To choose a property manager in Tulum, pick the one who answers twelve questions in writing before you sign: what the commission is charged on, what is billed outside it, who approves repairs, what occupancy its own houses reach and over which period, when you are paid, and how you leave. The percentage alone decides nothing. Published management fees in Tulum run from 15% to 29%, and the operators that publish one apply it to four different bases. We are Villas Ambar, a property manager in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, where we have operated for fifteen years and run six houses. Below are the twelve questions, what a clear answer looks like, and our own answer to each, including where we do not publish one.
We will not tell you which of our competitors to hire: nobody competing for your villa can rank the field fairly. We can set out the questions to put to every manager on a shortlist, us included, and answer them first. None of this is legal or tax advice; have a lawyer read the contract you are offered.
Which Property Management Company Should I Use for My Tulum Villa?
The one whose answers you can check, which in practice means the one that puts all twelve in writing before you sign. Size is not the test. A data service tracking 68 Tulum managers put the largest operator in town at 36% occupancy in June 2026, and rated an eight-listing manager its strongest booking performer at 86%, figures we set out in what Tulum villa owners actually earn. The headline percentage is not the test either.
Shortlist three managers, send each the same questions in writing, and compare the replies side by side. If your real alternative is running the villa yourself, put the same questions to yourself: our line-by-line comparison of the two is on our management page.
| Question | A clear answer | Villas Ambar |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What is the fee charged on? | A rate, its base, VAT in or out | 20% of net rental income, VAT included |
| 2. What is billed outside it? | A written list | 7 items, listed below |
| 3. Are repairs marked up? | “At cost”, or a stated margin | Upkeep inside the fee; repair parts at cost |
| 4. Who approves a large repair? | You, above a set amount | You, above $200 by default |
| 5. Who is on the ground, and how fast? | A local team; a response time in writing | Team in Tulum; response time in the contract |
| 6. What occupancy do your houses reach? | A rate, which houses, which months | 70% average, few houses; period not published |
| 7. What share of nights is booked direct? | A percentage for last year | Not published |
| 8. What would my villa earn, net? | A method, then a range | Method published |
| 9. What does the monthly report show? | Revenue, nights and costs, by month | Earnings, nights, spending; photos after each visit |
| 10. When and how am I paid? | A date, a method, a currency | Platform pays you; we invoice in USD |
| 11. Are you registered to operate? | Registrations you can verify | Not published |
| 12. How do I leave? | Notice period; who keeps the listing | Two months’ notice; your listing stays yours |
The Fee: What the Percentage Is Charged On
Three of the twelve questions are about the fee, because the same 20% can cost two owners $2,189 a year apart on identical villas. On a house grossing $68,400, that is the gap between 20% of revenue after the platform’s cut and 20% of gross. Each operator’s published rate and base is in our rental income guide.
1. What is the fee charged on, and is VAT included?
Ask for the rate, the base and the tax in one sentence. A fee quoted “plus VAT” is 16% higher than it reads: 25% plus VAT is 29%. Ask too whether a fixed monthly fee or a setup fee sits alongside the percentage. Ours: 20% of net rental income, meaning what the platform pays out after its own fee and before the house’s costs, VAT included, as a single commission, with no onboarding or setup fee.
2. What is billed outside the commission?
Ask for the list in writing, next to the list of what the commission covers. Ours has seven lines: utilities (water, electricity, gas and internet), guest consumables and welcome supplies, lodging tax filing and accounting, property insurance, major works and replacement furnishings, professional photography for the listing, and platform host service fees, passed through at cost. Low headline rates tend to draw this line early: housekeeping coordination, call-outs and reporting invoiced on top of a 15% fee can cost more across a year than an all-in 20%. If the house has never been let, ask what the first month costs as well: our listing photography is billed separately.
3. Are repairs and suppliers marked up?
Ask whether a repair is billed at cost, at cost plus a margin, or with a call-out fee each time, and whether you see the supplier’s invoice. Ours: housekeeping, linen, laundry, pool and garden care are inside the commission, so there is no supplier bill to mark up; on-call repairs during a stay are included too, with parts billed at cost; and platform fees pass through at cost. For larger work, we come to you with what the job is and what it will cost before any money is spent.
