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The Best Vacation Rental & Airbnb Property Management Companies [2022]
Vacation Rental Property Management
Are you thinking it’s time to hand over the management of your short-term rental to the professionals? Perhaps you are considering an Airbnb property investment and are wondering who will manage it for you, or maybe you have already been hosting for a while and have found human interaction is not for you.
Short-term rental property management services allow you to earn hosting revenues from your Airbnb or vacation rental property without having to deal with the day-to-day management of the property.
The benefits of using a vacation rental property manager are numerous, with many offering 24/7 availability to both property owners and guests, cleaning, property maintenance, and the promise of keeping your calendar full of bookings. Employing the right property manager can lead to a higher average occupancy rate and higher average nightly prices for your Airbnb.
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| Average Daily Rates (Average Price Per Night) for managed listings (by a property manager) vs. unmanaged listings for 2019-2020. Managed listings in the United States had a 16% higher ADR on average during this time period. |
However, all of this comes at a cost. Airbnb and vacation rental property managers charge sometimes substantial fees for their services, with managers often charging anything between 20-50% of your hosting revenues.
So is it worth it? Or are you better off managing the property yourself, or perhaps having a friend do it? With the wide variety of vacation rental property management software available to hosts, even when on a budget, the amount of time required to be a successful host is falling. With that in mind, can short-term rental property managers be worth the fee?
At AllTheRooms we think the answer is, of course, that it depends. If you find the right property management company, you probably won’t regret it. But what does the “right” short-term rental property management company look like?
What To Look For When Choosing A Short-Term Rental Property Manager
Experience
- How much experience does the company have in managing short-term rentals? Are they relatively new to the business, or do they have years of experience with a number of satisfied clients? If you can ask to speak to some of their clients to find out if they would recommend the company's services, then make sure you do so.
- Is the company a dedicated short-term rental property manager, or do they also manage long-term rentals? We prefer dedicated short-term rental property managers as they tend to give better results, probably because they better understand the differences and intricacies involved in running a short-term rental business.
- How much experience do they have managing in your specific market? How many listings do they manage in your market? Short-term rental markets vary hugely by geography - every market has different seasonality, different events, and different types of guests looking for different kinds of experiences.
- Do they have a history of compliance with local short-term rental regulations and taxes? We're looking for property managers who have a track record of playing by the rules, and who definitely won't book guests who will result in noise complaints, unauthorized gatherings or any other issues that will cause you, the owner, trouble.
Read: A Guide To Vacation Rental Regulations & Taxes
Fees
- What is the company's fee structure? Do they charge commissions on hosting revenues? Or do they operate a fixed-fee model? In general commission fee structures are preferable, as that aligns the property manager's incentives with yours - they will make more money if they get your listing more bookings, which means more money for you too.
- What is their fee? Fixed-fee rates vary widely by market, but with commission models you should expect to pay anywhere between 20-50% of your host revenues. Some services will also charge you an initial setup fee when you sign a contract with them. Other potential fees can include a fee for each new guest they place in your property, and sometimes even fees while the property is empty (vacancy fees).
- What is included in the fee? Typically the biggest additional fee to cover is cleaning costs, which sometimes is included in the management fee, but is mostly treated as a separate cost. Be sure to ask if the cleaning is provided by an external service, or if it's done in-house by the property manager. You should check the quoted cleaning fees vs. other providers in the area to see if the property manager is giving you a fair price.
- Does the property manager cover minor repairs and maintenance of the property? Is this provided by an in-house service or an external provider? What incidental expenses will you be expected to cover if (or rather when) a guest breaks something that is expensive to repair? It's often worth discussing your vacation rental insurance policy at this point, if you have one.
Read: Vacation Rental Insurance: Best Providers, Tips & Insights
Cancellation Options
- How easy is it to cancel your contract with the property manager? Imagine a scenario in which, depsite your best screening efforts, you aren't happy with the management of your vacation rental. Are you contractually commited to a fixed term agreement, or do you have optionality in the contract? If possible, try and insert a clause that requires a minimum occupancy rate or minimum amount of host revenue that you would be happy with. That way, if you aren't happy with the results, you can get out of the contract easily.
