Owner Acknowledgement & Management Terms

1Overview

The Guest Man is a Cairns-based, owner-operated short-stay management service run by Ian Muir, a licensed QLD Real Estate Agent (Lic. 4936672), trading under ABN 57 166 836 288. We manage Airbnb and Booking.com listings end-to-end — pricing, guest communication, cleaning coordination, linen supply, restocking, maintenance coordination and monthly owner statements — for a small portfolio of properties across Cairns City, the Northern Beaches and Palm Cove.

We work best with owners who want a real human running their listing (not a call centre), who are happy to be informed rather than asked about every $30 decision, and who understand that short-stay is a service business — great reviews drive everything.

2The property

The property covered by this agreement is the apartment described in the Property Onboarding Form you’ll complete after acknowledging these terms. The Onboarding Form captures the address, configuration (e.g. studio, 1-bed, dual-key), car parks, body corporate details, building access protocols, decor inventory, agreed pricing floor and ceiling, and any property-specific notes. The information you give us in that form forms part of this agreement.

3What’s included in management Manager pays / does

Full detail in §6 (owner expenses) and §4 (fees).

Detailed services

• Listing setup & ongoing optimisation on Airbnb, Booking.com and (where suitable) other channels via Hospitable PMS.
• Dynamic pricing driven by Hospitable’s engine, comparable-property data, lead time and seasonal patterns — above any minimum nightly rate you set (see §13).
• Guest enquiries, vetting and communication from booking through to checkout, 7 days a week.
• Check-in coordination, key handover instructions, and arrival troubleshooting.
• Housekeeping by Clean Stays after every stay, charged per changeover at the rates in your Form 6 Schedule (see §4).
• Linen and towels supplied, laundered and replaced by Clean Stays and charged per changeover — you don’t buy or store linen.
• Amenity packs — toiletries, dishwasher tablets, basic kitchen consumables, welcome touches.
• Damage documentation with date-stamped photos after every clean, and lodgement of AirCover / Booking.com damage claims on your behalf.
• Maintenance coordination — we source, schedule and supervise tradespeople when work is needed (cost of work is the owner’s).
• Monthly owner statement with itemised income, fees and pass-through expenses.

4Fees & how you get paid

Other charges that flow through your monthly statement

• Turnover costs (cleaning, linen, amenities) — per changeover at your Schedule rates, itemised and deducted monthly.
• Listing launch and setup — one-off $750 incl GST (see §5).
• Deep cleans — quoted before each one and only done with your approval (see §8).
• Repairs, trades and replacement items — at cost, no markup, with the invoice shown (see §7).
• Building / key-storage fees and other outgoings (rates, levies, utilities, internet) — paid from your funds at cost if you ask us to, each with its invoice on your statement.

Our fees and charges can only change through a new Form 6 signed by both of us, with at least 30 days’ written notice first — and you may choose to end the appointment instead. There is no owner float: costs are deducted from your rent as they arise, and if a month’s costs exceed its income the shortfall is payable within 14 days of your statement.

Payout schedule

Payments are monthly in arrears. After each month ends we reconcile our trust account and pay you for the stays completed that month, with your statement, on or before the 10th of the following month (the next business day if the 10th is a weekend or public holiday). A stay is counted in the month the guest checks out, and is paid once the platform or guest has paid us.

Platform delays, holds and chargebacks

Airbnb, Booking.com and the underlying payment processors may occasionally delay, withhold or reverse payouts due to disputes, fraud investigations, reserve holds, account reviews or chargebacks. The Guest Man is not responsible for losses or delays caused by third-party platforms. We remit your payout when funds clear into our trust account, and we’ll keep you informed of any delays affecting your statement.

5Initial setup

There is a one-off listing launch and setup fee of $750 incl GST, payable on commencement. It covers title verification, professional photography, floorplans, social media reels, the listing build on every platform, your direct booking site and your guest guide.

Before launch, Clean Stays does a pre-launch clean — a standard turnover clean plus a linen pack — at the amount set in your Form 6 Schedule. Once the property is cleaned, styled and photographed, we build the listing, set launch pricing and go live. We cannot list the property until we have your insurance certificate of currency (see §11).

6Owner expenses Owner pays

These are the costs that remain yours as the owner of the asset. Most of these are normal property-ownership costs — we list them clearly so there are no surprises.

What we cover within our fee: the time and software to manage your listing, guest communication, photographs of the cleaned property after each stay for damage records, and supervision of housekeeping and trades. Linen is supplied by Clean Stays and charged per changeover, so you never buy, wash or store it.

