Almost everyone who buys in Tulum from abroad thinks about the property first: area, price, size. Almost nobody thinks about the question that decides whether the purchase works: who takes care of it when you’re not there. This is what we wish someone had told us before buying, ordered by what gets underestimated the most.
What our own listings say
Today we reviewed the listings in our catalog returned by the site’s API. The first page of results has 100 listings; 25 are in Spanish and 20 are in Tulum. Of those 20:
- 1 mentions property management.
- 7 mention vacation rentals.
- 1 mentions concierge service, and 2 mention maintenance.
We’ll say it plainly: property management barely appears in our own listings. It’s a topic people tend to discover after signing, and it’s exactly the one worth getting clear on beforehand.
What a property manager actually does
The word “management” hides five distinct jobs. A good agreement separates them in writing; a bad one lumps them into a single commission figure.
- Marketing: creating the listing, the photos, seasonal pricing, and a presence on the rental platforms.
- Guest services: answering messages, handing over keys, solving problems at eleven at night.
- Cleaning and laundry: between one stay and the next, to a hotel standard.
- Maintenance: air conditioning, plumbing, pool, garden, pest control. In a humid, salty climate, wear and tear is constant.
- Administrative management: condo maintenance fees (HOA dues), electricity, water, internet, property tax, and income reporting.
Anyone who asks “how much do they charge?” without asking which of the five are included is comparing different things.
Three ways to handle it
1. An independent professional manager. A local company takes care of all five jobs. It’s the most convenient option for anyone living abroad. In exchange, it charges a percentage of what the property earns, and it’s worth asking what is billed separately. As a rough guide, vacation rental management commissions typically fall in a range of 15% to 30% of revenue, depending on what’s included.
2. The development or the condominium. Some developments offer a rental program with concierge and in-house services. The advantage is that everything is in one place. The downside: the contract often ties up your use of the unit, and the commission can be higher. Ask for the contract before buying, not after.
3. A trusted person. A relative or an acquaintance in the area. It works for a property that isn’t rented or is rented very little. Once guests from other countries, reviews, and refunds come into play, it stops being enough, and the relationship wears thin fast.
What to ask before hiring
Seven questions will do. If something isn’t in writing, it doesn’t exist:
- What percentage do they charge, and on what basis: gross revenue or net of platform fees?
- What is billed separately: cleaning, laundry, repairs, photos, setup?
- Who pays for small maintenance expenses, and up to what amount without consulting you?
- When and how is the money paid out, and with what monthly report?
- What about the calendar: can I block dates to use the property myself?
- How long is the contract, and what’s the exit? It should be possible to end it with reasonable notice, without disproportionate penalties.
- Who responds in an emergency, and how quickly?
Before you hire: three permits people forget
Renting by the night doesn’t depend only on you or the manager. Check:
- The condominium bylaws. Some buildings ban or limit short-term rentals. Read them before buying.
- The tax situation. Rental income is taxable. A manager can issue invoices and keep the records, but the obligation remains with the owner; consult an accountant in Mexico.
- The trust (fideicomiso). If you bought in the restricted zone through a trust, the bank is the formal title holder and some procedures go through it. Ask how a manager is authorized to act.
What nobody includes in the budget
Without occupancy the manager earns nothing, but the property still costs money: HOA dues, electricity, water, internet, property tax, insurance, and the trust fee. Anyone buying to rent should work out the first year with conservative occupancy and a full month of expenses with no income. As a rule of thumb, set aside the equivalent of three months of fixed expenses before counting on a single peso of rental income.
This ties into something we’ve already covered: of the Tulum listings we read, almost none has a monthly rent figure entered. If your plan depended on a number given by word of mouth, ask for it in writing, with the occupancy assumption in plain view.
An example with made-up numbers, to see the mechanics
The numbers below are hypothetical and serve only to show how the money is split; they are not a projection for any property. Imagine a unit that generates 2.000 USD in lodging revenue in a month. With a 20% commission, the manager keeps 400. That leaves 1.600. Out of that come cleaning between stays, laundry, condo fees, electricity, water, and internet. If those costs add up to 700, the owner receives 900 before taxes.
Now imagine the same month at half the occupancy: 1.000 USD in revenue, 200 in commission, and the same fixed costs of 700. That leaves 100. The exercise teaches two things: the commission is the most visible part but not the heaviest, and fixed costs don’t go down when occupancy does. That’s why it pays to ask the manager to run these numbers with you, using your real expenses, before signing.
Mistakes that keep repeating
- Choosing by the lowest commission. A low percentage with everything billed separately ends up costing more than a high one with everything included.
- Not asking for reports. Without a monthly report on revenue, expenses, and occupancy, there’s no way to tell if something is going wrong.
- Handing over keys without an inventory. Photos of every room and a list of what’s inside on handover day prevent arguments later.
- Signing a long term with no exit clause. If the service isn’t what was promised, you need to be able to switch.
A simple way to decide
- You’ll use it a few weeks a year and want it to earn: a professional manager, with a clear contract and a monthly report.
- You’ll use it a lot yourself: light management, covering keys, cleaning, and maintenance, without continuous rentals.
- It’s a pure investment, in a development with a rental program: compare that program with at least one independent manager before signing.
So what now?
If you’re about to buy, or you’ve already bought and the property is sitting empty, tell us which area it’s in and how you plan to use it. We’ll tell you which management options we see as reasonable and which questions to bring to each meeting. Write to us: reviewing a contract before you sign it costs nothing, and afterward it’s almost always too late.
The listing count is from October 22, 2026, read through the site’s API; it changes as the catalog is updated. Commissions, occupancy rates, and terms are rough ranges and vary by manager, development, and season. Consult an accountant and an attorney in Mexico before deciding. None of this constitutes a promise of returns.
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Versión en español: Sobre quién administra tu propiedad de Tulum cuando no estás · Versão em português: Quem administra seu imóvel em Tulum quando você não está · Version française: Qui gère votre bien à Tulum quand vous n’y êtes pas
