14d • 💬 Discussion
Story time
Let me tell you a story about a client we signed about two months ago.
He hired us to manage two properties:
- one in a beach market
- one in a metro market
During the onboarding for the beach property, the owner met us there and casually mentioned he wasn’t going to list the metro property yet, but planned to “eventually.”
Red flag #1
That might sound harmless, but he had already signed two-year agreements, and our contract waives the $2,500 onboarding fee unless the owner cancels within two years. We hadn’t purchased equipment for the metro home yet, so we let it slide. (not to mention he negotiated the 25% down to 23 on this metro property)
We launch the beach property
It’s dead season. No bookings for the first two weeks. The owner calls a meeting asking what we can do.
We explained the seasonality and showed him market data. We also paid out of pocket for a couple “virtual stays” to help the listing gain traction and build momentum with the platform.
After that, we pulled in two bookings, which was solid considering the market was around 13% booked overall.
Red flag #2
About a week later, our noise monitoring system stopped connecting. The owner said he blocked a device because he thought it was “hacking” his internet.
Red flag #3
Two days later, he asked us to block off a couple days for his personal stay. No problem.
We checked the cameras on the first day he arrived and suddenly we had no camera access.
We texted him asking if he accidentally removed our access or blocked the noise monitor again.
No response.
Then the complaints started piling up
He asked for a breakdown of bookings, even though it was already in his owner statement. We still sent screenshots from Airbnb to show everything matched.
Then he emailed a list of issues:
- dirty utensils put away with clean ones (cleaner reported there were no dishes left)
- “water” in the hand soap dispenser (it was swapped with a different soap color due to availability)
- dust in the open garage (it’s basically a three-wall garage open to the back, so wind and dust happen)
We addressed the concerns anyway, and he responded by telling us to block the calendar until further notice.
At this point, my wife and I discussed dropping him. Our onboarding is extremely thorough: about 8 hours, full inventory down to butter knives, serial numbers, listing setup, trust accounting setup, plus I even flew the drone and got beach proximity shots.
The next morning, he dropped us
No 30-day notice as required, he canceled immediately. Because he canceled within the two-year window, he now owes the $2,500 onboarding fee.
One more detail: the home was also listed for sale. He said it was “just so it shows on the map,” but looking back, that was another red flag.
Moral of the story
When you see red flags early, take them seriously.
Re-evaluate the client before you invest more time, money, and emotional energy. Do not ever negotiate your prices. Generally when you negotiate it lowers your value to the client. Recognize some people can’t be pleased, and the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
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Story time
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