The Best Airbnb & Vacation Rental Property Management Services In The USA
We’ve looked for the best Airbnb property management companies in the top U.S. states with the most active vacation rentals. If you are looking for a property manager in a state that isn’t listed here, please get in touch with us and we’ll add your state here.
Nationwide
While there are plenty of Airbnb and vacation rental property managers that operate in specific states, there are also a variety of highly popular property management companies that operate country-wide.
Rabbu is a unique investor-oriented full-service short-term rental property manager. While they are based in Charlotte and Miami, they are growing rapidly throughout the Southeast and the rest of the U.S.
Rabbu’s platform maximizes your return by creating short, medium, and long-term listings for your property, and then filling your property with the highest yielding renter.
For example, in a highly seasonal market your property might be rented short-term on Airbnb during the peak season, before locking in a longer-term tenant during the low season to optimize your property’s rental income.
They will manage all the daily operations of your property, including sending your tenants personalized automated messages, coordinating cleanings and maintenance, and collecting payments, deposits, and taxes.
Rabbu also monitors your property 24/7, which means they can grant and revoke entry to tenants, monitor noise levels, turn off smart home devices when the property is empty, and use virtual check-ins with ID and facial recognition. You can easily monitor your property portfolio with their app, which gives you access to monthly financial statements and property performance analytics.
Vacasa is one of the most well-known and operates across 17 states, and also has a presence in Europe and Central America. In total, Vacasa manages over 14,000 properties around the world. Using Vacasa’s pricing service and technology is said to increase homeowners’ revenue by 21% in the first year.
Evolve is also a popular property manager that operates throughout the US. It offers services including the creation of enticing listings and fast-inquiry response. There are over 10,000 homeowners using the service to date.
California
San Francisco is a major Airbnb and vacation rental hub in California. Over the past few years, San Francisco has faced various changes to its short-term rental laws, and many hosts like to leave their property in the hands of vacation rental property management services who know what they’re doing and comply with the strict, new laws.
Belo: Airbnb Property Management – Owned by former Airbnb employee, Daniel Rusteen, this full-service property management company specializes in Airbnb. Though based in California, his system allow them to manage any listing worldwide. Belo is a boutique firm only managing up to five Airbnb listings at one time. Daniel’s focus is on automating all aspects of the process while increasing the guest experience. All of Belo’s properties appear on the first page of the Airbnb search.
KeyBee – One of the most-used property management companies in San Francisco is KeyBee, with its popular slogan ‘be a host, not a hostage’. The idea is that homeowners have full flexibility and transparency to manage their property, but can also relax knowing their property is in the hands of professionals. KeyBee will manage online reservations, arrange meet-and-greets with visitors, and do all the check-ins and check-outs. KeyBee claims to have the most advanced pricing algorithms on the market that have the potential to increase a homeowner’s income by 20%.
AirConcierge – The San Diego market is arguably San Francisco’s biggest competitor for vacation rentals in California. One of the top property management services in San Diego is Airconcierge which also offers full-service property management. AirConcierge says that their property management service, which optimizes listings and pricing, helps generate 10%- 40% more revenue than a homeowner-managed home.
Speed Keyz provides Airbnb management services in LA and Orange County. They focus on detailed research of the short-term rental market in order to optimize pricing and maximize occupancy rates.
Guestable is a short-term rental property management company in Los Angeles which promises to optimize every aspect of the rental process from property optimizations, listing marketing, and price optimization.
Guesthop covers a large number of areas in California, including the Bay Area, Marin County, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, San Jose, Palo Alto, and various other locations in the state. They promise to increase host revenues by 40% vs. an un-managed listing.
Florida
cleankeyhost offers three different types of packages for hosts. From a more basic service, which checks-in guests and sends relevant information to visitors, up to a full-service offering, which includes cleaning, laundry, vacation rental photography service, and guest screenings.
Easy Air Rentals concentrates on property management in South Florida. It specializes in luxury homes and offers booking services, cleaning services, and competitive pricing models.
