The three pricing models you will meet
1. Commission-only. The manager takes a percentage of the revenue your villa actually earns, typically 15% to 25% in Bali. No revenue, no fee. This is the model that best aligns the manager's incentives with yours: they only make money by making you money.
2. Fixed monthly fee. A flat amount every month, whether the villa is full or empty. It looks predictable, but it means the manager is paid the same in a great month and a disastrous one, and you carry all the risk in low season.
3. Hybrid. A lower commission plus a monthly retainer, setup fees or charges for extras such as photography. The headline percentage looks attractive, but the real cost is often higher once everything is added up.
What should be included at each level
A digital-only tier (around 15%) should cover everything that happens off-site: multi-platform listings and marketing, professional photography, dynamic pricing, booking and calendar management, guest communication and screening, and transparent reporting.
A full-management tier (around 20% to 25%) should add the entire on-the-ground operation: housekeeping, laundry and turnover between stays, maintenance and preventive care, staff coordination, restocking, and 24/7 emergency response. If any of these are billed as extras, factor them in before comparing.
Hidden fees to watch for
- Setup or onboarding fees before the villa earns anything
- Monthly retainers charged even with zero bookings
- Photography and listing creation billed separately
- Markups on maintenance and repair work
- Charges for your own owner stays
- Long lock-in contracts with exit penalties
A worked example: 15% vs 20%
Take a villa at $200 per night with 70% annual occupancy, in line with typical performance in our zones. That is about $51,100 in gross bookings a year.
| Essential Digital · 15% | Premium All-Inclusive · 20% | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross revenue | $51,100 | $51,100 |
| Commission | $7,665 | $10,220 |
| Your revenue after commission | $43,435 | $40,880 |
| Who runs on-site operations | You | Bali Sands, fully included |
The real comparison is the last row. At 15%, you still carry housekeeping, maintenance, staffing and emergencies yourself. At 20%, those costs and that workload are inside the commission. For most remote owners, the extra 5% is less than the true cost of running an on-site operation on their own.
How Bali Sands prices it
Two plans, commission-only: Essential Digital at 15% of revenue generated and Premium All-Inclusive at 20%. No setup fee, no monthly retainer, photography included, and no fee at all on revenue you do not earn. Both plans include daily AI repricing, which in most markets is the single biggest lever on your income.