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 29 655 869 008. 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 — with floor and ceiling rates we agree with you up front.
• Guest enquiries, vetting and communication from booking through to checkout, 7 days a week.
• Check-in coordination, key handover instructions, and arrival troubleshooting.
• Cleaning coordination with our cleaning team after every stay.
• Hired linen and towels (supplied, laundered and replaced by us as part of the linen-hire fee — you don’t buy 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

• Housekeeping fees — passed on to guests at booking; itemised on your statement for transparency.
• Linen hire fees — monthly, billed to owner.
• Amenity packs — guest consumables and amenities are monitored and replenished between stays as part of our turnover process. Billed to owner at cost.
• Procurement fees — $30 per manager-sourced shop, only when we physically buy.
• Building / key-storage fees — passed through at cost (see §10).
• Maintenance trades — passed through at trade cost; we don’t mark up trades.

Payout schedule

Statements are issued at the end of each calendar month. Owner payouts are remitted to your nominated AU bank account within the first week of the following month, after Airbnb / Booking.com have remitted guest funds and the above expenses have been deducted.

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 no separate onboarding fee. Before the listing goes live, we’ll bill the items quoted to you separately by email — typically the initial deep clean, first linen-hire delivery, and initial amenity-pack supply. These are the costs needed to get the property guest-ready for the photoshoot. Refer to the quote you’ve received for the dollar figures.

Photography is arranged by the owner directly (see §17). Once the property is styled, deep-cleaned and photographed, we build the listing, set initial pricing and go live.

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: hired linen and towels (you don’t buy or replace linen), the time and software to manage your listing, guest communication, photography of the cleaned property after each stay for damage records, and supervision of cleaners and trades.

7Procurement & restocking

For most replacements (worn pillows, new kitchenware, decor refresh, etc.) our default is that you order the item online and ship it to our office address. We’ll flag what’s needed (with photos and links where helpful), you approve the spend on your terms, and we install it on the next changeover. This keeps you in control of what you’re spending and avoids us marking anything up.

For urgent items (something broken, stained or missing that affects an active or imminent guest stay), we use this three-tier model so the property never sits broken between guests:

Whenever we physically source, purchase, deliver and install an item on your behalf, a flat $30 procurement fee applies (per shop, not per item). When you order to our office yourself, no procurement fee is charged.

8Periodic maintenance

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

• Deep cleans — minimum 2 per year (typically pre- and post-peak season). Additional deep cleans may be needed if a guest stay leaves the property in significantly worse condition than expected, or after long stays (14+ nights). Quoted in advance, billed to owner.
• 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 + $30 procurement fee).
• 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.

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 as part of the linen-hire fee — you don’t need to maintain backup stock for 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, the urgent-purchase threshold (§7) gets used a lot more often, which costs you more than just 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. If the claim is approved, the payout is remitted to you on your next statement. 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, source a trade if needed, and bill the trade cost to you. We’ll keep you in the loop but won’t wait for approval if a guest is sitting in the property and the issue is urgent.
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 manage nightly rates using Hospitable’s dynamic pricing engine, informed by comparable properties, seasonality, lead time and local market signals. We set a minimum nightly rate (so we don’t undersell during slow periods) and a maximum nightly rate (so we don’t price guests out during peak events). Your specific floor and ceiling are agreed during onboarding and recorded in the Property Onboarding Form.

Day-to-day rate movements within those bounds do not require owner approval — that’s the point of dynamic pricing. If you’d like to adjust the floor or ceiling, just let us know and we’ll update the Onboarding Form. Floor / ceiling changes that materially affect occupancy take effect from the next booking cycle, not retroactively.

14Owner stays & blocked dates

You can request blocked dates before the listing goes live, and at any time afterwards on dates that haven’t already been booked. We’ll always honour confirmed bookings — we can’t cancel a guest stay to give you the dates back.

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

Photography of the property is arranged and paid for by the owner directly. The final images remain the owner’s property and you’re free to use them however you like — including with another manager if our agreement ends.

Brief for your photographer. For best listing results we recommend: wide-angle interior shots of every room, the kitchen and lounge from multiple angles, every bedroom dressed for guests with linen on, every bathroom, the view from any balcony, and (where light permits) a twilight exterior or pool/amenity shot. We can recommend Cairns photographers we’ve worked with — just ask.

For any images used in your listing, on theguestman.com.au, in our social media, marketing materials or case studies, you grant The Guest Man a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to continue using those images for our own marketing purposes, even after this agreement ends. We will not on-sell or relicense your images to a third party.

18Term & termination

• Initial term: 6 months from the date the listing goes live.
• After the initial term: the agreement rolls month-to-month automatically.
• Notice period: 60 days written notice from either party.
• Forward bookings on termination: from the date notice is served, we stop accepting new bookings on your behalf. Bookings already on the calendar at notice date remain with The Guest Man and our 18% management fee (on the same basis as your estimate) on those bookings is retained, regardless of when the guest checks in.
• Early termination: If you end the agreement before the 6-month initial term, an early-exit fee of $500 applies (or the remaining management fees forecast for the term, whichever is lower). This compensates for the onboarding work done up front.
• Termination for cause: Either party may end the agreement immediately if the other materially breaches it and fails to remedy within 14 days of written notice (e.g. unpaid invoices, breach of body corporate rules, repeated guest safety issues).

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 procurement up to the agreed thresholds, guest issues, and pricing within the agreed floors and ceilings. 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.