New York
Cityami – Cityami have offices in New York and specialize in everything short-term rental related. In addition to property management services they can also assist investors in finding short-term rental investment properties. They offer 24/7 guest care.
Texas
HostStarter offers full service property management, cleaning/turnover and furniture rental services in five markets in Texas – Dallas, Forth Worth, Arlington, Irving, and Plano.
Additionally, HostStarter matches buyers and sellers of vacation rental properties via their Airbnb property sourcing service, which helps potential investors find investment properties, and their Airbnb listing service, which helps sellers list and sell Airbnb/Vrbo properties.
Square House provides Airbnb listing, hosting, and marketing support, as well as Airbnb concierge services. They operate in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as well as several other parts of Texas, including Arlington.
Goldnest is based in Dallas, and provides Airbnb property management services to a number of locations in Texas. Goldnest offer end-to-end vacation rental investment services, which means they’ll help you find an investment property, manage the purchase process, and will help design and furnish the property before they start marketing it on Airbnb and other platforms.
Colorado
COBnB operates in Denver and is one of the top property management services in the state. It’s an investor-focused short-term listing management company centralizing on maximizing profit from Airbnb rentals. Services include 24/7 guest communication, turn-over service, linen service, and price optimization.
Georgia
Skye Management – Atlanta-focused Skye Management offers to handle every aspect of the hosting journey, from Airbnb and Vrbo listing creation, through to guest services and cleaning and property turnover.
Kleenerly offer Airbnb property management in Atlanta, as well as other locations outside of Georgia. They rely on their strong background in the hospitality industry to manage your property on Airbnb and provide the best experience for your guests.
North Carolina
BroadConnection manages short-term rentals in the Greater Charlotte area, helping owners turn their investment into a profitable source of income. They offer a free assessment to see how much your property can earn.
Black Bear Rentals are a full service property manager serving Asheville, Black Mountain, Candler, Weaverville and other nearby areas. They currently manage long-term rentals, short-term rentals, vacation properties, Airbnbs, and also provide caretaking services.
Arizona
vacayAZ provides vacation rental management services for Scottsdale. The company are industry experts and have an in-house cleaning team and personal concierge service, and have a strong focus on guest satisfaction as the key to growth for homeowners.
One Fine BnB is an Airbnb property management which offers an optimized vacation rental property management process in Phoenix. Their team will optimize every aspect of your property – marketing, pricing, service, cleaning, reporting and more.
AIRMGR provides Airbnb property management in Phoenix. They take owner relationships very seriously and have a focus on working around the clock to get your property more bookings at better prices by managing every part of the process – from reservation, to check in, to cleaning/turnover.
Washington
StayLocal offer Airbnb property management services in Seattle and Tacoma. They promise to increase your net operating income by 25%, and offer master lease contracts with guaranteed rental income.
South Carolina
Hawaii
Ensourced is a property management service with a menu of services for short-term rental management across the islands.
The Best Airbnb & Vacation Rental Property Management Services In Canada
Airbnb and short-term rentals are also becoming much more popular accommodation choices in some of the most-visited destinations in Canada. As a result, in Canada, there is also an increased demand for vacation rental and Airbnb property managers, as many homeowners want to leave their property in the hands of professionals and maximize revenue.
An Airbnb or property management service comes with plenty of benefits, with companies offering 24/7 contact with guests, key exchanges, property upkeep, cleaning services, photography services, and more. We’ve taken a look at the top Airbnb and property management services across Canada, from Toronto to Whistler.
Toronto
Luckey is the most popular Airbnb management service in Toronto. The company takes care of everything for homeowners from start-to-finish, giving hosts a laissez-faire experience. Services include professional cleaning before guests arrive, verification of the property’s overall condition, managing arrivals and departures, and 24/7 guest support. Luckey also creates Airbnb listings and has an easy-to-use mobile application to let homeowners manage their property availability.
Luckey is also the most popular Airbnb management service in Quebec. The company takes a 20% share of the generated revenue, but do have a clear pricing strategy.
