. Many owners choose a mix: they keep the money and the decisions, and pay local people for the hands-on work.

This guide helps you decide. It explains what a manager really does, what you can run alone, the questions to ask before you sign, and how to share access safely.

What a shortlet manager does

A full-service shortlet (or short let) manager takes on almost all the work. That usually includes:

• Selling nights. The listing, photos, prices and calendar.
• Talking to guests. Answering enquiries fast, day and night.
• Check-ins and keys. Meeting guests, or handing over keys and codes.
• Cleaning and laundry. A full clean and fresh linen between every guest.
• Restocking. Toilet roll, soap, drinking water, gas and bulbs.
• Repairs and power. Fixing faults, and keeping the generator, inverter or solar running.
• Problems. A lost key at midnight, a noisy party or a burst pipe.
• Deposits and damage. Checking the flat after each guest and handling the caution deposit.
• Money and reports. Paying you what is left after their fee, with a statement.

Managers charge in different ways. Some take a share of what the flat earns; others charge a fixed monthly fee, and some add set-up or cleaning charges. Our guide to property manager fees in Nigeria explains the common models.

A manager tends to suit you if:

• you live abroad or in another city;
• you own several flats;
• your job leaves no time to answer guests quickly.

What you can run yourself

Running a shortlet yourself is very doable, especially one or two flats near home. It is steady work, not hard work. Each week looks something like this:

• answering guest messages, including in the evening;
• meeting guests, or arranging who does;
• booking the cleaner after each check-out;
• restocking basics and checking power and water;
• fixing small faults before they become bad stays;
• checking your prices and calendar against similar flats nearby.

For one flat, that is often a few hours a week, plus the odd evening call. It grows with every flat you add.

To do it well, you need four things in place:

1. One calendar. So you never take two bookings for the same night.
2. Written rules. House rules, arrival instructions and a check-out list you send every guest.
3. Reliable helpers. A cleaner, a handyman and an electrician who answer the phone.
4. Someone on call at night. You, or a person you trust nearby.

On Cabans, the booking tools do much of the admin for you. Guests pick dates on your calendar and pay securely online through Paystack, and the guest pays Paystack’s fee. Turn on “Instant book” and paid bookings are confirmed without waiting for you. Your “Bookings” page sorts every stay into tabs: “Requests”, “Upcoming”, “Arriving”, “In house”, “Leaving”, “Past” and “Cancelled”.

“Stay information” holds your house rules, arrival instructions, Wi-Fi and door code. Guests only see the code while they are checked in, and it is never emailed. Guests send requests from their stay page, and after check-out you release the caution deposit or raise a dispute for the Cabans team to decide. Cabans charges a 5% commission, and you are paid within 7 days after the stay, faster when the guest approves the payment after their trip. Living outside Nigeria? Read managing a Nigerian shortlet from abroad.

Questions to ask a management company

Before you sign anything, ask these questions and get the answers in writing:

1. What exactly is included? And what costs extra, such as laundry, repairs or photos?
2. How is the fee worked out? On nights sold, on the whole booking, or a fixed monthly sum?
3. When and how am I paid? And what report comes with each payment?
4. Who holds guests’ money and caution deposits? And how are refunds handled?
5. Can I see the calendar and bookings at any time?
6. Who answers guests at night? Ask for their average reply time.
7. How do you choose guests? What are your rules on parties and visitors?
8. What can you spend without asking me? Agree a limit for repairs.
9. Who pays for damage a guest causes? And who chases it?
10. How long is the contract, and how do I end it?
11. Can I speak to two owners you work for? And visit a flat you manage?

A good manager answers all of these without fuss. Vague answers about money are a reason to walk away.

Signs your arrangement is not working

Whichever way you run your shortlet, check it every month. These are signs something needs to change:

• Slow replies. Guests wait hours for an answer, and enquiries stop turning into bookings.
• Fewer booked nights. Similar flats nearby stay busy while yours sits empty.
• Cleaning complaints. Guests mention dirty bathrooms, old linen or a smell.
• Surprise costs. Repair bills or charges you did not agree to appear on your statement.
• Late or unclear statements. You cannot tell which nights were sold, or at what price.
• You are exhausted. If you run it yourself and dread every message, the fee for help may be worth it.

If you use a manager, raise problems in writing and give a date to fix them. If nothing changes, use the notice period in your contract. If you run it yourself, hire help for the task that drains you most.

Sharing access without sharing passwords

Whoever helps you, never hand over your own passwords. A manager, a caretaker or a relative should have their own access, limited to what they need:

• Separate logins. Each person gets their own account wherever possible.
• Only what they need. A cleaner needs dates, not your bank details.
• Your bank stays yours. Money should be paid into your own account, and nobody else needs your bank app.
• Change door codes. If your lock allows it, change the code between guests.
• Keep a key log. Know who holds every key, and collect them when people leave.
• Remove access promptly. The day someone stops working for you, take their access away.

On Cabans, you add team members to your store under “Roles & Permissions”, using “Users”, “Roles” and “Users in Roles”. One role can let someone see bookings and the calendar; another lets them accept requests, run check-ins, change the calendar and see door codes. Booking emails go to the store, the owner and up to 10 team members who can handle bookings. The calendar’s “Change history” shows who changed what, and when. See team members and permissions.

A mixed approach

You do not have to choose all or nothing. Many owners keep the parts that need judgement and pay for the parts that need hands:

If you go mixed, put each helper’s job in writing too. Say what a cleaner does at each changeover and what they are paid for it. Say what a caretaker checks before each guest arrives, and who they call when something breaks. Clear jobs stop small gaps from turning into bad stays.

To decide which column suits you, weigh four things:

• Distance. Can you get to the flat within an hour if something goes wrong?
• Number of flats. One flat is a side job; five is a business that needs staff.
• Your time. Can you reply to a guest within minutes, most days?
• The numbers. Add the manager’s fee to your costs and check your break-even nights again.

For that last step, use the worksheet in is a shortlet profitable in Nigeria? To see how other hosts in your area present their homes, browse shortlets in Lekki or shortlets in Abuja.

Whichever way you run it, take bookings online so guests can book and pay without waiting on a phone call, and manage shortlet bookings in one place. New to the tools? The free Host Academy walks you through them. Not listed yet? List your short let first.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Property manager fees in Nigeria · Property management costs · Is a shortlet profitable? · Shortlet business plan · Start a shortlet business