Holiday and short-stay letting rent rolls valued on full seasons of booking data.

A holiday rental rent roll is valued on the fees its managements earn across full seasonal cycles, after the high cost of servicing short stays, adjusted for how many owners are likely to stay, which listings the agency controls, and rules that limit letting. A valuer works from monthly data by property: nights booked, owner nights, booking revenue, the agency's fees and forward bookings at the valuation date. Agency Valuations prepares fixed-fee written reports banded on the roll's annual management income: $1,495 + GST under $2 million.

How does a holiday letting rent roll earn its income?

A short-stay letting roll earns a share of the booking revenue on each property, usually with charges for cleaning, linen and guest services. The income moves with the season, nightly rates, owner use and platform settings.

Three lines need separating. The agency's fee on booking revenue is the core. Cleaning and linen charges passed through at cost are not income of the roll, and any margin on them rises and falls with occupancy. Booking revenue collected for owners is not the agency's income at all, so it never sets the fee band or the value. We measure each line over full seasonal cycles, from monthly data by property, excluding GST.

What drives the value of a short-stay rent roll?

Short-stay managements take more work and move more than long-term ones, so the cost of servicing each dollar of fees sits at the centre of the valuation.

• ·Seasonality and occupancy history across at least two full years
• ·Owner use: nights owners block out are nights the agency cannot earn from
• ·Who controls each platform listing, its booking history and its calendar, which decides how easily an owner could move or self-manage
• ·The mix of direct and platform bookings, and the platform fees paid
• ·Concentration: several properties owned by one owner, or much of the roll in one complex
• ·Forward bookings already taken at the valuation date
• ·Registration status, day limits, consent conditions and by-laws on each property
• ·Servicing cost: cleaning contractors, linen, check-ins and after-hours guest contact
• ·Agreement type: acting as the owner's agent for a fee, or leasing the property or guaranteeing a return, which is a different business

How do state rules change what a short-stay roll is worth?

Short-term letting rules can cap the nights a property earns from, so a valuation applies the rules in force at the valuation date and records each property's status.

In NSW, all short-term rental accommodation properties must be registered on the STRA Register, with registrations renewed annually. Under the industry code of conduct, a letting agent must not advertise premises or facilitate a booking unless the host and premises are registered and the registration number is displayed with the listing. Under the exempt development pathway, non-hosted short-term rental accommodation is limited to 180 days a year in Greater Sydney and some other areas, and non-hosted letting under the exempt development pathway in most of the Byron Shire is limited to 60 days a year, with bookings of 21 consecutive days or more exempt from the day limits. Consent conditions and strata by-laws may also restrict it, and the NSW Government is reviewing the framework. NSW guidance to agents also says short-term letting should run under a written agency agreement so that fees and costs are properly provided for.

In Victoria, a short stay levy applies to short stays in Victorian properties from 1 January 2025, charged on the total booking fee and collected by booking platforms or hosts. We make sure the levy is not counted in your fee base.

What about Queensland letting pools and management rights?

In many Queensland resort and apartment complexes, the letting business is sold as management rights: a caretaking service contractor engaged by the body corporate, who is also authorised as the letting agent for the scheme and generally owns or leases a lot to run the business from. The letting agent must be licensed under the Property Occupations Act 2014, and owners do not have to use the authorised letting agent. The letting pool is a group of owners who choose to stay, not a captive income.

A caretaking engagement can run for up to 10 years under the Standard Module and 25 years under the Accommodation and Commercial modules, with any options to extend or renew counted in the term. An engagement can be transferred with approval by the body corporate committee, which has 30 days to decide once it has the information it needs and cannot unreasonably withhold approval, though engagements cannot be transferred under the Commercial module. If an engagement is transferred within 2 years of its initial contract date, the seller may be asked to pay a fee of 3% of the fair market value of the transfer in the first year, or 2% in the second. We read the agreements and value the business, never the lot it runs from.

When do you need a holiday letting rent roll valued?

Common triggers include:

• ·Selling or buying a holiday letting business or a parcel of short-stay managements
• ·Buying or selling management rights, where the business needs a value separate from the lot
• ·A partner exit or a restructure into a new entity
• ·Separating a short-stay segment from a long-term rent roll
• ·Finance, where the lender asks for a report on the business
• ·A dispute, through an expert report

What do we need from you?

You need nothing to enquire. After you engage us, we ask for:

• ·Monthly data by property for at least 24 months: nights available, nights booked, owner nights, booking revenue and the agency's fees
• ·Bookings already taken at the valuation date, by property and month
• ·Cleaning, linen and other charges, split between pass-through at cost and any margin
• ·Platform payout reports and fees, reconciled to the trust ledger
• ·Who holds each platform listing, and where payouts are made
• ·Each owner's signed agreement, and registration numbers where a register applies
• ·For management rights: the caretaking agreement, the letting authorisation and any body corporate correspondence on transfer

What does a holiday letting rent roll valuation cost?

A short-stay roll on its own is banded on its annual management income, meaning the fees the agency earns, not the booking revenue it collects for owners: $1,495 + GST under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days; $2,495 + GST from $2 million to $3 million, 3 business days; $3,495 + GST from $3 million to $10 million, 3 business days; above $10 million, quoted in writing before work starts, with the delivery date agreed before commencement. A whole business, including management rights sold as a business, is banded on total annual turnover. An expert report for a dispute is $4,495 + GST.

Each past valuation date adds $495 and each additional entity adds $795. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. Every report follows the guidelines of APES 225 Valuation Services and is signed by a suitably qualified business valuer.