How our pricing works
Pinnacle Path charges a percentage of the revenue generated by the property. That aligns the incentive in the only direction that matters: we are paid more when you earn more, and we lose when we do not perform. A manager on a fixed fee gets paid the same whether your calendar fills at a strong rate or a weak one; a percentage fee makes that impossible.
Some engagements are advisory rather than fully managed, and those are quoted differently — typically a fixed monthly fee for revenue management alone, with operations remaining with you or your existing local team. Which structure fits depends on what you already have in place, and we will tell you honestly which one we would choose in your position.
The fee structures you will be quoted
Across the industry, management pricing falls into a small number of structures. Understanding them matters more than memorising averages, because the same property can be quoted very different headline numbers depending on which structure is used and what it covers.
Percentage of revenue
The most common structure for full-service management. The manager takes an agreed share of booking revenue, usually calculated on the gross rate before platform commissions or after them — always ask which, because the difference is material. This structure only works when the manager is confident they can grow the number, which is why it pairs naturally with a free revenue audit before you sign.
Fixed monthly fee
Common for revenue-management-only engagements and for corporate housing. Predictable for budgeting, but the incentive alignment is weaker: the manager's income does not move with yours. It suits owners who want advice and tools while keeping operational control.
Hybrid and performance structures
Some managers combine a lower base fee with a bonus above an agreed revenue baseline. Our Zero Management model works on this principle — a management fee that applies only to revenue above an agreed baseline, so underperformance is our problem before it is yours. The packages page explains how the models differ.
What moves the fee up or down
Two properties in the same city can carry different rates for good reasons. The main drivers are how much operational work sits with us, how many properties are in the engagement, and how demanding the market is to run.
- Scope: revenue management only, or revenue plus full operations
- Portfolio size — rates step down as unit count rises
- Market complexity, licensing burden and local partner availability
- Property type and value: a staffed villa is not a studio apartment
- Whether photography, listing build and onboarding work are required
- Whether you already have cleaning, linen and maintenance in place
What is included in the management fee
Everything commercial and everything coordinating. Specifically: pricing strategy and daily rate management, listing creation and optimisation, channel distribution and synchronisation, guest communication, coordination of housekeeping and maintenance, and monthly owner reporting. There is no setup fee for standard onboarding.
The practical test of any fee is what happens on an ordinary Tuesday: a guest locks themselves out, a cleaner cancels, the market softens for three weeks. Under a full-management fee those problems are ours. Under a cheaper, narrower scope they are yours — which is fine, as long as you knew that when you compared prices.
What is billed separately
Third-party and property costs pass through at cost, shown on your monthly statement. These typically include cleaning and linen, consumables, maintenance and repairs, professional photography where a new shoot is needed, licensing or registration fees, insurance, and platform commissions charged by the booking channels themselves.
We do not take a hidden margin on supplier invoices. If a manager will not say the same in writing, treat their headline fee as incomplete.
Revenue management only, or full management
If you have a functioning local operation and only need the commercial engine, the revenue-management engagement is the cheaper route and often the higher-return one. If you are managing trades and turnovers from another country, full management usually costs less in practice than the revenue those gaps are quietly losing.
The decision rarely needs guesswork: we model both scopes against your property as part of the quotation, so you can see the fee difference and the expected revenue difference side by side.
Portfolio and operator pricing
Owners with several properties, and property management companies buying revenue management for their own portfolio, are quoted on a portfolio basis. Pricing reflects total managed revenue rather than being applied per unit, which is why per-unit rates fall as a portfolio grows.
How to compare two quotations fairly
Ask every manager the same five questions: is the percentage on gross or net revenue; which costs pass through and at what margin; who answers guests at midnight; what happens in the shoulder season when rates need defending; and what the exit terms are. The answers matter more than the headline number — a lower fee that excludes guest communication or shoulder-season pricing work is not lower.
Be cautious of any manager who quotes a rate before seeing the property, the market and the scope. A fee quoted blind is either padded or wrong.
How to get a quotation
Send us the property or portfolio: location, property type, bedrooms, current listings if any, and what you want us to run. We come back with a scope and a fee, usually within two business days, and a free revenue audit showing what we believe the property should earn. If you want a quick indication first, the revenue calculator gives a directional read before you talk to anyone.
The costs owners forget to count
A management quotation is only half of the true cost picture; the other half is what you spend either way. Platform commissions, payment processing, utilities absorbed into short stays, linen replacement, consumables, insurance and licensing all exist whether or not a manager is involved — the difference is that a good manager itemises them on a statement instead of letting them leak quietly.
Self-management has a cost line too, and it is the one owners price lowest: their own time. Pricing reviews, guest messages across timezones, cleaner coordination and platform admin add up to real hours every week. Whether that time is better spent elsewhere is a personal question — but it belongs in the comparison, at an honest rate.