The House: Who Decides, Who Turns Up, and How Fast
Two questions cover the house itself, and they matter more in Tulum than in most markets: humidity, salt air, insects and vegetation move in quickly on a house nobody visits.
4. Who approves a large repair?
You should, above an amount written into the contract. Below it, the manager should act without waiting, or a broken pump becomes a lost booking. Ours: small repairs are carried out straight away; anything larger is your decision, and we come to you with what it is, what it will cost and how urgent it is before spending your money. By default we ask above $200, and you can set a different amount in the contract. Ask every manager for theirs.
5. Who is on the ground, and how fast do they respond?
Ask where the team is based, who answers a guest at two in the morning, whether the response time is in the contract, and how often someone visits an empty house. Ours: the team is based in Tulum, so someone can be at the house the same day rather than the same week; guests are met on arrival; the response time we commit to is written into the management contract; and the pool and garden are kept on a set rhythm so the house never looks unoccupied, with a photo report after each visit.
The Numbers: Occupancy, Direct Bookings and What You Keep
Three questions test the numbers a manager quotes, and the benchmark to hold them against is 44%: the average occupancy published for Tulum short-term rentals by a manager tracking more than 13,000 listings. A projection well above the mid-forties needs a mechanism behind it, such as a full seasonal rate card, a direct booking channel or no long owner blocks in high season. And 2026 is a weaker year: Tulum’s hotels were 63.7% full from January to July, against 75.9% in the same months of 2024, according to the official series we set out for owners.
6. What occupancy do your own houses reach, and over which period?
Ask for the rate, the houses it covers and the months measured. A high-season average is not an annual one, and condos and studios, most of Tulum’s listings, do not fill like whole villas. Ours: 70%, the average we publish for the houses we run. Six whole houses make a small sample, and the figure is not a forecast for yours. We have not published the period it covers: ask any manager for theirs, us included.
7. What share of your nights is booked direct?
Ask for last year’s percentage, in writing; it moves your income more than a few points of commission. On the worked year in our rental income guide, about 33% of gross goes to fees at a 20% commission with every night booked through Airbnb, against about 26% at the same commission with more than half the calendar booked direct. Ours: we do not publish that share. What we do publish is the nightly rate of every house we run, on each villa page, bookable on this site without a platform in between.
8. What would my villa earn, net?
Ask for the method before the number. Ours is published: take the villa’s from-rate, multiply by about 1.4 for the average night across the seasons, then by 365 and by a realistic occupancy. With a Mexican tax registration, between 63% and 76% of that gross reaches the owner before property costs, depending on the booking channel; without one, about 47%. Then subtract what the house costs every year, rented or not. Any projection that stops before that last step is not a net figure, and any manager, us included, should show you each step.
The Paperwork: Reports, Payments, Registration and the Way Out
The last four questions are the ones owners ask least. We answer three of them here, and say so where we do not.
9. What does the monthly report show?
Ask what it contains, line by line, before you sign. A useful report shows, month by month, nights booked, average nightly rate, gross revenue, platform fee, commission, costs with invoices, tax withheld and the amount paid to you. Ours: a written report every month, without you having to ask, covering what the villa earned, how many nights it was occupied and what was spent on it, plus a photo report after each visit.
10. When and how am I paid?
Ask for the date each month, the method, the currency, and what is deducted before the transfer. Ask also who holds the guests’ money between the booking and the payout. Ours: on most bookings the platform pays you directly, and we invoice our commission in US dollars. On bookings we collect ourselves, we pay you in US dollars in the first week of the month.
11. Are you registered to operate?
Ask for the manager’s registry number, and whose name the villa is registered under. A rental villa in Quintana Roo needs a state taxpayer registration, a state tax compliance certificate and an entry in the RETUR-Q state tourism registry, and since late 2025 Airbnb and Booking.com have required that registry number to keep a listing active. The villa should be registered in your name, so that changing manager does not cost you the listing; the registrations are explained in our rental income guide. Ours: we do not publish one.
