What’s this all about?
Welcome to Machuca Homes! Whether you’re an owner, an agent, or a guest, here’s everything you need to know about how the rental platform works.
For Guests
How Does This All Work?
Well, this is a rental platform where you can get to know the hosts of these lovely homes in our community. Connect with them, ask them all sorts of questions you need to know about their homes and when you’re happy, make a reservation!
Here’s how you get started…
Step 1: Register Your Account
• Sign up on our platform.
Step 2: Confirm your email address
• Find the account registration activation email, it may be located in your junk mail.
Step 3: Edit your profile
• Add a profile picture so hosts can see you, add a little bit about you so they can get to know you.
Step 3: Start Searching
• And away you go! Look for homes and chat with owners and agents.
Step 4: Book Your Stay
• Use your credit or debit card to book your stay.
What fees are involved?
Machuca Homes charges 9% commission on top of guests total booking amount for short-term and long-term reservations (unlike other platforms that apply their commission on the booking subtotal, we consider any discount applied to the booking). This includes all payment processing fees.
Also, we have introduced Community Givebacks to our platform (see next question). If you are making a long term reservation, you contribute 1% and if you make a short term reservation, you contribute 2% of your total booking amount.
We display the full amount of the booking right in the search results so there are no surprises when you get to the checkout page. And you will see the breakdown of that amount in the booking form of each listing including discounts (if applicable) and the mentioned fees and commissions.
Please see the terms and conditions for more details.
Hang on, what are Community Givebacks?
Machuca Homes is committed to ensuring that we carefully navigate the growth stage of this community with many homes being built in this biologically and socially sensitive area. There is an inevitable negative knock on effect to this that we hope we do our part to help mitigate.
Community Givebacks helps foster a more circular economy to the rental market here in the Machuca Valley.
Guests and Machuca Homes as a company will contribute small fees that go towards the local community HOA funds and to the wider communities that are a part of the Machuca community.
These funds will have a main purpose of funding projects that are deemed socially or ecologically beneficial to the Machuca Valley.
Community Giveback amounts:
- Guest fees: Short term guests will be charged 2% on top of their reservation fee. Long term guests will be charged 1% on top of their reservation fee.
- Machuca Homes fees: We are committed to paying out 5% of our net monthly income.
For Hosts
How Does Machuca Homes Work?
Please If you need some more help check out our How to create a new listing instructional page.
My home needs to be photographed, how can I organize this?
We’ve got you covered. Contact one of our suggested photographers directly (we do not make a profit from this service but we do believe it is mutually beneficial for properties to have good photographs).
Why should I choose to list my house on Machuca Homes?
You don’t have to choose between us and other platforms—you can list with us and sync our calendar with the popular rental sites like Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.
Unlike larger platforms, your listing won’t get lost in the crowd. Our niche website is designed to rank well on search engines, ensuring your listing appears in search results independently.
Listing with us supports your local community. Our business model gives back a percentage of each booking to the community, fostering a circular economy (see next question). Plus, our fees are low and transparent.
We created this website as a community service, aiming for mutual growth and benefit. We value your participation, feedback, and ideas to continuously improve.
What are Community Givebacks?
Machuca Homes is committed to ensuring that we carefully navigate the growth stage of the community with more homes being built. There is an inevitable negative knock on effect to this that we hope we do our part to mitigate.
Guests and Machuca Homes as a company will contribute fees that go towards the local community HOA funds and to the wider communities that are a part of the Machuca community.
This helps support a more circular economy to the rental market here in the Machuca Valley.
These funds will have a main purpose of funding projects that are deemed socially or ecologically beneficial to the Machuca Valley.
Community Giveback amounts:
- Guest fees: Short term guests will be charged 2% on top of their total booking amount. Long term guests will be charged 1% on top of their total booking amount.
- Machuca Homes fees: We are committed to paying out 5% of our net monthly income.
How much does it cost to list a home?
Listing your home is completely free!
We only charge a commission for bookings (see next question).
Do you charge a commission for bookings?
Host fees:
Our commission for bookings is 2% of the total booking amount for both short and long term reservations (unlike other platforms that apply their commission on the booking subtotal, we consider any discount applied to the booking).
How can I tell if the long-term guest will be a good fit for my home?
Use our messaging platform to request previous landlord references or other supporting documents from prospective guests.
What do I need to do if I want the guest to stay beyond the two-month reservation period?
Contact your guest one month before the reservation expires to see if they wish to stay on!
Organize a rental agreement with the guest and chose whether you wish to opt in to Easy Rental Payments through Machuca Homes, or handle payments independently.
We will take care of this, ensuring the guest pays on time and will handle the deposit until the end of the stay so you don’t have to!
What are the fees for Easy Rental Payments?
We charge a small fee of 2% of the monthly rental amount. This covers timely rental payments and deposit management. Read more
When do payouts occur?
Payouts are processed at the end of the month.
My home needs a property manager or a contractor.
On our Property Services page, we offer a list of recommended property managers and contractors. It’s free for them to list and helps support their businesses.
Contact them there to discuss their services!
Others
How do damage deposits work?
The host decides the damage deposit amount. This amount is held on the guest’s credit/debit card by a service called Charge Automation. In case of damage or lost items, the host will provide evidence and quotes, and the required amount will be deducted from the guest’s deposit.
What is the cancellation policy?
Reservations are:
100% refundable until 90 days before the start of the reservation.
50% refundable between 90-60 days.
Non-refundable from 60 days onwards.
Machuca Homes reserves the right to cancel short-term bookings up to 90 days before the start date if the owner prefers a long-term tenant. We prioritize long-term residents to support the local community.