How commission works on this coast
Who pays whom, and why it quietly decides which villa you are shown.
This is the most useful thing on this website, and it is the thing our competitors would least like you to read.
The basic shape
Almost every service on this coast is paid by the supplier rather than by you, or by both and only tells you about one. The money moves like this.
- Villas. The agency takes twenty to thirty per cent of the rent, paid by the owner. On short lets in and around Monaco, twenty per cent all-in is the published norm at the one firm that publishes anything.
- Yacht charter. Conventionally fifteen per cent of the charter fee, paid by the owner. Several of the large houses pay fifteen only to brokers with a substantial central-agency fleet and twelve to everyone else. Where a central agent and a retail broker are both involved, they split it.
- Hotels. Ten per cent to travel advisors is standard; preferred-partner programmes go higher.
- Restaurants, clubs and venues. Nobody publishes anything at all here. Draw your own conclusion.
- Concierge itself. On this coast, concierge service is frequently supplier-funded alongside a villa or yacht booking. In that model, the property margin pays for it.
Why it matters, specifically
The problem is not that commission exists. Commission is a perfectly ordinary way to pay for distribution, and in some parts of this market it is unavoidable.
The problem is what happens when the same person is both advising you and being paid by the other side. Every recommendation then carries a second reason, and you cannot see it. The house that pays thirty per cent is shown before the house that pays twenty. The yacht whose owner pays fifteen is shortlisted over the one whose owner pays twelve. Nobody has to do anything dishonest for this to happen. It happens by gravity.
The English courts have taken a firm view of this for a long time. Where an adviser owes fiduciary duties to a client, a secret commission is treated severely — the money is held on trust for the client, with the right to trace it. In 2014 the Supreme Court applied exactly that reasoning to an agent who took ten million euros on the purchase of a Monte Carlo hotel. And in August 2025 the Supreme Court returned to the subject, finding that a concealed commercial tie — presenting yourself as selecting from a panel while actually being contractually bound to one provider — was “highly material”.
The three honest models
There are only three defensible ways to run this.
- Supplier-funded, disclosed. Suppliers pay us. Legitimate only with clear disclosure. Most of the coast operates here without the disclosure.
- Fee plus disclosed commission. You pay us, and suppliers also pay us, and we tell you the basis and the figure before you decide, and again at each booking. Workable, and very easily done badly.
- Fee only. You pay us. Nobody else does. Third-party costs pass through at cost with nothing added.
Which one we use, and why
The third. You pay an annual membership fee, published on the membership page, and that is the whole of our income in respect of you.
We decline supplier commission. Where a payment is structured so that it cannot be declined, we credit it against your fees and tell you. We keep a commission register recording every offer made to us and what we did about it, and members may ask to see it. Our staff may not accept gifts or payments from suppliers, and gifts and hospitality above a nominal value go into a second register subject to the same inspection right.
This is more expensive for you at the point of joining and cheaper almost everywhere else, and it is the only arrangement under which our advice is worth what you are paying for it.
What to ask anyone else
- Who pays you, and how much, and on what basis?
- Do you have exclusive or preferred arrangements with any supplier you are recommending?
- If I ask you for the commission figure on this specific booking, will you give it to me in writing?
- Is your service supplier-funded? If so, who is paying for it?
The last question is the one that does the work. A service is always paid for by someone, whose interests may not be yours.
JADAMA is a private membership house for Monaco, Cannes and the French Riviera. One manager to six members, response within fifteen minutes, and no commission from suppliers.
What membership costs