Montreal
Monsieur Concierge claims they’ll even ‘water your plants and look after your goldfish’ — so it’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular property management services in Montreal and the country. The city is a busy vacation rental destination in Canada, with thousands of short-term rentals on the market. Alongside looking after plants and goldfish, Monsieur Concierge’s services include check-in, a tour of the property, housekeeping, linen service, and a departure check where the property’s overall final condition is verified.
Vancouver & Whistler
Lifty Life provides Airbnb property management services across a number of top vacation rental markets in British Columbia and Alberta. Their team is passionate about providing property owners carefree vacation rental management and outstanding supplementary income. Lifty Life offers 24/7 guest service, professional photography for your property, cleaning and restocking services, dynamic pricing optimization, and they will even develop and optimize your listing content to maximize your listing’s visibility and conversions! They offer two pricing tiers: 25% for full service property management, and 35% for the ‘white glove’ option which includes a linen share program and a complimentary smart lock.
HeartHomes is an Airbnb and short-term-rental management service that operates in the Vancouver and Whistler area. The company specializes in the marketing and management of high-end vacation rentals and Airbnbs. HeartHomes has a team of interior design specialists on-hand to help present homes in a way that maximizes revenue. Other services include professional photographs and authorizing that all short-term rentals are licensed and meet all the municipal legal requirements — which is a service that can save homeowners from having to pay huge potential fines for violation of short-term rental laws.
Victoria
Host Happy is a short-term rental management company in Victoria, British Columbia that offers a range of services for property owners. Their offering ranges from consulting on the design and layout of your vacation rental property, to ensuring your property has the correct short-term rental and business licensing, and even professional vacation rental photography. They also offer the standard property management services of guest communication, cleaning, maintenance and ensuring your property’s calendar is full with bookings. Host Happy’s team emphasize using their interior design expertise to help your property really stand out in order to get your listing generating revenues.
Ottawa
Breathe Vacation Rentals is a short-term rental property management company operating in Ottawa as well as in Val-des-Monts, Kingston, Gananoque, Prince Edward County, and the Muskokas. The company offers to list homeowners’ property on all provider platforms — not just Airbnb and Booking.com (as some companies do). Other services include managing hosts’ calendars, key exchanges with guests, cleaning services, and emergency repairs.
Nova Scotia
HostOften is the top property management company in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company offers a free consultation, a dynamic pricing system, and a turn-around service with the possibility of same-day and back-to-back bookings — meaning homeowners are more likely to increase their occupancy rates. HostOften also handles guest communications, marketing, 24-hour check-in, cleaning, and linen service.
The Best Airbnb & Vacation Rental Property Management Services In Europe
Airbnb and vacation rentals are becoming more and more popular in Europe, meaning that there is an increased demand for property managers. Many homeowners want to leave their vacation rental in the hands of experienced property managers in order to maximize long-term profits and feel secure that their property will be looked after.
From Airbnb property management services in the French Riviera, through to short-term rental property managers in Spain’s Costa del Sol, here’s a guide to the best Airbnb and vacation rental property managers in Europe.
The Netherlands
BnbManager steals the spotlight in the Netherlands, with over one thousand short-term rentals managed mainly in Amsterdam. With an easy-to-use interface, homeowners can immediately use the site’s calculator to discover how much they can earn with BnbManager. The company is the market leader in the Netherlands and offers homeowners a 24/7 contact service (for the homeowner and their neighbors), guest screening and inspections, check-in service, and cleaning.
Italy
Vacation rentals in Italy are more popular than ever as many guests want to experience the Italian lifestyle and cook at their very own ‘home away from home’ using local ingredients. Italy is also one of the more expensive countries to go on vacation in Europe, contributing to the boom in the country’s vacation rental industry as vacationers look to forgo hotels and save money.
Halldis is one of the most popular Airbnb and vacation rental property managers in Italy, with around 1,850 properties spread across Italy, alongside a few properties in France and Belgium. The company’s most popular vacation rental destinations are in Milan, Rome, Florence, and Naples.
