Property Owner Terms

Sassi Villas Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales that operates a curated, luxury-first booking and management marketplace for villas in Puglia, Italy. Sassi Villas connects guests with the owners of holiday rental properties. The owner is and remains the principal accommodation supplier and the host; Sassi Villas Ltd is the platform and broker that markets the property, takes guest payment under regulated payment rails, handles the parts of Italian tax that the law obliges a platform to handle on the owner’s behalf, and routes settled funds to the owner. How much of the operational running Sassi Villas takes on depends on the plan: on Platform Listing and on Channel Listing & Revenue Management the owner runs day-to-day operations, while on Full Property Management Sassi Villas operates and manages the property and the guest experience on the owner’s behalf, as the owner’s appointed manager, without becoming the principal supplier of the accommodation or the host. By listing a property on the platform, the owner enters into a marketplace agreement with Sassi Villas Ltd governed by these terms and by the individual management agreement signed at onboarding. Sassi Villas operates three commission-only plans, set out under “Commission Structure” below. All three include listing on sassivillas.com, GEO and SEO optimisation, property inspection before going live, guest screening, access for guests to Holiday PA services and experiences with revenue share to the owner on qualifying bookings, the AI-assisted guest concierge, the owner dashboard, and the platform reporting and Italian tax mechanics summarised below. There are no setup, onboarding, listing, photography, or subscription fees on any plan. These terms summarise the principal rights and obligations of the owner. The individual management agreement provided at onboarding contains property-specific provisions and operates alongside, and is to be read with, these terms.

Onboarding begins with a single guided flow that captures the data required to publish a compliant listing and to release funds at the correct net of taxes. The flow records identity and tax-status information (full legal name, registered business name where applicable, tax residency, codice fiscale, Partita IVA where the owner is VAT-registered, and the count of Italian short-term-let units the owner currently lets), property details (address, catastale reference comprising foglio, particella and subalterno, capacity, bedrooms, bathrooms, beds, house rules and accessibility), the CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale) for each villa, the EUR IBAN to which payouts will be settled, and listing content (photography, description, calendar and any existing bookings to import via iCal). Owners then complete the Stripe Connect KYC, a short Stripe-hosted process operated by Stripe Technology Europe, Limited, an electronic money institution authorised and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland (reference C187865). Before publication, a Sassi Villas property inspection confirms that the listing accurately reflects the home and that the safety equipment required by Italian law is in place; the safety baseline and the CIN requirement are summarised under “Your Compliance Obligations” below. Properties must hold a valid CIN before they can be listed, and owners must hold short-term-let insurance meeting the cover detailed under “Insurance & Liability” below, with annual evidence of renewal. Sassi Villas may decline or delist properties that do not meet these standards or that receive sustained negative guest feedback.

Commission is the only source of revenue Sassi Villas charges the owner. There are no setup, onboarding, photography, listing or subscription fees on any plan, and no exclusivity lock-in. Plan 01 (Platform Listing) charges 5% of rental income, levied only on bookings generated through sassivillas.com. No commission is charged on bookings the owner generates through other channels, and the owner may continue to list across as many channels as they choose. Plan 01 includes listing on the platform with GEO and SEO optimisation, property inspection, guest screening, the AI-assisted concierge with escalations routed to the owner, access for guests to Holiday PA services with revenue share to the owner, compliant payment processing through Stripe Connect, the platform’s Italian tax mechanics summarised under “Italian Tax Handled by the Platform” below, the CIN displayed on the listing, and the owner dashboard and platform reporting. Plan 02 (Channel Listing & Revenue Management) charges 10% of rental income after deduction of any OTA platform fees, calculated on the net rental amount received from the channel, and adds channel distribution, listing presentation, dynamic pricing and revenue strategy; the AI-assisted concierge runs as on Plan 01, with escalations routed to the owner. Plan 03 (Full Property Management) charges 20% of rental income on the same after-OTA basis, and adds full guest communication with escalations handled by our team, the Sassi Villas Collection Standard, professional photography paid for by Sassi Villas, property protection monitoring through Minut, dynamic pricing, multi-channel distribution and marketing, and maintenance and cleaning coordination. Across all three plans, card-processing costs are pushed to the guest via a calibrated service fee at checkout (described under “The Service Fee” below) so that the owner’s rental price is preserved at quoted value.

