Personal use of managed holiday apartments: allowance, peak season, blocked dates

The question owners ask us most often before signing a management agreement is: ‘Can I still use my apartment myself?’ The answer is yes. However, it is subject to clear rules, because the apartment is part of an accommodation business and it must be demonstrated to the authority that it is available to guests. This is how it works in practice.

The allowance

The building permit sets out how much personal use is permitted. For the properties we manage in Lenk, for example, the following applies: at most 120 days per year, of which at most 40 days in peak season – and the condition in the building permit takes precedence, which limits use by owners, family and friends to three weeks per peak season. These figures depend on the property; what counts is always your building permit and your contract.

Each overnight stay counts as one day of the allowance. Personal use covers not only your own stays but also those of your family and any free-of-charge use by friends and acquaintances.

What counts as peak season

Peak season is defined in the contract so that there is no room for discussion. In the example of our Lenk properties there are three windows: the Christmas and New Year weeks, the winter sports holidays from early February to mid-March, and high summer from early July to mid-August. Demand is highest in these weeks – which is why personal use is more tightly limited then, and stays are possible only by the week, from Saturday to Saturday. This matches the rhythm in which families book holiday apartments.

Reserving: early is guaranteed, short notice is possible

The management company sells your apartment to guests up to one year in advance. A simple rule follows from this:

• If you reserve more than a year in advance, your personal use is guaranteed. The apartment is blocked for these dates before it goes on sale.
• If you reserve later, personal use is possible if there is no guest booking yet – without a guarantee. Short-notice stays have a minimum duration of four nights.
• If the management company wishes to accept a booking more than a year in advance (for example, a regular family fixing their winter sports holidays two years ahead), it needs your consent. An email is enough.

Reservations always go through the management company, not through a calendar of your own. This ensures that no double bookings occur.

Friends and acquaintances

You may let friends and acquaintances use the apartment, free of charge. The stay counts towards your allowance, and tourist tax is charged for these guests per actual overnight stay, because they are not covered by the owner family’s flat rate. The management company handles registration with the tourist office and the accounting. Paid re-letting by the owners is ruled out; it would breach the basis of the permit.

Cancellation and cleaning

If you cancel a reserved stay, the apartment is released for guests again immediately. For short-notice cancellations a handling fee may apply, because the weeks can then usually no longer be sold in full. After every stay by the owners, the final clean is carried out by the management company at the owners’ expense – so the next guest finds the apartment in the same condition as after any letting. No agency commission is charged on personal use, of course.

How compliance is ensured

The property management system records every occupancy by category: guest or personal use. The electronic access system only grants access for reserved periods. Exceedances of the allowance are either prevented by the system or reported. For the owners this is not a sign of distrust but a protection: the proof submitted to the building permit authority is based on exactly this data.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my apartment at short notice for a weekend?

Outside peak season, yes, provided there is no guest booking and the minimum stay of four nights is observed. In peak season, only whole weeks are possible.

Does a stay by my parents count as personal use?

Yes. Family, friends and acquaintances who use the apartment free of charge count towards your allowance.

What happens to unused days?

They lapse. The allowance is an upper limit, not a credit that is carried over.

Can I change my blocked dates afterwards?

Yes, through the management company. Dates that become free go on sale; new dates are only possible if no guests have booked yet.

Where can I find my current days of personal use?

In the annual report and in the statement. Owners of the properties we look after can also see occupancy in the owner app.

More on the model: [Management in Simmental](/bewirtschaftung-simmental), [Saanenland](/bewirtschaftung-saanenland), [Adelboden-Kandersteg](/bewirtschaftung-adelboden-kandersteg).

*The allowances, seasonal windows and deadlines stated come from management agreements for properties in Lenk and serve as an example. For your apartment, the building permit and the contract apply.*