United Kingdom
Nestify is one of the most trusted property management companies operating across UK & Ireland, France and Spain. They specialize in end-to-end property management for short, medium and corporate lets. The company is made up of industry professionals, and through the use of technology, they optimize pricing for landlords to increase rental yields by up to 40%
Pass the Keys is one of the most popular Airbnb and short-term property management companies in London. The company lists properties on Airbnb, so homeowners don’t have to. As with many of the top property management companies, there’s also an easy-to-use calculator to estimate what homeow
Spain
Spain is one of the destinations with the most holiday homes in Europe — and many property owners look to make extra money when not using their properties. As a result, the property management business in Spain is booming. The south of Spain is home to some of the most vacation rentals and Airbnbs in the country and property management tends to be more localized toward individual towns in the south.
Friendly Rentals – Further north, Barcelona-based Friendly Rentals focuses on short and mid-term rentals. Started in 2003, Friendly Rentals has over 1,200 apartments in over 14 European cities, but they have particularly good coverage in Spain. They have a team of over 60 employees who speak more than 7 languages between them, and they guarantee a friendly and personalized service to guests 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Users can be sure that if their guests have any issues they will be resolved quickly, and hosts can get those 5-star reviews.
Germany
You Are Welcome Berlin provides a full Airbnb management service in Berlin. They take care of listings, create descriptions, take photos of the property, and manage pricing.
Smartbnb uses a pricing model based on daily Airbnb monitoring to optimize the performance of properties. The company says it answers requests from Airbnb guests 24/7 and in under 60 minutes, making it a favorite choice for homeowners around the country.
France
Bnblord is an Airbnb property management service with clients all across France including locations in the Alps, Antibes, the French Riviera, Nice, and Paris. It offers services such as personal meet-and-greets, inventory checks, and ad placement. It also has an income estimate where property owners can discover what they can earn by using the service. Bnblord is owned by GuestReady, who also provide property management services in a variety of locations outside of France.
Czech Republic
Russia
Flat Inn is a Russian short-term rental property management company, with a focus on the Moscow and other major tourist destinations. They currently manage over 20 properties in Moscow, and are growing fast. They cater to both international and domestic tourists and business travelers alike, and offer mid-term accommodations too.
Flat Inn offers property owners a wide range of benefits, including a professional photo session for your property, five-star customer service for guests (with bilingual 24/7 support), daily price optimization, and they will optimize and promote your property listing on all major booking platforms.
One of Flat Inn’s biggest strengths is their use of technology – from a dedicated booking app and self check-in/check-out for guests, to automation of cleaning requests and billing. Flat Inn also provides property owners a sleek proprietary dashboard where property owners can track the performance of their managed properties in real time and access detailed monthly reporting.
Note: Flat Inn’s site is currently in Russian, but you can translate it to English within your browser. Their bilingual site will be launched later this year.
Denmark
Hostminded – Copenhagen is Denmark’s primary hot-spot for Airbnb rentals, with many under the care of HostMinded. They are one of the most used property management services in Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark. The company comes with a guest meet-and-greets, vetting of guests, and the chance to maximize revenue through price experts who analyze and leverage real-time Airbnb statistics.
A Checklist For The Perfect Property Management Contract
If you’ve decided that you don’t want to handle your own Airbnb management and feel ready to hire a property manager for your short-term rental, the next step is securing the perfect property management contract.
The resources available to property managers allow them to handle all aspects of rental properties: everything from guest bookings to payment and rent collection. When you partner with a reputable property manager, you’ll be able to sit back, relax, and reap (most of) the rewards of renting out your property with none of the hassles.
Deciding on who will manage the property you’ve invested so much time and money into is not a decision to take lightly. There’s nothing worse than hiring a property manager and handing over control, only to discover that the terms and conditions set by the company don’t meet your expectations. So, to ensure you make the right choice, here’s the checklist for the perfect property manager contract.
