Many landlords new to the idea frequently ask “How much is Blueground’s commission?” and “How does Blueground make their money?” Because our business model differs from that of a property manager, or a rental marketplace like Airbnb, landlords are not charged a commission. Instead, Blueground’s profits are built into the monthly rent charged to its tenants.
In short, Blueground does not take a commission from the rental income passed onto landlords. In essence, Blueground is your primary tenant and takes care of sourcing business executives and expats as your subtenants. The landlord and Blueground first agree on the rent. As your renter, Blueground pays out this monthly rent, regardless of whether the unit is occupied or not. Blueground factors its earnings into the final rental price charged to the subtenant. Additionally, we do not charge landlords a commission in any of the cities we operate in.
What advantages does Blueground offer landlords over conventional renting?
When you are the primary landlord, you face the uncertainty of rental gaps and financially unfit tenants. That is in addition to the time and energy spent sourcing and screening tenants, tending to maintenance requests and collecting rent.
In working with Blueground, we become your tenant and furnish your apartment to appeal to relocated business travelers and premium tenants. Everything from property marketing to maintenance to rent collection is taken care of. Of the benefits that over 1,500 Blueground landlords currently enjoy:
- A full year of rental income guaranteed regardless of occupancy rate
- The apartment is handed over to Blueground for a period of three to five years
- Respectful tenants who rent out the apartment for longer periods of time (9 months on average)
- Landlords do not interact with tenants
- Yield-boosting solutions through co-financing the apartment’s furniture and equipment
- The ability to boost rental income when receiving rent checks in installments
How much can you earn with Blueground?
Blueground pays the owners the market-value rent they would get from an individual long-term tenant. At the end of the day (or fiscal year), the return is much higher because:
- Blueground has a proven track record of paying rent on-time to its landlords and will not be late to pay monthly rent
- The property owner saves the time and cost related to dealing with an individual tenant and with handling property maintenance issues. Blueground does all that without charging the owner any property management fee.
- There are no rental income gaps when working with Blueground. Landlords will be paid on time. As opposed to conventional renting where there may be one of two missed rents due to tenant turnover or extensive repairs.
- We keep the apartment in excellent condition. If the owner decides to end the agreement, the apartment can be rented out again within a short time frame.
- Our agreements with the owners are typically flexible. So if an owner wants the apartment back to stay themselves or to sell it, Blueground will release it in a reasonable time frame.
Property owners can finance the furniture and equipment used to outfit their apartment, effectively increasing their property’s yield. Blueground is then able to offer an annual return on their capital in addition to returning the investment at the end of the partnership. Alternatively, landlords can also choose to keep the furniture after wrapping up with Blueground. While you can’t measure the value of this freedom, it is definitely worth a considerable sum.
Is Blueground just another Airbnb platform?
Blueground’s offering and business model are totally different from Airbnb. Platforms like Airbnb, constitute marketplaces, meaning that they show the properties on their websites, facilitate bookings and process payments.
Blueground, on the other hand, is an end-to-end property management and tech-enabled real estate company, that provides full services to tenants as well as property owners. We go beyond being just a marketplace, we use technology to connect executives, expats, and individual renters with fully furnished apartments for mid- to long-term stays, and simultaneously make it easy for property owners to maximize their annual yield. Our vision is to help create a world where people can easily – and instantly – feel at home wherever they go.
We undertake interior designing, furnishing, and property management services to ensure properties on offer are tastefully decorated as well. Our idea was born by evaluating the market, discovering a need and a gap to fulfill and thereby generating an innovative business plan. The Blueground concept is simple; to lease carefully-selected, high-quality properties in the most sought-after locations on a medium and long-term stay basis to individual renters and business professionals. Blueground in-house interior design team works with individual and corporate property owners to upgrade properties into best-in-class apartments.
Blueground’s in-house developed technology automates all aspects of the business. A proprietary online booking and payment platform makes booking a breeze. The mobile application covers all interactions with guests. While a multi-aspect operations system has changed internal efficiency as well.
In “How is Blueground different from Airbnb?”, we walk you through the two options and present the ideal property owner scenario for both.
What are the hidden fees when working with Blueground?
Since we do not function as real estate brokers, property managers nor mediators, we don’t charge any commission for our services. Instead, we build our profits into the rental price charged to the sublessees. Blueground works with furniture suppliers directly and gets wholesale rates for designer mid-century inspired sofas, handmade carpets, premium linens, and hotel-quality mattresses.
The Landlord Resources blog is Blueground’s information hub for landlords and property owners.
Through tailored articles, landlords can find relevant information relating to renting out their apartments, decorating, maintenance & renovation, property management and rental laws specific to their city.
