What it costs to run a villa on Bali each year

A rental villa on Bali has two kinds of costs. Some are a share of every booking and shrink when the villa stands empty. Others arrive every month regardless: staff, electricity, land tax and repairs. A realistic budget needs both, and the second group decides how a weak month feels.

How much do the booking platforms take?

Airbnb has two fee structures. Under the split fee, most hosts pay 3%, and the guest pays a separate service fee of 14.1% to 16.5% of the booking subtotal. Under the single fee, the whole fee comes out of the host’s payout: most hosts pay 15.5%, the rest typically 14% to 16%. The single fee is mandatory for some hosts, including those who use property management software, so if your manager runs the listing through such software, expect the single fee.

Booking.com charges a commission that varies by country and by property type. Its global average is 15%, the company says.

On bookings that come through these platforms, budget for about 15% of the booking value, unless your listing stays on Airbnb’s split fee.

What does a management company charge?

An owner who lives abroad needs someone on the island to run the villa, and management companies usually charge a percentage. Check what it is taken from, gross bookings, revenue after platform commissions or profit after costs, since the base matters as much as the rate.

Terje Nilsen, cofounder of Seven Stones Indonesia, a firm that advises foreign investors, described the arithmetic to The Jakarta Post in 2024. A management company “will take 20 percent” of gross revenue, he said, after the platform takes “15 to 17 percent”. “So already you’re 37 percent down before your operational costs, utilities, labor and so on.”

Ask what the fee covers, in particular whether staff, cleaning and linen are included or charged to you on top, and ask for a sample monthly owner statement before you sign.

What do staff cost?

If the staff are on your payroll, or the manager passes their cost on to you, Indonesian labour rules set the floor. The 2026 minimum wage in Badung, the regency that includes Canggu, is Rp 3,791,002.57 a month under a decree of the Governor of Bali. It is the highest on the island.

The employer also pays social security contributions on top of the wage: 0.24% to 1.74% for work accident cover, 0.3% for death cover, 3.7% for old age savings, 4% for health care and 2% for the pension, according to PwC’s tax summary for Indonesia. Employees pay their own smaller share through payroll deductions. A worker with 12 months of service or more is also entitled to a religious holiday allowance (THR) of one month’s wage.

Put together, one full-time employee on the Badung minimum wage costs the employer roughly Rp 54 million a year: 12 monthly wages, the holiday allowance, and contributions of about 10% to 12% of the wage, before overtime or bonuses. Employers must make sure their staff are covered by these programmes, PwC notes, so ask the manager for proof that the team is registered.

What will electricity cost?

The government reviews PLN power tariffs every quarter. As of 1 October 2026 it had announced no change for the last quarter of the year, so the previous rates still applied, Kompas reported. Household connections of 3,500 VA and above pay Rp 1,699.53 per kWh. Business connections from 6,600 VA to 200 kVA, tariff B-2, pay Rp 1,444.70.

The bill depends on how much the villa uses. As a reference, every 1,000 kWh costs about Rp 1.7 million at the household rate and about Rp 1.44 million at the business rate.

Water, internet, gas and pool chemicals come on top. Their cost depends on the villa and the supplier, so ask the manager to show each of them as a separate line in the monthly statement.

What do the land tax and the village charge?

The annual land and buildings tax, PBB, is capped at 0.5% under the 2022 regional tax law, applied to 20% to 100% of the official value of the property (NJOP). Badung has exempted homes and land that are not used commercially since 2017. A villa let to guests is a business, and in 2024 the regency updated official values in Kuta, North Kuta and South Kuta for the first time since 2020, so your bill can differ a lot from the one the seller paid.

Customary villages (desa adat) set their own rules, called perarem, and contributions differ from village to village. In the customary village of Denpasar, for example, a 2022 perarem charges residents from outside the community Rp 20,000 a month per family, and Rp 1 million once when they build, IDN Times reported. Ask the seller or the manager what your banjar charges a rental villa, and whether past contributions have been paid.

How much should go into a repair reserve?

Hotels set aside a fixed share of revenue to replace furniture, fixtures and equipment. In a 2003 article, Stephen Rushmore of HVS, a hotel consultancy, put the industry standard at 4% to 5% of revenue. Major systems such as plumbing, wiring and air conditioning are not covered by that reserve, and he estimated that providing for them would take another 1% to 3%.

A villa is smaller than a hotel, but the logic holds. Without a reserve, a large repair is paid from whatever that month’s income happens to be.

What occupancy should the budget assume?

The monthly tourism release of Bali’s statistics office has no separate figure for villas. In July 2026, star hotels on Bali filled 67.29% of their rooms, and non-star hotels and other accommodation filled 42.53%. Terje Nilsen told The Jakarta Post there is “not a lot of hard data” behind the occupancy and return figures that agents quote for villas.

Build the budget on a cautious occupancy, and check that the fixed costs are covered in a weak month as well as in July.

FAQ

Who pays the staff, the owner or the management company?

That depends on the contract. Either way the cost reaches you, as a line in the statement or inside the fee. Check that whoever employs the team registers them for social security and pays the holiday allowance.

Does the 10% hotel tax come out of my income?

Badung levies a 10% tax on hotel services, and its regional tax rules list villas and private residences used as hotels. Whether your listed prices include the tax decides whether it reduces your income, so ask the manager how it is handled.

Which electricity tariff applies to a villa?

The one PLN has registered for the connection. As of October 2026, business connections of 6,600 VA to 200 kVA pay Rp 1,444.70 per kWh and household connections of 3,500 VA and above pay Rp 1,699.53. Ask the developer which tariff your connection is on.

How much should I keep for repairs?

The hotel benchmark from HVS is 4% to 5% of revenue for furniture and equipment, and another 1% to 3% for major systems. Keeping at least the first share in a separate account is a reasonable start for a villa.

Wages and power tariffs change every year or quarter, and the figures above are as of October 2026. Before you sign a management agreement, have a lawyer check who pays for what.

Rentals in Sunny Development Group projects are run either by the company’s own management company or by partner companies. The company counts its time on the market from 2011.