GatewayRedbirds.com

My HOA contracts a property management company to manage our association. This contractor assigns a property manager to our account. The property manager is a full-time salaried employee of the management company. We pay the management company a monthly service fee plus admin fees for stamps, letters, mailings, etc.

Every December, they ask us if we want to give our property manager a holiday bonus and I never know what is correct. Our HOA does not employ him. Shouldn't his employer be the entity giving him a holiday bonus out of their own coffers, instead of soliciting bonuses from their clients?

We give the cleaning lady a bonus every year because that is a role where I think year-end tipping is expected. But the property manager is a white collar full time employee who sends emails and runs meetings. It seems weird for his company's clients to be the ones giving him a bonus, no? But maybe property manager is a job where getting bonuses from clients is a norm?

I am not opposed to doing it if that is what's expected in the property management industry -- the clients tip the management company's staff -- but I genuinely have no idea what is correct. It's not just a question of being cheap. The Board has a fiduciary obligation to owners so we should not just be handing out association monies as holiday gifts if that is not a standard practice.

His bonus is in your hands, GRB!

Make a donation in his name to the human fund.

My company does not do property management, but we do provide contract services. We give all of our employees a holiday bonus based on longevity but we do have clients that want to do a holiday bonus for the staff that work in their buildings every day. This would not include management staff that work from the office; so I would think clients in the situation of an HOA and property manager would have no obligation or expectation to provide a bonus. The only reason to give a bonus would be if you were exceptionally pleased with the person's performance or wanted to reward them for going the extra mile or something like that.

GTFO

Man. No. Just...no.

But do remember to tip your attorney. It's a service industry, y'all.