Funds for each booking are released into the owner’s own Stripe balance 24 hours after the guest’s check-in date, and the owner’s Stripe balance pays out to the EUR IBAN nominated at onboarding at the end of each calendar month. SEPA settlement to a EUR IBAN is free; where the receiving bank applies an inbound charge, that is between the owner and the bank, and the Sassi Villas obligation ends at the IBAN. The amount released is net of (a) the applicable platform commission, (b) Italian VAT on the commission where the owner is a non-business owner (otherwise nil under the B2B reverse charge), and (c) cedolare secca withholding where the owner is a private individual whose Italian short-term lets sit inside the locazioni brevi regime. Tourist tax does not enter the owner’s net: where the comune applies one, the guest pays it to the owner directly at check-in, and the owner remits it to the comune. The owner dashboard shows, for every booking, the gross rental, the commission, the VAT on commission, the cedolare withheld, the service fee collected from the guest on Stripe’s account, and the net amount payable to the owner. The 24-hour hold from check-in is deliberate: it gives Sassi Villas a clean window in which to process a no-show, an early-stay dispute, or a refund without having to claw back funds already settled, while still releasing the owner’s money promptly. The Stripe transfer fee on the monthly payout to the owner’s IBAN (0.25% + EUR 0.10) is covered within the guest’s service fee, not borne by the owner. Where a refund or chargeback is processed after a payout has been released, Sassi Villas will settle the resulting position via offset against the next scheduled payout (or by direct invoice where the offset is insufficient). The full mechanics of payouts, refunds and chargebacks are set out on our Payments & Payouts policy.

Sassi Villas does not load card-processing costs onto the owner’s rental. Instead, a single flat service fee is added to the guest’s checkout, the same for every guest regardless of card type or country of issue. It is sized to the typical cost of a EUR-settled card (around 2.5%); where a card costs more (non-EEA cards run up to 3.25% + GBP 0.20), Sassi Villas absorbs the difference rather than varying the fee or passing it to the guest, and keeps none of it. The flat fee also covers the small Stripe transfer fee on the monthly payout to the owner’s IBAN. The rental price displayed to the guest is the owner’s rental price; the service fee and the Italian VAT on the service fee sit on top in a single transparent line at checkout. This preserves rate competitiveness on the listing and removes a hidden cost from the owner’s margin. The full rate card and the currency mechanics are set out on our Payments & Payouts policy.

Sassi Villas handles, on the owner’s behalf, the parts of Italian tax that the law places on the platform. We charge and remit Italian VAT on our commission where the owner is a non-business owner; where the owner holds a valid Partita IVA, the B2B reverse charge applies, no VAT is added by Sassi Villas, and the owner self-accounts on its own return. Where the owner is a private individual within the locazioni brevi regime, we withhold cedolare secca at 21% on account on the gross rental consideration, deduct it from the owner’s payout, and remit it monthly to the Agenzia delle Entrate, issuing the owner an annual Certificazione Unica that the owner’s commercialista uses to reconcile the withholding on the annual return. The imposta di soggiorno is not handled by the platform: where the comune applies one, the guest pays it to the owner at check-in and the owner remits it to the comune (see “Your Compliance Obligations” below). From 1 January 2026, owners letting three or more Italian short-term-let units exit cedolare and account for tax on their own returns. The full statutory basis, the second-unit 26% reconciliation, and the position for non-Italian-resident owners are set out on our Italian Tax & Platform Reporting page.

