How much does a virtual assistant cost for an Airbnb business?

This is one of the first questions I get from operators, usually right after "is it time?" And I get it. When you're already paying for cleaners, software, supplies and a hundred subscriptions, one more line on the P&L feels scary.

So let's talk real numbers. Then let's talk about the part that costs operators the most, which usually isn't the VA's pay at all.

What an Airbnb virtual assistant gets paid

Most short-term rental VAs work from the Philippines, and the typical range is $4 to $10 an hour. The sweet spot for a solid, trained VA is about $5 an hour. Here's what that looks like:

• Part-time (about 20 hours a week): roughly $400 a month.
• Full-time (about 40 hours a week): roughly $800 a month.
• Lead VA or someone with deep property management experience: toward the higher end of the range, and worth it.

Plan for raises as they grow with you. And part of Filipino culture is something called the 13th month bonus, paid in December. (More on that in an upcoming post on Filipino VAs and what to know before hiring.)

What really changes the cost comes down to one thing: how you hire

Two operators can pay their VA the exact same $5 an hour and spend wildly different amounts in a year. The difference is how the VA was hired. There are 3 common ways people hire a VA.

1. Hiring on your own (Upwork, Fiverr, Facebook groups)

No placement fee, so it looks like the cheapest option. But you pay in time: writing the job post, sorting through hundreds of applicants, interviewing, testing and training. Most candidates have never touched Airbnb, Hospitable or Turno. And if it doesn't work out, you start over.

Often these candidates interview well and then don't do a great job, take multiple jobs at once, or turn out to be scammers. I'm not saying it CAN'T work. I'm just saying it doesn't always work out.

2. VA agencies

Agencies handle the recruiting and the HR for the whole employment, then charge you a recurring fee for as long as you keep the VA. Those fees often run $400 to $600 or more a month. They usually don't tell you what your VA is actually getting paid. They'll tell you "oh, it's $1,200 a month for full-time work," and your VA sees only part of that, like $3 to $4 an hour if they're lucky. SAD!

A few things to watch for before you sign with any agency:

• Non-refundable deposits charged before you've even interviewed anyone.
• Generalist pools. Your "STR VA" may have spent last week doing medical billing and has never seen a turnover.
• Who the VA belongs to. If the agency manages the relationship, it can reassign your VA, and you have little say over their pay, raises or even their email address.
• Required time tracking tools that break down and keep your VA from working.

3. Direct placement (my favorite method)

Someone reviews, vets, interviews and prepares the VA to meet you, then places them directly on your team. You pay a one-time fee, and from there the VA works for you. You set the rate, you give the raises, and nobody stands between you and the person showing up for your business every day.

That's how SimplyVA works. The placement fee is paid once, and then your VA is yours. With an agency, you'd keep paying those fees every single month.

The cost of not hiring

This is the number nobody puts on a spreadsheet. If your time is worth $50 an hour, and it is (probably more), and you spend 20 hours a week on guest messages, cleaner coordination and owner updates, that's $1,000 a week. $4,000 a month. $48,000 a year of your time spent on work someone else could do (and SHOULD do).

And that's just the money. It's the owner you didn't follow up on because you were answering a Wi-Fi question. The review that slipped during peak season. The Saturday your family stopped asking you to put your phone down because they already knew the answer.

A $400 to $800 a month VA isn't the expensive choice. Staying the bottleneck is.