7Repairs & replacements

We do not mark up repairs, trades or replacement items. You pay what the tradesperson or supplier charges, and you see the invoice. There is no procurement or handling fee.

• Routine repairs up to $500 incl GST per job we can approve without asking first — a dripping tap, a broken blind, a blown element.
• Worn, broken or missing inventory (a cracked plate, a dead kettle, a stained pillow) we can replace at cost, within that same routine limit.
• Emergencies up to $1,000 incl GST. An emergency is a fault that risks injury, serious damage or the property’s security, or makes it unusable for a guest who is staying or arriving within 48 hours — a burst pipe, gas leak, failed lock, no power or no hot water. We call and text you first; if you don’t respond within 2 hours (or straight away where there is danger), we may approve the work up to that limit. Above it, we only make the property safe.
• Anything above those limits waits for your approval.
• We tell you within 24 hours about any repair approved without your prior approval, with the reason, the cost and the invoice.
• Your own trades first. Give us your electrician, plumber and handyman and they are the ones we call.

These limits are set in your Form 6 (Part 8 and Addendum A clause 5.4) and can be raised, lowered or set to zero by updating the form with us.

8Periodic maintenance

To keep the property guest-ready and protect your asset:

• Deep cleans — twice a year, in early November and early March. Each one is quoted beforehand and only goes ahead with your approval. An extra deep clean may be recommended after a long stay or a guest who leaves the property in poor condition — again quoted and approved by you first.
• Air-conditioning servicing — minimum annual service strongly recommended. Some buildings include split-system servicing in body corporate levies — please confirm with your body corporate. If not covered, you may either arrange directly or ask us to coordinate (billed at trade cost, no markup).
• Smoke alarm servicing — QLD legal requirement; owner’s responsibility to arrange and remain compliant. We can coordinate if asked.

9Required setup & backup stock

Required appliances & services Before listing goes live

Our standard amenity packs and guest experience assume the following are present and working in every property we manage. Anything missing must be in the property before the photoshoot and before the listing can go live.

If any of the above are missing, you can either source and install them before launch, or ask us to quote — you remain responsible for the cost.

Child-friendly setup Required in every property

Families are a major part of the Cairns short-stay market, and listings that are set up for young children book more often and review better. We ask every owner to provide the following so we can market your property as child-friendly:

These items must be present before the photoshoot so they can feature in the listing. If any are missing you can source them before launch or ask us to quote — you remain responsible for the cost.

Bedding & presentation Owner-supplied

We triple-sheet every bed for a hotel-quality finish, which changes what you need to supply. Required before the listing goes live:

Strongly recommended to lift presentation and reviews:

Backup stock

We ask you to stock the property with a small buffer of operational items that fail or get used unexpectedly. This lets us fix issues mid-stay without needing to shop:

Linen, towels, bath mats and pool towels (if applicable) are supplied and managed by The Guest Man and charged per changeover — you don’t need to keep backup stock of these. Likewise we don’t supply or backstock guest electronics, charging cables or accessories — guests are expected to bring their own.

If backup stock isn’t supplied, we end up replacing items mid-stay under §7 more often, which costs you more than stocking up once.

10Building & guest access

The Property Onboarding Form captures your building’s specific access protocols, parking arrangements (including dual-key or tandem-bay configurations), and body corporate by-laws. The owner warrants the information given is accurate and current.

Buildings that don’t allow third-party key handouts

Some Cairns buildings (including Trilogy Towers and similar managed complexes) do not allow on-site reception to issue keys or fobs for externally managed apartments. In these cases we use a nearby commercial key-holding service (e.g. for Trilogy Towers, this is GoodFoods on the ground floor). Their fee is passed through to the owner at cost, billed monthly. The current rate for your building is recorded in the Property Onboarding Form — this is a non-negotiable building-imposed cost.

Body corporate compliance

The owner warrants that short-stay letting is permitted by their body corporate / building rules and that all guest-facing operations comply with those by-laws. If the body corporate imposes any caps, registration requirements or restrictions, the owner is responsible for disclosing them in the Onboarding Form so we can comply on your behalf.

11Insurance

STR-specific cover is different to a standard landlord policy — standard landlord cover is built around long-term tenancies and excludes most short-stay scenarios. If you don’t already have an STR policy, the main Australian providers are easy to compare online (we stay neutral on which insurer to use).