12. How do I leave?
Ask for the notice period, what happens to bookings already taken, and who keeps the listing, the photos and the guest reviews when you go. A listing held in the manager’s account may not leave with you, reviews included. Ours: two months’ notice. A listing in your own name leaves with you, photos and reviews included; a listing in our account is closed, and you honor the bookings already taken on it.
Six Answers That Should Make You Hesitate
Six replies are worth a second conversation, from any manager, us included:
- a percentage with no base, or “plus VAT” mentioned only when asked;
- a low rate with housekeeping, maintenance coordination or reporting invoiced on top;
- an occupancy figure with no houses and no period attached, or a projection above 44% with no mechanism behind it;
- a payout date that will not be put in writing;
- no amount above which a repair needs your approval;
- a long lock-in, or a listing that stays with the manager when you leave.
If your villa is in Tulum and you want our answers in writing, tell us about your villa. The commission, what it covers and what is billed separately are all on that page, and our other guides for villa owners cover costs, buying and the 2026 market.
Frequently Asked Questions
I own a villa in Tulum — which property management company should I use?
Use the one that answers, in writing and before you sign, what its commission is charged on, what it bills outside it, who approves repairs, what occupancy its own houses reach and over which period, when you are paid, and how you can leave. Size is a poor guide: a data service tracking 68 Tulum managers put the largest at 36% occupancy in June 2026 and an eight-listing manager at 86%. The headline rate is a poor guide too, because published fees run from 15% to 29% on four different bases. Shortlist three managers, send each the same questions, and compare the written replies side by side. Weigh what you keep after every fee, how the house is cared for when it is empty, and the exit clause. Villas Ambar, a property manager in Tulum, charges 20% of net rental income, VAT included, with no onboarding fee.
How much do property managers charge in Tulum?
Published full-management fees in Tulum run from 15% to 29% of rental income, and market summaries that quote a range put it at 18% to 25%. The percentage tells you little on its own, because operators apply it to four different bases: net rental income, gross rental revenue, total rental income and, in one case, the nightly price advertised online. A fee quoted “plus VAT” is 16% higher than it reads, so 25% plus VAT is 29%. On a villa grossing $68,400 a year, 20% of revenue after the platform fee and 20% of gross are $2,189 apart. Ask every manager for the base, whether VAT is included, and whether a fixed monthly or setup fee sits alongside the percentage. Villas Ambar charges 20% of net rental income, VAT included, with no onboarding fee; utilities, consumables, insurance, major works and listing photography are billed separately.
What questions should I ask a property manager in Tulum before signing?
Twelve, in writing. On the fee: what the percentage is charged on and whether VAT is included, what is billed outside the commission, and whether repairs and suppliers are marked up. On the house: who approves a large repair and above what amount, and who is on the ground in Tulum, with a response time written into the contract. On the numbers: what occupancy the manager’s own houses reach and over which months, what share of nights is booked direct, and how a net income projection for your villa is calculated, property costs included. On the paperwork: what the monthly report shows, when and how you are paid, which registrations the manager holds, and how you leave, including who keeps the listing and its reviews. Compare the written replies of three managers side by side. Any answer a manager will not write down is an answer in itself.
What should a property management contract in Tulum include?
At least seven things, each written as a number or a rule rather than a promise. The commission, its base and whether VAT is included. The list of what is billed outside the commission. How repairs are billed, at cost or with a margin, and the amount above which the manager needs your approval. The response time for incidents during a stay. The payout date, method and currency. What the monthly report contains. And the exit clause: notice period, what happens to bookings already taken, and who keeps the listing, the photos and the reviews. Read the exit clause first: it decides what a bad year costs you. Have a Mexican lawyer review the contract before you sign, especially if you live abroad. At Villas Ambar, the response time for incidents is written into the management contract rather than promised on our website.
Written by the Villas Ambar team in Tulum, where we have operated for fifteen years and run six houses. Our commission, what it covers, what is billed separately, our reporting and our repair rules are those published on our property management page, read on October 14, 2026. Market fees, occupancy and the worked year come from our rental income guide, compiled on September 4, 2026 from operators’ published pages, the platforms’ fee schedules and a short-term rental data service. Nothing here is legal or tax advice. If you own a villa in Tulum, our commission and what it covers are on our property management page.
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