Frequently asked questions

We offer a commission based pricing model that is based on the amount that your rental has made each month. The rates vary depending on the size and quality of the property along with length of rental season you commit to. Owners can expect to keep 70% to 75% of the gross nightly revenue earned!

Read more details on our fees and others here

If your property is already furnished with linens, owners can expect a small start up fee to cover initial digital set up and required smart home and safety equipment. Recurring expenses that are the owner responsibilities are: consumables guests use like paper products, toiletries and cooking essentials and all repair and maintenance expenses to keep to property in excellent condition.

We use multiple cleaning contractors covered by WCB. We train each contractor and their employees in person to our brand standards. We also employ an inspector to go in afterwards and ensure the property is clean, safe and guest ready. The cleaning costs are paid to you in full by the guest and we invoice you monthly for reimbursement. The cleaning expenses are always covered by the guest and you shouldn’t expect any additional expenses beyond the initial clean, occasional deep cleans and any post-construction cleans due to maintenance or repairs.

We have managed to furnish a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo for approximately $32,000. The most important investment is in the bed linens and mattress quality. We can help coordinate the interior design and furnishing of the property and have it set up to launch in as little as a few days because they know where to look, what to buy and what works for a vacation rental property that meets Keys to Kelowna guest standards.

We set up 100% of the payments to come directly to you. These transactions typically arrive in your bank account between 0 to 5 days of the guest arrival. Executive rentals may have a payment plan and again all gross revenue is received directly by the homeowner.

We invoice you monthly for our commissions, cleaning fees and any variable expenses for the property plus GST.

You will received revenue reports review each month with our invoices.

We highly recommend enlisting the help of a tax professional BEFORE collecting your first rental revenue from your short term rental to understand your tax obligations.

PST of 8% applies to sales of short-term accommodations of stays less than 27 nights provided in BC. In addition to the 8% PST, up to 3% MRDT applies on behalf of municipalities. At this time these 2 occupancy taxes of 11% are collected and remitted for short-term rentals via Airbnb but any direct book reservations would leave you with the tax remissions. Keys to Kelowna does not collect the payments or taxes as all revenue earned is received by the home owner.

If you earn more than $30,000 of gross revenue over four consecutive calendar quarters through the supply of taxable goods and services, which includes the provision of short term accommodation, you are required to register and start collecting and remitting the GST. The GST is built into the nightly rate so your tax professional can help you calculate what you need to submit for GST if you are offering stays of 29 nights or less.

*This is for educational purposes and you are responsible for understanding your tax obligations. Please consult your tax professional for guidance.

The speculation tax and vacancy tax is an annual tax paid by some owners of residential properties in Kelowna. Short-term rentals for periods of less than one month do not count towards the six-month total to qualify for the tax exemption. 0.5% of the assessed value is the tax rate for Canadian citizens who are not members of a satellite family.

We get to know our guests with several points of communication before they book, and we keep consistent communication with them during their stay. Our guests know we are hands on with a very quick response rate. With years of experience we first engage with the guest to discover their intentions for visiting. There are telltale signs from their communication that help us decide whether or not to proceed with the inquiry or if not to let them know they would be suited to stay elsewhere. Guests that come in via platforms like Airbnb must provide Government issued identification. For first time guests, we engage in web searches, social media exploration and check public government databases. If an unworthy guest does obtain accommodation we act quickly to evict them while still maintaining their full payment. If we wouldn't rent our own properties to a particular group, we certainly wouldn't be renting yours to them either.

Damages are rare but they do happen. We find mostly stained towels, sheets and broken glasses are the biggest casualties in short-term rentals. Common wear and tear to the property tend to be the walls from suitcases. Often a magic eraser will help with those and other times a little wall patch and paint is used in between tenants to help keep the property look its best.

The process of the recovery of funds needed to replace the damaged items is part of our service offerings and is all inclusive in our fees. We also utilize the Airbnb Host Guarantee which provides protection for up to $1,000,000 USD to a host for damages to covered property above the security deposit or if no security deposit is in place. This also covers things like fines from strata or bylaw for infractions such as noise.

While these reimbursements from the platforms are not a guarantee, we do well with very few claims. With our executive rentals we collect security deposits.

We understand that you may wish to host personal guests (friends, relatives, associates etc.) to stay at the property, and we are happy to help host. Typically our investors sign in to the owner portal and identify a last-minute gap in the calendar in non-peak seasons to take advantage of, but some owners prefer to book far in advance. Either or works for us.

Regarding fees associated with these stays, all cleaning fees will be billed for every departure. If you are looking to host anyone except your immediate family (parents or children), we ask that our service fee be covered for the stay based on the market rate posted online for rent. This fee for friends, extended family members or colleagues ensures our management services are covered for the nights blocked for your guests.

Yes. New bylaws to allow and regulate short-term rentals in Kelowna and West Kelowna are now in effect, and anyone operating a short-term rental must apply for a business licence. Under the new rules, a homeowner or primary resident can legally rent their principal residence for periods of 29 days or less. We can help you obtain a license and also conduct the monthly tasks required to maintain the license. Annual business licences for short-term rentals in Kelowna cost $750 for non-principal residences.

Our services are suited perfectly for the remote investor as we care for our clients‘ properties like they are our own and we keep great relationships with our clients.

Many of our investors want to be very hands off and they just enjoy watching the payments come in without the hassle of the day to day operations. We offer a full suite of services 24/7 for short-term rentals in Kelowna and beyond.

We handle every aspect of guest relations, marketing of the property, cleaning and we coordinate regular maintenance schedules and take care of any emergencies that arise.

If we didn’t answer your question, please don’t hesitate to ask. Please use our Contact Us page to submit your question. Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.