Question 1

How quickly can I start?

Accepted Answer

If the flat is furnished and ready to occupy, we usually set up the listing, photographs and platform profiles within two weeks. The sequence in detail: initial conversation and site visit, photography, creating the listings on the platforms, setting up pricing and the calendar, handing over access. Three things regularly extend the timetable. Missing furniture: then the start depends on procurement, with beds and textiles having the longest lead times. An unclear zoning position, where information has to be obtained from the municipality — allow two to four weeks for that; you obtain that information. And missing landlord consent for rented properties: it should be in writing before the first listing goes online, not after. We plan the sequence with you so the flat does not stand empty unnecessarily.

Question 2

What do you need from me to start?

Accepted Answer

Five things, and none of them is laborious. First: access to the flat for a visit and photography. Second: details of the property — floor plan or area, number of rooms, fittings, parking, floor and whether there is a lift. Third: the legal basis — with ownership, the condominium rules (Stockwerkeigentümergemeinschaft) together with the minutes of the last two meetings, because a planned change of rules appears there before it appears in the rules themselves; with a tenancy, the tenancy agreement and any consent to subletting under Art. 262 OR. Fourth: an existing Airbnb account if you have one — we carry on with it rather than creating a new one, because accumulated reviews attach to the account, not to the property: an account with fifty good reviews commands higher prices than a new one. Fifth: bank details for settlement. What you do not need: a finished plan, photographs, texts or a view on pricing. That is our work, and it is what you pay commission for.

Question 3

Who owns the Airbnb account?

Accepted Answer

You do. We work as co-hosts on your account instead of building our own — and this is not a detail but the most important point for your independence. Reviews accumulate on the account, not on the property: an account with fifty good reviews commands higher prices and a better position than a new one. If the arrangement ends and the account belonged to the manager, you start again from zero with the next provider or in self-management. That is a form of lock-in that appears in no contract and is therefore easy to miss. Ask every provider you are considering who owns the account and what happens to it when the arrangement ends. The answer tells you more about the business relationship than the percentage rate does.

Question 4

Can I use the flat myself?

Accepted Answer

At any time — it is your flat. You block the dates you need and we remove them from availability. It makes sense to allow some lead time: bookings sometimes come in months ahead, and a confirmed booking cannot simply be withdrawn — host cancellations affect your position on the platforms. In practice this means: block the holiday you are planning as soon as you know about it, not two weeks beforehand. For regular own use — every other weekend, say — we set availability accordingly from the outset. It costs occupancy, but it is exactly the freedom for which many owners forgo long-term renting.

Question 5

How do I terminate if I am dissatisfied?

Accepted Answer

Monthly, without giving reasons, in writing by email. No minimum term, no notice period beyond one month, no exit fee. What is settled at the end: confirmed bookings are honoured — it would be wrong towards guests to cancel them at the last minute, and a host cancellation damages your account’s position on the platforms, sometimes for months. Access, listings, photographs and the account stay with you; we step back as co-hosts without taking data with us. We return keys and access codes and reset the electronic lock code. The final statement follows in the month after the last departure. Why we do it this way: lock-in you later regret creates an arrangement in which we no longer need to make an effort. Anyone who wants to stay has to convince. In practice, monthly termination is a stronger incentive for us than any contractual clause protecting us.

Question 6

Who is my contact person?

Accepted Answer

A permanent person, not a call centre. We are a small team, and that has two sides. The advantage: you explain your property once, not afresh with every enquiry, and decisions do not need clearing at three levels. The disadvantage, which we name openly: we are not reachable around the clock in several languages, and when someone is on holiday or ill there are not ten people to step in. For your enquiries: a reply within one working day. For guest enquiries something else applies — those we answer around the clock, because an enquiry left unanswered at 11 p.m. is a lost booking. Anyone who needs a large organisation behind them is better served by one of the large providers, and will pay 20 to 30 per cent for it.

Question 7

What happens if there is an emergency in the flat?

Accepted Answer

We arrange for it to be dealt with and inform you — in that order, not the other way round. With a leak on a Sunday evening, asking first does not help; what matters there is that someone reaches a tradesman and limits the damage. For amounts below a limit agreed with you we act and report; above it we obtain your consent, if the damage allows the time. We set that limit together at the start — usually an amount at which nobody calls you about every washer, but you decide on every repair. What we document: the condition before and after the event with photographs, the time, the measures taken, the costs with receipts. You need these records for insurance, a warranty or a claim against a guest — without them a claim is hard to substantiate. What we are not: a building firm. With major damage we coordinate tradesmen and timing but do not decide on the repair. That stays with you, even if it takes longer.