Always Read A Property Management Contract Thoroughly
Before signing anything, you should always read the specifics of your property manager’s contract. Not only that, it is important to actually understand what you’re reading. If you don’t, feel free to ask questions. And if you don’t completely agree with something, ask if the terms are negotiable and if compromises can be made before considering another company.
The most common mistake for a property owner about to hire a property manager is treating the contract as a formality. You’re not agreeing to an iTunes contract here. This is serious stuff, and it should be treated as such. The contract agreement includes what is provided and what’s not, so it must be taken seriously. The specific terms of this agreement could determine the overall success of your rental property.
Ask Them What Their Expectations For Your Property Are
It’s always a good idea when considering a property manager to ask them what kind of expectations they have for your property. What pricing strategy do they think will work best? What kind of occupancy rate and revenues do they think are attainable? Before asking this it’s a good idea to get an estimate of your Airbnb’s potential earnings so that can benchmark their response.
Must-Haves For Your Property Management Contract
Before reading the official contract, it is crucial to understand the essentials of all rental agreements between the property owner and management company. For example, one essential of any management contract is the inclusion of specific responsibilities of the property owner.
In other words, what is the property management company responsible for, and what remains in the hands of the owner? Here are a few more essential aspects of any solid property manager’s contract:
- Complete list of services and fees
- Liability terms and conditions
- The specific duration of the contract
- A clear termination clause
Services & Fees
Every property management agreement should start with a comprehensive list of the services provided as well as the fees associated with those services. This is important for both owners and management companies in order for both parties to understand their roles in managing the property.
Think long and hard about the services you’re looking for. This depends on a few things, like whether this property is for reliable long-term tenants or successful short-term rentals. Many property managers will listen to your specific property-related goals and help you develop a plan based on them.
Most property managers will provide a list of the specific services they provide and a fixed management fee, usually in the form of a percentage. If there is a service that you’d like included, you can typically add it to your contract for an additional fee (either a fixed fee or an increase in the percentage).
Most of the problems that arise between property owners and managers have to do with an unclear ‘Services and Fees’ section. These issues can easily be avoided, though, as long as both parties involved understand what is expected of them.
Responsibilities Of The Property Owner
In addition to the services provided by the property management company, there should also be a section designated as ‘Responsibilities of the Property Owner’ within your contract. This gives you a clear picture of your own duties, like whether you are in charge of collecting rent or finding long-term tenants. When you sign the contract, you are agreeing to perform these duties.
Liability Insurance
Nowadays you won’t find a property manager’s contract without a section on liability insurance, also called the hold harmless clause. This section is meant to protect the property manager and not hold them liable for property damages (unless of course negligence is involved).
Property owners don’t necessarily love the inclusion of the liability clause, but it makes sense for property managers to have one. It doesn’t matter if you rent out your property on VRBO, Airbnb, or you have long-term tenants, there is always a risk of property damage. Even if your rental property caters to seniors who are quiet and respectful, things happen. For this reason, property managers will always try to protect themselves.
Reasonable Care Clause
As a property owner, there is a way to protect yourself within the liability section of a contract. A ‘Reasonable Care Clause’ states that a property manager must take “reasonable care” when hiring a third-party. In other words, if damage occurs because your manager did not take the proper measures in hiring a repairman or contractor, the manager will be held accountable.
Contract Duration
Another essential aspect of any contract is understanding the amount of time you’ll be bound to the property manager. Many property managers require you to commit for an entire year unless the contract terms are broken by the property manager. You might be able to participate in a trial run before committing to a full year, but this is not common.
Termination Conditions
Just because you have a “contract duration” does not mean you are 100% bound to a property manager no matter what. Every solid property manager’s contract will include a termination clause, also called a cancellation clause. This basically states that both the property owner and manager have the right to terminate a property management contract in certain events.
For example, if the manager fails to perform all of the services listed in the contract, you’ll most likely be able to terminate the service altogether. In most cases, though, you must give between 30 days and 90 days of notice before termination is completed. If you can, try to find a management company that allows you to end your contract without penalties or fees.
As long as you follow this checklist before signing a contract, you should have minimal issues with fostering a conducive partnership between host and property manager.