Certain Italian obligations remain with the owner as the principal accommodation supplier; Sassi Villas supplies data, reminders, and template communications, but the underlying legal duty is the owner’s. The owner is responsible for obtaining and renewing the CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale) with the comune; Sassi Villas displays the CIN on the listing, and without one the property cannot be listed. The owner, as the host, must register every guest with the local Questura through the Alloggiati Web portal within 24 hours of check-in, or within 6 hours for stays of 24 hours or less; Sassi Villas collects each guest’s identity-document data and shares it through the dashboard, but does not submit the filings. Where the property’s comune applies an imposta di soggiorno (tourist tax), the owner collects it from the guest at check-in, remits it to the comune, and files the comune’s declaration; this does not run through Sassi Villas. The owner must keep in working order at all times the safety devices required by Italian law (combustible-gas and carbon-monoxide detectors where gas appliances are present, and portable fire extinguishers maintained per UNI 9994-1) and is responsible for the underlying regulatory compliance of the building. The filing of the owner’s own income tax return, in Italy and in any other jurisdiction, remains the owner’s responsibility, with the Certificazione Unica as the supporting document. See our Italian Tax & Platform Reporting page for the statutory detail.

On signing the management agreement, the owner grants Sassi Villas a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use property photography, descriptions, virtual tours, and any video content for marketing the property on sassivillas.com, on the AI- and search-driven discovery surfaces on which the listing appears, on the connected booking channels (Plans 02 and 03), in editorial and email content, and in third-party advertising for the platform. Photography commissioned by Sassi Villas under Plan 03 is conducted by the Sassi Villas photography partner; the resulting files remain the intellectual property of Sassi Villas Ltd, and the owner may use the same imagery for personal purposes on request, but may not supply it to competing platforms without written consent. Where the owner supplies imagery, the owner warrants that they hold the rights and consents necessary to grant Sassi Villas this licence. Sassi Villas will notify the owner before featuring the property in a major editorial campaign and will remove specific images on request where the property has materially changed since the imagery was taken. On termination of the management agreement, Sassi Villas removes the listing within seven (7) days of the final guest’s departure; the licence to use commissioned imagery on Sassi Villas-controlled surfaces survives termination in respect of historical content already published (for example, a journal feature or a past social post).

Every owner manages availability through the owner dashboard. The dashboard supports two-way iCal synchronisation with Airbnb, Booking.com and VRBO, so that a booking confirmed on any one channel instantly blocks the dates on the others. Owners on Plan 01 may continue to list across as many channels as they choose; Plan 01 commission is charged only on bookings generated through sassivillas.com itself. Owners on Plans 02 and 03 may also list across channels; commission on those plans is calculated on the rental amount received from each channel after deduction of any OTA platform fees levied by that channel. Owners must keep the calendar accurate, blocking personal-use dates and maintenance windows at least thirty (30) days in advance where possible. Where a confirmed Sassi Villas booking is cancelled by the owner because of a calendar conflict that originated with another channel or with the owner’s personal scheduling, the owner is responsible for the costs of guest relocation and any premium incurred to source an equivalent property, as specified in the management agreement. Sassi Villas will make reasonable efforts to flag potential conflicts before confirming a booking on dates that have been the subject of recent calendar movement.

Every property is inspected before going live and at least once a year thereafter, and additionally following any guest complaint that touches the presentation or condition of the home. The standard against which the property is inspected is set out in the management agreement and, on Plan 03, is supplemented by the Sassi Villas Collection Standard (consistent in-villa amenities and welcome touches, curated linens and soaps, subtle branded touches, and a defined presentation baseline applied to every villa in the Collection without homogenising it). Where an inspection identifies a remediable issue, Sassi Villas will record it and request remediation within an agreed window. Persistent failure to meet the agreed standards may result in temporary delisting (the property is hidden from search and no new bookings are taken, while existing bookings are honoured) and, in serious or repeated cases, termination of the management agreement under “Termination” below. Sassi Villas may also delist a property at any time on safety grounds, including where required safety equipment is not in place or has not been maintained per UNI 9994-1.