Question 8

How do you select guests?

Accepted Answer

Through requirements in the listing and a check on every enquiry. The platforms provide reference points for this: verified identity, previous reviews, completeness of the profile. We additionally look at the purpose of the stay and at the number of guests relative to the size of the flat. What we decline: enquiries with no comprehensible purpose, bookings for substantially more people than the flat provides for, and stays that sound like a party — with properties under strict house rules that is the most frequent cause of trouble with neighbours. This cannot be controlled entirely: booking platforms limit how strictly a host may select, and anyone declining too many enquiries loses position. We weigh that up instead of claiming a certainty that does not exist.

Question 9

Can I specify who I do not want?

Accepted Answer

Substantive requirements yes, personal characteristics no. Rules on the stay are permissible and customary: no parties, no pets, no smoking, a maximum number of guests, quiet hours, a minimum length of stay. Such requirements can be set out in the listing, and guests see them before booking — which is the condition for a breach being enforceable at all. Not permissible are exclusions by origin, nationality, religion, sex, age or family status: that breaches the platforms’ terms and, depending on the case, anti-discrimination law. An account that repeatedly refuses on those grounds risks suspension. What works in practice and remains permissible is the minimum length of stay. It filters more effectively than any list of prohibitions, because guests staying a week have different intentions from those looking for a single night — and it simultaneously reduces cleaning costs, because there are fewer changeovers. Of all the levers, it has the best ratio of effect to effort.

Question 10

Will you manage several properties for me?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and with several properties the calculation usually improves for you. The reason lies in the fixed costs you bear yourself: anyone with two flats in the same building or neighbourhood shares laundry logistics, cleaning trips and the store of supplies. Our effort per property also falls, which can be reflected in the rate — with several properties we talk about the commission. What you should bear in mind: from annual turnover of CHF 100,000 across all properties, VAT registration arises, and the CHF 40,000 threshold for a «business in its own right» is reached earlier still. With two or three flats in Zurich that is not a remote possibility but a planning point. We will tell you when you are approaching it.

Question 11

What if I want to sell the flat?

Accepted Answer

Not a problem, and the current letting may even help. You terminate with one month’s notice; confirmed bookings are honoured, after which the flat is free. What is useful in a sale process: a summary of income over the last few months. For a buyer who wants to continue that use it is a solid basis — considerably more than an estimate. We will produce it if you wish. What you should bear in mind: viewings need access, and that sits badly with current bookings. It therefore makes sense to reduce availability a few weeks before the sale begins. And the property gains tax in the canton of Zurich is graduated by holding period — selling early costs more.

Question 12

Do you work with several platforms?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is more than a question of reach. Airbnb, Booking.com and other channels address different guests: Booking.com brings more business travellers and older guests, Airbnb more city tourists and longer stays. Anyone present on only one channel forgoes part of the demand. Two relevant points. First: the commissions differ — from 13 October 2026 Airbnb charges 15.5 per cent of the booking subtotal in Switzerland, Booking.com about 20; that bears on pricing, because the same night on two channels produces a different result. Second: calendar synchronisation — a double booking is the most expensive mistake in this business, because a host cancellation damages your position. That is the real reason multi-channel distribution is work rather than just a tick in a box.

Question 13

How often do I receive a statement?

Accepted Answer

Monthly, with every item shown separately. The summary contains all bookings in the month with dates and number of nights, the platform fees per booking, the cleaning costs per changeover, consumables, any repairs and our commission. Not a balance but a calculation you can follow and set against your own. In addition, bookings and income are available continuously, not only at the end of the month. The reason for this is not transparency as a value in itself but something practical: anyone who first learns in January how the summer went can no longer correct it. Anyone who sees in July that occupancy is behind last year can react through pricing while the high season is still running. For the tax return we provide a summary at the end of the year with income, deductible costs and — important for the imputed rental value (Eigenmietwert) — the number of days let. Without that evidence the tax administration will apply the full imputed rental value.

Question 14

What documents do I need in order to let my flat?

