Owner's guide
Condo property management in Cebu: what it costs and how to choose
A practical guide for owners of condominium units in Metro Cebu. Written by a manager, so read it with that in mind — but the numbers and the checklist apply whoever you hire.
The short answer. Condo property management in Cebu is usually priced in one of two ways: a commission of 15–20% of gross booking revenue, which is the market standard, or a flat monthly fee — PHP 5,000 per property per month in Amuma Properties’ case. On top of the management fee, owners in both models pay cleaning per turnover (roughly PHP 650–1,050 by unit size), repairs and supplies at cost, and the platform’s own fees. Below roughly PHP 30,000 of monthly revenue a commission is cheaper; above it, a flat fee is, and the gap widens as the unit earns more.
What a Cebu property manager actually does
“Property management” covers two quite different services in the Philippines, and mixing them up is the most common source of a bad hire.
Long-term residential leasing means finding a tenant, handling the lease, collecting rent, and dealing with occasional repairs. It is usually priced at 5–10% of monthly rent, or a one-month finder’s fee. It is low-touch work.
Short-term rental management — Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct bookings — is an operations job. Every few days there is a new guest, which means a clean, an inspection, a set of messages, a check-in, and a restock. Over a year a single studio can turn over a hundred times. That is why it costs more, and why the difference between a good and a bad manager shows up so quickly in your review score.
A short-term rental manager in Cebu should be handling, at minimum: listing creation and ongoing optimisation across platforms; calendar and rate management; guest communication from inquiry to checkout; turnover cleaning and its quality control; preventive maintenance and vendor coordination; and financial reporting back to you.
What it costs, in real numbers
| Cost | Typical market | Amuma Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Management fee | 15–20% of gross booking revenue | PHP 5,000 / month / property, flat |
| Cleaning per turnover | PHP 600–1,200 depending on unit size | PHP 650 studio · 750 1BR · 950 2BR · 1,050 3BR, at cost |
| Repairs & replacements | At cost, sometimes with a 10–20% coordination mark-up | At cost, no mark-up, no vendor commissions |
| Setup / onboarding | One-time, varies by manager | Quoted per unit before you commit |
| Expense float | Varies; sometimes none | PHP 5,000 one-time, refundable |
| Platform fees | Set by Airbnb / Booking.com | Same — manager receives none of it |
Market figures are indicative ranges for Metro Cebu and vary by manager and unit. Amuma figures are our published rates.
Flat fee or commission — the honest comparison
The break-even is around PHP 30,000 of monthly revenue. Below it, a percentage manager is cheaper and you should probably use one. Above it, the flat fee costs less every month, and the difference compounds because the fee never moves.
| Monthly revenue | 15–20% commission | PHP 5,000 flat fee | Cheaper option |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP 20,000 | PHP 3,000–4,000 | PHP 5,000 | Commission |
| PHP 30,000 | PHP 4,500–6,000 | PHP 5,000 | Roughly equal |
| PHP 50,000 | PHP 7,500–10,000 | PHP 5,000 | Flat fee |
| PHP 100,000 | PHP 15,000–20,000 | PHP 5,000 | Flat fee |
There is a second, less obvious difference. A commission is a share of your gross revenue, not your net. That makes heavy discounting attractive to the manager — more bookings at a lower nightly rate raises their fee while raising your cleaning costs and the wear on your unit. A flat fee is neutral on that question.
Nine things to check before you sign
Whoever you hire, these are the questions that separate a manager who will still be doing the job in month eighteen from one who will not.
- How often do you physically visit the unit, and do you photograph the visit? “As needed” means “when a guest complains”. Ask for a schedule and photo evidence.
- How many units does each staff member handle? There is a real ceiling on how many properties one person can visit, clean-check, and message for.
- Do you mark up repairs or take vendor commissions? If yes, they have a financial reason to prefer expensive vendors.
- What spending threshold needs my approval? There should be a written number. Ours is PHP 3,000.
- Can I see reporting on demand, or only monthly? On-demand reporting is a strong signal that the numbers are being kept accurately in real time.
- Are receipts attached to every expense line? A summary figure with no receipts is not accountability.
- Is there a lock-in period or exit fee? Long lock-ins usually mean the manager expects you would otherwise leave.
- How fast do you answer guests, and what is your rating target? Response speed is the single strongest driver of review scores after cleanliness.
- Does my condominium corporation actually permit short-term letting? Ask the manager, then confirm in writing with the building. This one is on you, and it is the most expensive thing to get wrong.
Where short-term rentals work in Cebu
Demand in Metro Cebu concentrates around a few anchors. Units within walking distance of Cebu IT Park and Ayala Center Cebu attract business travellers, remote workers, and long-weekend domestic guests, and generally sustain the steadiest occupancy. Mactan and Lapu-Lapu City serve the resort and airport market, with more seasonality and higher weekend peaks. Units near SM City Cebu and the North Reclamation Area sit in between.
Two practical cautions. First, building rules vary enormously — some Cebu condominium corporations restrict or prohibit short-term letting, set minimum stays, or require transient guests to be registered. Confirm this in writing before you spend anything on furnishing. Second, a studio in a strong location routinely out-earns a larger unit in a weak one, so square metres are a poor proxy for income.
Is short-term rental even right for your unit?
Sometimes the answer is no, and a manager who never says so is not being straight with you. Long-term leasing is usually the better call when the building restricts short-term letting; when the location will not sustain a nightly rate high enough to cover the turnover count; when the unit would need refurbishment that will not pay back within a reasonable horizon; or when you simply want predictable monthly income with far less operational variance.
How Amuma Properties fits
We are a Cebu City manager built specifically for the flat-fee, high-touch end of that spectrum: PHP 5,000 per month per property, bi-weekly photo-logged visits, no mark-up on repairs, a PHP 3,000 approval threshold, and a 24/7 owner portal. We cap our portfolio because the visit schedule has a physical limit.
That makes us a good fit for units earning above roughly PHP 30,000 a month whose owners — often overseas — care more about knowing what is happening than about the lowest possible headline fee. Below that threshold, or for long-term leasing, someone else is likely the better answer, and we will tell you so during the assessment.