On Plans 01 and 02, routine maintenance (pool servicing, garden care, appliance servicing) is the owner’s responsibility and must be scheduled so as not to disrupt confirmed guest stays. On Plan 03, Sassi Villas coordinates maintenance through its network of approved local contractors, at the owner’s expense and at cost, with no platform markup; line items appear in the owner dashboard alongside the invoice issued by the contractor. In a genuine emergency that affects guest safety or habitability (a burst pipe, electrical failure, gas leak, security breach, or similar), Sassi Villas is authorised across all plans to engage a contractor and authorise repairs up to the threshold specified in the management agreement (typically EUR 500) without prior owner approval, in order to maintain guest safety and continuity of the stay. The owner is notified as soon as practicable, and the full documentation of any emergency expenditure is uploaded to the dashboard. Costs above the pre-authorised threshold require owner approval before work proceeds, unless guest safety or material property damage is at immediate risk, in which case Sassi Villas may act and account afterwards.

The owner must hold and maintain, for the duration of the management agreement, a buildings and contents insurance policy that covers the property for short-term holiday rental use (rather than for owner-occupier residential use only), with public liability cover of not less than EUR 1,000,000 in respect of third-party injury or property damage occurring on the premises, employer’s liability cover where the owner engages any staff directly, and cover for loss of rental income arising from insured events. The policy must expressly cover short-term-let use; standard residential household policies often do not, and any failure to disclose the short-term-let use is the owner’s risk. Proof of renewal must be supplied to Sassi Villas annually, and Sassi Villas must be notified promptly of any policy change, lapse, cancellation, or claim that could affect cover. Sassi Villas Ltd holds its own professional indemnity insurance covering its activities as a platform operator, including errors and omissions in the booking process and the conduct of its employees and contractors, but Sassi Villas does not insure the building, contents, or owner’s liability and is not liable for loss, damage, or injury arising from defects of the property, deferred maintenance, or non-compliance with safety regulation, each of which sits with the owner.

Guests are invited to leave a review after every confirmed stay. Reviews are published on the property’s listing page in the form submitted by the guest. Sassi Villas does not edit, suppress, or rewrite reviews based on sentiment; positive and negative reviews alike are published. Owners may respond to a review through the owner dashboard, and are encouraged to do so professionally and in measured terms. Reviews that are defamatory, that contain personal data of third parties, or that are determined on investigation to be fraudulent are removed. A property’s average rating is displayed publicly and may affect ranking on search and discovery surfaces; properties that consistently score below the platform’s minimum threshold are subject to a quality review and, where appropriate, may be temporarily delisted while remediation is agreed. Reviews are also used in aggregate to inform inspection cycles and the platform’s broader quality work.

Sassi Villas does not take a security deposit or pre-authorisation hold from guests at the point of booking. Instead, the Sassi Villas guest booking terms make each guest directly liable for any damage caused at the property during the stay, and authorise Sassi Villas to collect the cost of remediation from the guest on the owner’s behalf. Where damage occurs, the owner notifies Sassi Villas through the dashboard, with photographs, a written description, and, where applicable, repair quotes or invoices. Sassi Villas reviews the claim, opens a dialogue with the guest, and either settles the matter with the guest (in which case the recovered amount is paid to the owner on the next payout) or escalates to formal recovery. Sassi Villas will settle agreed damage claims on the owner’s behalf up to a per-booking cap of EUR 10,000; amounts above the cap remain recoverable from the guest directly, and Sassi Villas will support the owner’s recovery action with the relevant booking evidence. This mechanism is not insurance and does not replace the owner’s buildings, contents, or short-term-let insurance described above; it is a contractual route to recovery from the guest, administered by Sassi Villas. Owners should expect to be asked for evidence (photographs, communication with the guest, repair invoices) on any damage claim.