Accepted Answer

To start with us, four things are enough: proof of identity, proof that you are entitled to dispose of the flat, the bank details for payouts, and access to the flat for photography and handover. Entitled to dispose means, depending on the case: an extract from the land register or the purchase contract for ownership, the landlord’s written consent for a rented flat, and for a condominium the association’s rules as well. What is needed beyond that depends on the municipality and rests with you: in the city of Zurich a change of use can require a building application, even without building works. The binding answer on that comes from the building authority; we provide operational letting services and do not advise on permit questions.

Question 15

How long does handing over to a management company take?

Accepted Answer

With a furnished flat, around two weeks from the go-ahead to the first booking. In that time come: the visit and inventory, photography, listing and profiles on the platforms, pricing, keys or an electronic lock, a cleaning schedule. It takes longer if the flat has to be furnished first — then the delivery time of the furniture sets the date, not we. And the timing matters too: a new listing does not reach market occupancy at once but sits at around 82 per cent of established operation over the first year. Starting in spring puts May and July ahead of you while the listing collects reviews.

Question 16

Cancelling an Airbnb management: what happens to bookings and reviews?

Accepted Answer

With us, reviews and listing stay with you, because the account is yours: we work as a co-host on it and step back when it ends. Existing bookings we either see through or hand over to you, whichever you prefer — we would not cancel them, because that damages your account’s standing. With another provider the answer hangs on a single question: whose account the listing runs on. If it runs on the provider’s, the reviews stay there and you begin at zero — regardless of what was promised, because on Airbnb reviews are tied to the account and not to the property. That is the most important question before signing, and it appears in no price comparison.

Question 17

How do I find a reputable Airbnb management company in Zurich?

Accepted Answer

By four answers that cost nothing and take ten minutes together. First: what does the percentage refer to — the booking amount, the payout, with or without the cleaning fee? Between two readings lies a difference of over 40 per cent at an identical figure. Second: whose account does the listing run on, and do the reviews stay with you? Third: how long is the minimum term? Fourth: who is liable for what, and what is insured? Anyone who dodges one of these questions has already answered the comparison. «Airbnb management» is not a protected designation in Switzerland; there is neither a licence nor supervision, and what is delivered is set out solely in the contract.

Question 18

What does an Airbnb manager actually do — day by day?

Accepted Answer

The largest part is guest communication: answering enquiries, checking bookings, sending arrival information, dealing with questions during the stay. Experience values from the German-speaking area put that alone at around 180 hours a year. Daily on top comes price maintenance — demand, days of the week, events in Zurich — because a price adjusted once a month is wrong in both directions. At each changeover, around six and a half times a month in Zurich, follow cleaning, laundry, consumables and a check. Then the irregular things that make the difference: a broken washing machine on a Sunday, a noise complaint, a damage case, a review that has to be answered. At the end of the month comes the statement.

Question 19

Which areas do you cover?

Accepted Answer

The city of Zurich, the municipalities on both shores of the lake as far as Thalwil and Meilen, and the nearer surroundings including Wettswil, Bonstetten and Birmensdorf. Outside that area we do not work, and the reason is not convenience: cleaning, handover and being reachable when something goes wrong all depend on somebody being able to get there in reasonable time. At around 78 arrivals a year that is not an exceptional situation but normal operation — and an hour’s drive turns a jammed lock on a Friday evening into a lost guest. A provider who names half of German-speaking Switzerland either does not run those properties itself or does not run them well. Whether your address is included we tell you in the first conversation in one sentence; if it lies outside, we say so just as plainly instead of trying.

Question 20

I am still looking for a flat — what should I watch for when buying?

Accepted Answer

Check permissibility before price. A flat in a zone that does not allow short-term letting is useless for the purpose however good the price — and following the Federal Supreme Court judgment of 30 April 2026, what matters in the city is whether someone still lives in the flat. With a condominium, the by-laws come on top: the owners’ association can prohibit the use, including after the fact. Only then economics, and there the floor plan counts for more than the area — a separable sleeping area widens the pool of guests, a walk-through room does not. Count the furnishing as capital tied up, not as a question of fit-out, and budget the first year at around 82 per cent of the later revenue level. Two detailed articles work this through: the buying checklist and the location analysis for Zurich.

How does working with an Airbnb manager run?