What exactly is the 20% commission taken on?
On net rental revenue — that is, on what you actually collect once the booking platform’s commission has been deducted. It is the calculation base, not the headline percentage, that opens the gap between two offers on this market: a rate quoted on the gross nightly price, cleaning fee included, does not cover the same sum as a rate applied after the platforms have taken theirs. With us the base is always the same, and it is written into the mandate. Cleaning fees collected by the platform from the guest fall outside it: they pay for the turnaround and earn us nothing. Local taxes and the tourist promotion levy are excluded as well. It is the first line to get in writing in a mandate, whichever provider you end up choosing to work with in the end.
Commission, fee or per service: how are we paid?
Three payment structures coexist in this market. The percentage commission, first: the company takes a share of the rental revenue collected, which aligns its interests with yours since it only earns when your property is booked. The fixed fee, second: a monthly amount independent of occupancy, covering upkeep that has to happen whether the property is let or not. And billing per service, third, where each intervention is paid for individually. At Villas Ambar, the Essence Package rests solely on the 20% commission, taken from net revenue once the platforms have been deducted. Full Property Management adds a monthly fee, because preventive maintenance and the care of an empty property do not depend on the occupancy rate. Neither package carries a setup fee. Which model applies is read in the mandate, never in a sales brochure.
How do I work out what you are owed for a given month?
Start from the amount actually collected over the period, then deduct the booking platform’s commission — expect around 3% on the host side with Airbnb, more with Booking. What remains is your net rental revenue: that figure, and that figure alone, is what our 20% commission applies to. Then add the costs billed at their real amount: housekeeping between stays where the platform does not cover it, linen, and utilities such as water, electricity and internet. If you chose Full Property Management, add the agreed monthly fee last. On a month collecting 40,000 dirhams, that gives you roughly 38,800 dirhams net after the platform, of which 7,760 dirhams is the Villas Ambar commission, reconcilable line by line against your own statements. The breakdown reaches you every month, always on the same headings, so that one month can be compared with the next.
Is there a setup fee, and how long am I tied in?
No setup fee, no administration charge and no minimum term, on either package. Taking the property on — the visit, the photographed inventory, the record of the key sets, the photo shoot, the listing copy, the seasonal rate grid — is not billed to you: it is part of the handover. The mandate states its term, its notice period and its exit conditions, along with what happens to the keys, the listings and the review history when it ends. That last point is the one owners discover too late when they change provider: listings and accumulated ratings belong to the account on which they were created. We discuss it before signature, not after. Since taking a property on is not billed, moving a property that is already let costs you nothing beyond the time the handover itself takes.
What happens if my property does not get booked?
On the Essence Package, you pay nothing: with no revenue collected there is no commission. That follows directly from the percentage model, and it is what commits us — an empty calendar costs us as much as it costs you. On Full Property Management the monthly fee still applies, because it pays for work that genuinely takes place: upkeep visits, preventive maintenance, oversight of the empty property and settlement of the utility bills do not stop when the bookings stop. That is in fact the period when this work matters most, since the Marrakech summer and the quiet season are what damage an unoccupied villa most reliably. The property’s running costs remain payable in both cases. A provider charging a fee on a package without maintenance, by contrast, is charging you for work that does not happen.
Which package is right for my villa or riad?
If your property already has a maintenance team in place, or if you are in Marrakech often enough to oversee works yourself, the Essence Package is enough: it handles everything to do with letting — listings, pricing, bookings, welcome, reviews, housekeeping coordination — and leaves the technical side with you. It is the package that maximises net revenue, since it adds no fee. If, on the other hand, you live far away, if your property sits empty for weeks at a time, or if it is a medina riad with a pool, a patio and traditional materials, Full Property Management is the right choice: preventive maintenance and care of the empty property are included, and that is what stops a minor incident becoming a heavy repair. We recommend the package that fits after visiting the property, with no obligation on your side.
How do you set the nightly rate for my property?
We apply dynamic pricing, reassessed continuously rather than fixed once at the start of the season. Four factors drive it: Marrakech’s pronounced seasonality, between the autumn and spring peaks and the summer trough; local demand observed week by week; the calendar of events that lift prices across the whole city; and the positioning of properties comparable to yours, in the medina, Guéliz, Hivernage or the Palmeraie. The aim is not to fill the calendar at any price, but to find the point where total revenue is highest — a property let slightly less often but better valued often earns more, and wears out more slowly. You can set a price floor at any time and we will work within it. Weeks you want to keep for yourself, or for your family, are blocked with a single message.