Where a guest initiates a card chargeback through the issuing bank or raises a formal dispute through Stripe, Sassi Villas manages the response on the owner’s behalf. The platform compiles the booking evidence (the confirmation, the guest’s identity and check-in data, in-stay communication, photographs and inspection notes where applicable) and submits the response within Stripe’s required timeline. The owner may be asked to supply additional evidence, in particular where the dispute touches the condition of the property or in-stay events, and the owner agrees to do so promptly. The processing fee charged by Stripe on the original payment is non-refundable, in line with industry practice across all card-processing platforms, and is borne accordingly: where the chargeback is lost on the merits, the corresponding amount is offset against the owner’s next payout in the same way as a refund. Where Sassi Villas concludes that a chargeback is the result of a genuine platform failure rather than an issue with the stay itself, Sassi Villas will absorb the loss. Recurrent chargebacks linked to a specific property prompt a quality review.

The owner may use the property for personal stays at any time, subject to the calendar requirements above. Personal-use dates must be blocked in the calendar at least thirty (30) days in advance where possible. Personal use is not subject to commission and is not reported under platform reporting (it is not a let). Heavy blocking during peak season may, however, reduce the property’s visibility on search surfaces, because the booking-pace signal that the platform uses to rank properties weakens. Where the owner intends to occupy the property immediately before a guest arrival, the owner must vacate by 10:00 on the day before the guest’s check-in to allow for cleaning and pre-arrival inspection, and must return the property to guest-ready condition. The management agreement may specify a minimum number of available booking nights per year on Plans 02 and 03 to keep the listing live and competitive; on Plan 01 the owner has full discretion over availability.

Both Sassi Villas and the owner agree to keep confidential any commercially sensitive information exchanged in the course of the relationship: commission rates, individual financial performance figures, guest personal data, the pricing logic and revenue strategy applied to the property on Plans 02 and 03, the platform’s proprietary technology, and the terms of the individual management agreement. Confidential information may be disclosed to professional advisers under their own confidentiality obligations, to a tax authority or regulator under a binding order, and to a prospective purchaser of the business under a written confidentiality undertaking, but not otherwise. The confidentiality obligation survives termination of the management agreement for two (2) years. Guest personal data is processed by Sassi Villas under the platform’s privacy notice and under the UK GDPR; the owner agrees to handle any guest personal data shared by Sassi Villas (in particular the Alloggiati Web data) in compliance with the GDPR, the Italian Privacy Code, and any applicable local rules.

Either party may terminate the management agreement by giving ninety (90) days’ written notice. All bookings confirmed before the notice date are honoured and pay out in the normal way, including any cedolare withholding and Certificazione Unica obligation that crystallises after the formal end of the agreement. On termination, Sassi Villas removes the listing from sassivillas.com and from connected channels within seven (7) days of the final guest’s departure, transfers all booking communication for any onward-pending stays, and provides the owner with an export of all booking and financial reports on request within thirty (30) days of termination. Early termination by the owner without due notice may attract a fee equivalent to the average platform commission over the three (3) months immediately preceding termination, to cover marketing expenditure and pipeline disruption already committed; the precise figure is set in the management agreement. Sassi Villas may terminate the agreement on shorter notice in the event of a material breach (including safety violations, regulatory non-compliance, repeated failure to maintain agreed standards, or conduct that materially damages the Sassi Villas brand), and may suspend the listing pending termination. The confidentiality obligation, the photography licence in respect of historical content already published, and any obligation arising from Italian tax or platform reporting in respect of bookings settled before termination all survive termination.

These terms and the management agreement are governed by, and to be construed in accordance with, the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with the management agreement is first addressed by direct negotiation between the parties in good faith. If the dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation within thirty (30) days, it is submitted to mediation under the Model Mediation Procedure of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in London. If mediation does not resolve the dispute within sixty (60) days of the initial request, either party may refer the matter to the courts of England and Wales, which have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising under this agreement, save that nothing in these terms prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive or interim relief from any court of competent jurisdiction. Italian courts retain jurisdiction over matters that, by Italian law, must be heard locally, in particular matters concerning the property itself, the CIN, the cedolare and VAT positions filed with the Agenzia delle Entrate, the imposta di soggiorno, and the Alloggiati Web obligation. For any question or complaint, contact support@sassivillas.com; the platform aims to respond to written contact from owners within one (1) working day.