Platform cover detail

What only your STR policy covers: building damage, loss of rental income during repairs, accidental damage by occupants (vs. malicious), exclusions in AirCover, and bookings made outside the major platforms. We carry our own Public Liability and Professional Indemnity for our service, but only your STR policy insures your property.

12When things go wrong

Stuff happens. Here’s how we handle it:

1. Damage by a guest — we document with date-stamped photos and the cleaner’s report, lodge an AirCover or Booking.com claim within the platform’s required window, and keep you informed. There is no charge for handling claims. If the claim is approved, the damage payout is paid to you (less any repair costs we arranged), and any loss-of-rent payout is treated as booking income. If it’s denied or insufficient, your STR policy is the next line of defence.
2. Wear & tear — not a guest issue, owner’s cost to replace (see §6 and §7).
3. Urgent operational issue mid-stay (broken A/C, lost key, blocked drain) — we triage immediately and follow the repair and emergency rules in §7: we try to reach you first, act within the agreed limits, and send you the reason, cost and invoice within 24 hours.
4. Guest complaint or refund request — we manage the conversation with the platform on your behalf. If the platform forces a partial refund, that reduces your booking revenue and our management fee proportionally.

We take photos after every clean for evidence purposes — this protects both of us in any dispute.

13Pricing

We set and adjust nightly rates, minimum stays, discounts and cancellation policies using Hospitable’s dynamic pricing engine, comparable properties, seasonality and lead time, to earn you the most over the year. New listings usually open with introductory launch pricing a little below market, to build reviews and early bookings quickly.

You can set, change or remove a minimum nightly rate (the nightly rate before platform and cleaning fees) at any time by emailing us. It applies to bookings accepted from 48 hours after your email, and we will not accept a booking below it. Day-to-day rate movements above it don’t need your approval — that’s the point of dynamic pricing. Please leave the listing, calendar, pricing and platform settings to us so nothing conflicts.

14Owner stays & blocked dates

• Up to 4 weeks a year for you, your family and friends.
• Book any open dates in your owner portal.
• Hard rule: an owner stay can never overlap a guest booking. We will not cancel or move a confirmed guest stay to make room.
• We confirm by email once we have checked no trades, cleaning, maintenance or inspections are scheduled for those dates.
• Changeover costs apply: you pay the standard changeover clean, linen and amenities for your stay, and confirm your arrival with us before going in.
• While a guest is booked in, please don’t enter the property or give anyone else access, except in an emergency or by arrangement with us.

Promotional stays: with your approval for each one (email is enough), the property can host tourism bodies, travel agents, writers or content creators free for up to 7 nights a year. We pay the cleaning and linen for those nights.

15Tropical Cairns conditions

Tropical humidity, salt air, mould, insects and accelerated wear and tear are normal conditions in Far North Queensland short-stay properties. Items will need replacing more often than they would in a temperate climate — particularly soft furnishings, outdoor cushions, electronics and any metal exposed to salt air. These are considered normal operational realities of owning a tropical short-stay property.

16Risk & revenue disclaimer

Risk reduction, not risk elimination. Short-term rental hosting carries inherent operational risks: guest damage, maintenance issues, platform disputes, weather disruptions, market shifts and occupancy variability. Our job is to reduce these risks through experience, systems and good documentation. We can’t eliminate them, and we don’t pretend to.

Any revenue, occupancy or earnings projections we share with you are estimates based on comparable properties, market data and our experience — not a guarantee. Actual results vary with seasonality, market conditions, weather events, platform algorithm changes, the guest mix, and how the property is presented and reviewed. We work in your interest within the limits of the market.

17Photography & marketing rights

Professional photography, floorplans and social reels are arranged by us as part of the $750 setup fee (§5). You grant us a licence to photograph and film the property (including by drone where lawful) and to use that content on booking platforms, our website, social media, advertising and to promote our business. We own the copyright in the content we create or commission.

We never publish your street or unit number, your name, or your personal photos or belongings without your consent. Please tell us about any body corporate rule that limits filming common property.

When our appointment ends

• Please don’t reuse our photos or video after we finish without our written consent. We may keep existing posts and portfolio use, but won’t advertise the property as available.
• Photo licence buy-out: if you would like to keep using the still photos and floorplan to advertise, let or sell the property, you can buy a perpetual licence for the Photo Licence Fee in your Schedule — $450 if the appointment ends within 12 months of the start date, $225 within 12–24 months, and free after 24 months. We send the full-resolution files within 7 days of payment. Video, reels, drone footage and anything showing our branding are not included.

