Concierge, caretaker, estate manager: three trades that get confused

Let us be clear from the outset: we are hardly disinterested. Maison Aubier practises the third trade. This piece would be worthless if it concluded that it is the one you need.

So let us proceed differently. Here is what each one does, how each earns its living — which explains a great deal — and when each is the right choice.

I. The concierge

What it does. Welcoming occupants, cleaning, laundry, shopping, bookings, small services during the stay. For letting concierges, add listings, pricing, arrivals and departures, linen and platform relations.

How it is paid. Two models. A service fee, per task or by subscription. Or, overwhelmingly around the Bay, a commission on rental income, typically 15% to 25% depending on the scope.

What that implies. A concierge paid by commission has an economic interest aligned with occupancy. That is entirely legitimate, and indeed what you are asking for. But it means that unlet weeks — winter, that is, precisely when the building suffers — generate no revenue and therefore attract no attention.

When it is the right choice. You let the property, seasonally or year-round. You want to arrive to a house that is ready. You need a point of contact during stays. A good local concierge is well worth their commission.

II. Caretaking

What it does. A physical presence: periodic patrols, checking openings and boundaries, controlling access, attending deliveries and trades, sometimes verifying alarm activations. Some arrangements include on-site accommodation.

How it is paid. By subscription, according to patrol frequency, or a monthly fee for permanent presence.

What that implies. Caretaking belongs to security, not to building. An officer checks that a door is closed; they are neither trained nor mandated to judge the state of a flashing, the operation of a safety group, or the merits of a roofer's quotation.

When it is the right choice. A large property, valuable contents or artwork, an isolated location, a history of break-ins nearby. Caretaking addresses a real risk that nothing else addresses as well.

III. Estate management

What it does. Technical stewardship over time: documented visits, inspection of the fabric and equipment, planned preventive maintenance, coordination and inspection of trades, maintenance of the technical record, periodic reporting, decisions on works.

How it is paid. By monthly retainer, independent of how the property is used and with no commission on the works coordinated under that subscription — a point worth verifying systematically, including with us.

What that implies. A provider paid by retainer, with no commission on the works it coordinates, has no interest in multiplying interventions. Their interest is that the house costs as little as possible over time, because that is what keeps the contract.

When it is the right choice. You do not let, or barely. You are far away. The property has value, a history, or both. You have had an unpleasant surprise before. You are preparing to hand it on.

IV. The scope table

V. The five questions that settle it

Rather than choosing by category, ask yourself these. They identify the right provider better than any brochure.

1. Do you let the property? If yes, a concierge is probably indispensable. If no, probably superfluous.

2. Who goes up on the roof? Ask every provider you meet, literally. The answer is often awkward, and it is revealing.

3. What happens on 15 January? Ask for the concrete programme of a winter week. A provider whose winter activity amounts to "we call in from time to time" has told you what you need to know.

4. How are you paid if I do not let and there are no works? The answer shows where the provider's economic interest lies, and therefore where their attention will go.

5. What will I be left with if I end the contract in three years? A complete, transferable technical record, or nothing at all. That is the difference between a service consumed and an asset built.

VI. Our position, and its limits

We built Maison Aubier on a conviction: around the Bay, technical stewardship of the fabric is the least well covered link, while carrying the heaviest financial risk.

That is why our monitoring module is designed to add to an existing concierge rather than replace one. We do not serve paying guests' stays, we do not manage lettings, and we do not provide live-in household staff; cleaning enters our service only where it serves the house and its owner — an arrival preparation, for instance. When a client needs that, we say so and point them elsewhere.

The honest limit of our model: for a property let year-round, with a competent concierge calling in weekly, the marginal value of estate management is lower. The house is occupied, therefore looked at, therefore faults are seen.

It is the house empty six months a year that needs us. It is also, around the Bay, the most common situation.