Property management quality varies wildly across the Riviera Maya. Some managers run truly professional operations with documented processes; others are essentially "I have a friend who can clean it for you" relationships that collapse the first time something breaks. Switching when things aren't working is mechanically easy but procedurally messy — done right, you transition in 30–45 days. Done wrong, you can lose 60+ days of bookings.
**The 5 red flags (any 2+ = look for a new PM):**
**1. Opaque or late monthly statements.**
- You should get a monthly statement within 7 days of month-end
- It should show every booking (source, dates, gross, fees, net), every expense (with receipts/CFDIs), every tax filing
- Net deposit to your account should match the statement, exactly
- If statements are "draft" forever, miss months, or come without supporting documents — that's a red flag
**2. Below-market occupancy without explanation.**
- Compare your occupancy to market data — AirDNA, similar listings in your building, your manager's own reporting
- A 60% occupancy in a 75% market is a problem; a manager should proactively diagnose and adjust pricing
- If they're consistently underperforming and the explanation is "the market is slow," push for specifics
**3. No post-stay reporting.**
- After each guest checkout, you should get photos showing the unit was cleaned and restored
- Damage reports should arrive within 24 hours of identification
- If you've been managing for 6+ months and never seen photos, your manager isn't doing the post-stay inspection — which means issues are accumulating you'll find at year-end
**4. Slow maintenance response.**
- Standard SLAs: emergency (no AC, no water, no power) — 4 hours; urgent (appliance broken) — 24 hours; non-urgent (light bulb) — 72 hours
- If guests are complaining about repeat issues, or you're getting Airbnb chargebacks for unresolved maintenance, your manager is dropping the ball
**5. Communication failures.**
- Manager should respond to owner inquiries within 24 hours during weekdays
- WhatsApp messages going unanswered, emails ignored, or "I'll check and get back to you" without follow-through — these compound
- This is the most common quiet failure mode
**Other warning signs:**
- Surprise fees not in your contract (cleaning supplies, "admin fees," "marketing fees")
- Cleaning fee not flowing to the cleaner (you pay $50/clean, cleaner makes $15)
- Refusing to provide CFDIs for the tax filings
- Multiple "cleaning days" booked where the unit was actually vacant
- Different bank account for deposits than the one in your contract
- Manager personally using the unit during "vacant" windows
**The switching process:**
**Step 1: Find the new manager first.**
Don't terminate before you've signed with a new PM. The gap between managers is where things go wrong — bookings drop, the unit goes unsupervised, keys go missing. Identify 2–3 alternatives, interview them, get references, sign with one.
**Step 2: Read your contract carefully.**
- Termination clause (typical: 30-day notice, sometimes longer)
- What happens to existing bookings (typically the current PM honors them through checkout)
- OTA listing ownership (this is the big one — see below)
- Key + gear inventory provisions
**Step 3: Send written termination notice.**
Email + WhatsApp the termination, specifying the end date. Keep it professional — you may need this PM for the handover.
**Step 4: Handle OTA listings.**
This is where it gets complicated. Some managers list your property under their own account; others list under yours. If under their account:
- Existing reviews stay with their account (you lose them)
- You need to create new listings on Airbnb/VRBO/Booking under your name (or new PM's name)
- This is a 30–60 day rebuild — be ready for an occupancy dip
If under your account (best practice from the start):
- Reviews stay with you
- New PM just gets access
- No occupancy dip
**Step 5: Inventory handover.**
The new PM should walk through the property with the old PM. Document every key, every piece of furniture, every appliance, every condition issue. Photos + signed inventory list.
**Step 6: Honor existing bookings.**
The old PM typically honors bookings made before termination. New PM handles bookings starting after the transition date. Communicate clearly with guests if there are any changes.
**Cost of switching:**
- Realistic occupancy dip: 10–20 percentage points for 30–90 days during the transition
- Refresh fees from new PM: $200–500 USD
- Listing recreation work: 2–5 days of your time or $300–600 if you outsource
- If the old PM owns the listings, the cost is significantly higher
**How PlayaStays handles new-owner onboarding:**
- Free pre-engagement review of your current PM's performance (statements, occupancy, response times)
- We list all properties under owner accounts (or our agency account with full transparency)
- All reviews + listing history transfer with the owner
- Onboarding includes inventory documentation, professional photos, listing optimization, pricing strategy
- 30-day transition with detailed weekly reports during ramp-up
