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Updated almost 2 years ago, 12/10/2022
Should I cancel Evolve
Hello all: I'm one year into my vacation rental and I am debating canceling Evolve as my property management company. I was nervous to take it on all myself at first but now a year in I am questioning how much they are really helping. Does anyone have experience with this? I saw a post from several years ago that when someone canceled with them they were able to keep bookings that were already scheduled. Is this still true? For year one I did ok - about broke even but I had a couple lower reviews early on (lessons learned) and starting from scratch with wipe some of those, but also all my good reviews would also be gone. thoughts? Also open to options on trying to get direct bookings - can you get in trouble with Airbnb/VRBO if you try to drum up directs?
Most people here self manage, so we're definitely going to tell you that you can do it. I'm not a particularly bright gut but I manage it just fine.
Evolve only does the front end stuff anyway, so you were already scheduling cleaners, scheduling maintenance, etc? All of that stuff is the hard part. Managing the listing and pre-check-in messages is the easy part. So if you've already been handling the other stuff, this last little bit of it will be cake.
- Ryan Moyer
Evolve is a marketing company. Slick brochures and big promises, and not much follow-through.
There's really no reason to try to "work around" VRBO. You pay them what, a 7% commission for each night booked? After your credit card fee, you're at 10%. But if you don't use VRBO, you have to pay to advertise to get to those renters and you won't be as good at it as VRBO. And you'll still have your credit card fees.
If you are going to self manage, by all means use the VRBO or airbnb platforms.
If you want to hire a PM, find a good, local one at a decent commission level. Just make sure they aren't robbing from you with the ultra-low management fee by socking the guests with exorbitant booking fees, damage fees, etc. A little trick that I call "rent shifting." Evolve is one of the worst offenders. They aren't charging 10 percent; more like 30-40 percent when you account for all of those fees that they don't share with you.
- Collin Hays
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#1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
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#1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
- Olympia, WA
Hey @Lianna Utley. Seeing as Evolve technically owns the listing, you might not be able to transfer the bookings directly. Can you access the account as the owner? You might need to contact the guests directly and have them book on your new account.
AirBNB and VRBO would really like you to get bookings through their platforms but you can get all the direct bookings you want.
You will have to get new photos as they own those plus rewrite the ad but that isn't tough.
You can do it!
I wouldn’t go with a partial service property manager over a full service. Either go full service or self manage. A partial service presents a disjointed process.
Quote from @Michael Baum:
Hey @Lianna Utley. Seeing as Evolve technically owns the listing, you might not be able to transfer the bookings directly. Can you access the account as the owner? You might need to contact the guests directly and have them book on your new account.
AirBNB and VRBO would really like you to get bookings through their platforms but you can get all the direct bookings you want.
You will have to get new photos as they own those plus rewrite the ad but that isn't tough.
You can do it!
Ya - I'm not sure if they can transfer them. but if I do it now between high seasons I might be able to swing it. I am leaning toward switching - only a year in won't loose that many reviews!
You should definitely cancel with them.
We looked at Evolve but decided self management. It’s only been a couple months and it’s going OK. I do remember asking if we got to keep the listing if we canceled and they said yes. You can continue to use the cleaners that they introduced you to and just pay them on the side. Or find new ones.
Quote from @Matt Steinmetz:
We looked at Evolve but decided self management. It’s only been a couple months and it’s going OK. I do remember asking if we got to keep the listing if we canceled and they said yes. You can continue to use the cleaners that they introduced you to and just pay them on the side. Or find new ones.
Evolve does not let you keep the listing. They own the listing and all bookings that come with it. And if you ever try to cancel you also pay huge cancellation fees. Their low 10% (of gross) management fee is the ONLY pro they have going for them. They will not generate respectable revenue numbers for 99% of their listings.