Streamlining Accommodation Management: Key Strategies for Fees, Bundling, and Legal Compliance

As part of ARAMA’s final Webinar Wednesday for 2024, I had the privilege of presenting alongside Frank Higginson from Hynes Legal. This session focused on critical topics for accommodation managers, including key findings from ARAMA’s Fees and Charges Survey, the advantages of bundling fees, and important legal updates. For those who couldn’t attend live, the full recording is embedded below, providing valuable takeaways for optimising your business practices.

Fees and Charges Survey: Staying Competitive

The biennial Fees and Charges Survey is an essential resource for resident managers to benchmark their business performance against industry standards. This year’s results revealed notable increases in charges across cleaning, linen, and other services, reflecting rising costs. For example, linen charges increased by 23% and cleaning charges by 15-20% over the last two years. This upward trend underscores the importance of ensuring that service fees align with operational costs to maintain profitability.

Simplifying Operations with Bundling

Bundling remains a significant opportunity for managers to streamline fees while fostering greater transparency for unit owners. This approach involves combining multiple charges—such as advertising, administration, and credit card fees—into a single percentage-based fee. Partial bundling, adopted by over 40% of operators, offers flexibility while simplifying accounting processes. From my perspective, bundling not only makes billing easier but also ensures alignment between the operator’s revenue growth and the property owner’s success.

Legal Compliance: Updates You Need to Know

Frank Higginson provided valuable insights into recent updates to letting appointments and compliance requirements in Queensland. Of particular importance is the new version of Form 6, introduced in May 2024. It’s essential to ensure all letting appointments are up-to-date and that any fees charged to unit owners are properly documented to avoid disputes. Legacy agreements, such as outdated 20A forms, should be replaced with current versions to meet today’s legal standards.

Adapting to Industry Trends

The survey also highlighted broader operational trends, such as the decline in Pay TV subscriptions in favour of smart TVs and streaming services, and the increasing reliance on online travel agents for bookings. The data revealed an average increase in hourly rates for labour, ranging from $54 to $75, reflecting the rising costs of doing business.

Practical Takeaways

For managers looking to optimise their operations, I recommend:

1. Reviewing your current fees to ensure they reflect market conditions and operational costs.
2. Considering bundling as a strategy to simplify charges and improve transparency.
3. Updating all agreements to align with the latest legal and regulatory requirements.

The Fees and Charges Survey, available on ARAMA’s website, is a valuable resource for refining your approach to pricing and compliance. I encourage you to watch the webinar recording below for a deeper dive into these topics and actionable advice to enhance your business practices.

If you’d like assistance with accounting services, compliance reviews, or management rights insights, feel free to reach out to me at Holmans. We’re here to help you navigate the operational challenges of accommodation management and support your success.

Disclaimer: This article contains general information only. Regrettably, no responsibility can be accepted for errors, omissions or possible misleading statements or for any action taken as a result of any material in this guide. It is not designed to be a substitute for professional advice, as such a brief guide cannot hope to cover all circumstances and conditions applying to the law as it relates to these items.