You own a cottage near the Boyne Valley, and you're tired of running Airbnb yourself. Fair enough. The 6am calendar checks, the guest messages at 10pm and the cleaner who can't do Saturday all add up. So is there a local company that handles everything for a commission? Yes. Sos Stays is one, and this comparison sets it against the option you're on now: doing it all yourself.
We're comparing two options for one type of owner: someone with a holiday cottage in or near the Boyne Valley, Louth, Meath or the Mourne coast who wants to stop managing Airbnb. The criteria are commission and fees, pricing, calendar control, guest screening and communication, cleaning and maintenance, reporting, and how local the team is.
One caveat first. Most of the figures below come from Sos Stays' own website, so treat them as the company's claims and check them against your own numbers.
Option 1: DIY self-management
DIY means you are the pricing team, the front desk, the cleaning coordinator and the call-out line. In practice that's:
- updating rates and minimum stays by hand
- keeping several channel calendars from clashing
- answering every guest message
- booking cleaners around check-in times
- chasing tradespeople when something breaks
What you gain: you keep 100% of the revenue before platform fees, and you control every decision. If you live ten minutes from the cottage and enjoy hosting, that's a real advantage.
What it costs you: time, plus possibly money. Sos Stays states that self-managing hosts in the Boyne–Mournes corridor typically leave 20–35% of revenue on the table. Its own early example is a first property priced about 24% below the local market average. After repricing, August occupancy went from 31% to 60% (Sos Stays calls this a 93% uplift). It's one property and the company's own case, so it's not a guarantee. It does show how a single flat rate can miss live demand.
The other risks are fragmented calendars and being unreachable. Its landlord page calls this the "11pm problem": the gate code doesn't work and you're at a wedding.
Option 2: Sos Stays, local commission-only management
Sos Stays describes its approach as "we sell the break, not just the booking". It builds a guest-facing brand around your property and the surrounding area, rather than just uploading a listing and routing bookings.
How the commission works
Sos Stays advertises commission "from 15% of your rental revenue". Its landlord page gives a range of 15–30% of gross booking revenue, with cleaning fees excluded. The exact rate depends on property type and location, because coastal cottages, city apartments and multi-unit portfolios are priced differently.
There's no setup fee and no monthly retainer. Nothing is owed on empty nights, because the company only gets paid when your property does. That's the "no booking, no fee" idea.
What you hand over
- Pricing and listing: dynamic pricing tuned to local demand, a calendar and minimum-stay strategy, and written and photographed listings.
- Distribution: one calendar synced across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia, TripAdvisor and Sos Stays direct bookings.
- Guest experience: guest screening and verified check-in, local-area guides written for each stay, cross-selling of local experiences and tours, review recovery and repeat-guest offers.
- Property management: cleaning and turnover coordination, maintenance callouts with trusted trades, linen, consumables and restocking, and monthly owner statements and payouts.
On maintenance, Sos Stays handles anything up to €250 without checking with you first. Above that, it calls you before doing anything.
The trade-offs: you give up a slice of revenue and some day-to-day control. The company's early track record is limited, so ask for a revenue estimate rather than relying on the headline case.
DIY vs Sos Stays side by side
- Fees: DIY has none, but platform fees apply. Sos Stays is from 15% of gross revenue (15–30% range), cleaning fees excluded, with no setup fee and no retainer.
- Empty dates: with DIY you absorb the cost. With Sos Stays, nothing is owed on empty nights.
- Pricing: DIY is whatever you update, when you remember. Sos Stays uses dynamic pricing tuned to local demand.
- Calendars: DIY means manual syncing, or a tool you set up. Sos Stays runs one calendar across six channels, including direct.
- Guest screening: with DIY you vet and message. Sos Stays does screening and verified check-in.
- Cleaning: DIY means you coordinate. Sos Stays coordinates cleaning and turnover.
- Maintenance: with DIY you call and chase. Sos Stays handles callouts and trusted trades, up to €250 without owner check-in.
- Guest experience: with DIY it depends on your time. Sos Stays offers local-area guides, cross-selling and repeat-guest offers.
- Reporting: DIY means your own spreadsheet. Sos Stays sends monthly owner statements and payouts.
- Best for: DIY suits available, hands-on owners nearby. Sos Stays suits owners who want time back and steadier revenue.
What to check before you sign with any manager
Whichever company you shortlist, ask these questions:
- How often do they reprice? Dynamic against live demand is different from a seasonal rate card.
- Is there one synced calendar? Double bookings are expensive.
- Who approves repairs? Get the spending threshold in writing.
- What are the fees on empty dates? Confirm there's no setup fee and no retainer.
- Do they improve the guest experience? Look for guides, check-in and communication, not just a new listing.
- What do you keep control of? Personal-use blocks are the obvious one.
Which option suits you?
If you're doing the admin yourself, losing evenings to messages and suspect your rates lag the market, commission-only local management is likely the better fit. Sos Stays lines up closely with that situation: a local team, 11pm cover, dynamic pricing, multi-platform sync, a clear maintenance limit, and no fee when the property isn't earning. It also has a direct-booking brand, which matters if you want repeat guests beyond one-off marketplace bookings.
DIY still makes sense if you live nearby, enjoy hosting and already reprice often. Keeping the full margin is a fair reason to stay put.
Not sure which camp you're in? Work out your annual revenue and occupancy, then ask for an estimate. Compare the projected lift, minus commission, against what your own hours are worth. If you'd like to see how handing off works, the landlords page sets it out, and the Boyne Valley landlord guide covers registration and pricing. Our breakdown of short-let management costs in Ireland puts the commission model in context.