18Term & termination

• Continuing appointment, no minimum term. Either of us can end it with 30 days’ written notice, or sooner if we both agree. There is no exit fee.
• Six-month intention: we plan to work together for at least the first 6 months, because that is how long a new listing takes to build reviews and booking history. It is an intention, not a minimum term — your 30 days’ notice applies from day one.
• After notice: we stop taking new bookings for stays ending after your end date, unless you ask us to.
• Existing bookings: within 7 days of notice we send you a list of bookings on our listings that end after your end date. You sign a short run-off Form 6 so we see just those stays through to check-out on the same terms (with Clean Stays doing those cleans), with no new bookings.
• The only exit cost is Transfer Compensation, and only if one of those already-secured bookings is transferred, cancelled, or can’t be managed because the run-off isn’t signed within 7 days or access is withdrawn: our 18% on that booking’s expected net reservation income, plus any guest refunds, relocation costs or platform penalties we actually incur. Nothing for rankings, status or reviews.
• Bookings on your own platform account are yours from the end date, including the cleaning.
• Listings and guest details: listings on our accounts stay ours and are unlisted within 7 days; listings on your own account stay yours, reviews and all. Guest details belong to us — please don’t use them to market to our guests for 12 months.
• Your money — everything we hold for you, less anything owing — is paid within 30 days of the last stay we manage.
• If you sell, tell us and the buyer about confirmed bookings and ask the buyer to honour them. Transfer Compensation applies to any booking the buyer won’t honour.
• Council or by-law changes: if they affect short-stay use, either of us can end the appointment on 30 days’ notice without penalty.

19Transition & handover

If the property is currently managed by another operator, or has future bookings already attached to an existing listing, transition arrangements will be discussed and confirmed in writing before onboarding commences. Every takeover situation is different and we’ll work through the specifics with you on a case-by-case basis.

Where The Guest Man is appointed to manage a stay (whether transferred from a previous manager or booked under our listing), our standard management fees and operational charges apply for that stay. We don’t take over the operational responsibility for guest stays without being engaged as the managing agent for them.

Our Form 6 takes effect from the handover date confirmed in writing — we won’t operate concurrently with another agent on the same property.

For brand-new owners, fresh listings, or properties launching for the first time, this section won’t apply — you can move straight to onboarding.

20Standard legal

• Force majeure (incl. cyclones). Cairns is in cyclone country. Where bookings must be cancelled or refunded due to natural disasters, government directions, public health orders or other events outside our reasonable control, neither party is liable for resulting losses. We’ll act in your best interest in line with platform policy.
• Indemnity. If you direct us to act in a way that breaches body corporate rules, accept an unverified guest, or take any specific action against our advice, you indemnify The Guest Man against any resulting loss or claim.
• Confidentiality. We treat your personal information, financial details and property data as confidential and only use it to perform our services or as required by law.
• Privacy. We comply with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and our Privacy Notice (theguestman.com.au/privacy.html).
• Governing law. This agreement is governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.
• Dispute resolution. If something goes wrong between us, both parties agree to first attempt a good-faith conversation before escalating to mediation through the QLD Office of Fair Trading or the courts.
• Severability. If any clause of this agreement is found unenforceable, the remainder continues in force.
• Document hierarchy. The Form 6 (Appointment of Property Agent) provides the legal appointment authority. These Owner Terms and the Property Onboarding Form govern the operational and commercial relationship between the parties. Where the Form 6 and these Owner Terms conflict in legal effect, the Form 6 governs.
• Trust accounting. Any owner funds we hold are processed and disbursed in accordance with the Queensland trust accounting requirements applicable to licensed real estate agents under the Property Occupations Act 2014.
• Multiple owners & primary contact authorisation. Where the property has more than one legal owner (joint owners, company directors, multiple trustees, SMSF trustees), every legal owner on title is required to sign the Form 6 before we can act. The person nominated as primary contact in the Property Onboarding Form is authorised by all owners to provide day-to-day operational instructions and approvals to The Guest Man — including repair approvals within the agreed limits, guest issues, owner-stay bookings, and the minimum nightly rate. Material decisions (changes to the management agreement, termination, sale, change of payout account, withdrawal of property from the platform) require written confirmation from all legal owners. Any owner may revoke the primary-contact authorisation in writing at any time, in which case all subsequent decisions will require unanimous written approval.
• Single payout account. Owner payouts are made to a single nominated bank account agreed by all owners. We do not split payouts between multiple owners — any internal split between co-owners is your arrangement.