The Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in the US

Today’s short-term rental market doesn’t exactly lend itself to the casual Airbnb host. There’s increased competition, more rental channels, higher guest expectations, new cleanliness standards, and unprecedented booking behaviors. All of this has amounted to a huge wave of professionalization and a growing desire to leverage the power of an Airbnb property management company.

If you’ve decided to outsource some of the responsibilities involved in managing a vacation rental, the next step is choosing an Airbnb property management company. This is by far one of the most impactful decisions you’ll make as a short-term rental host.

In this AirDNA resource, we’ll go through all aspects involved in finding the perfect Airbnb property manager for your listings. Feel free to use the map above alongside the tips and state-by-state rankings below.  (If you’d rather cut costs and go it your own, jump to the DIY approach below.)

Table of Contents

• The Best Airbnb Property Management Companies: What do they do?
• How to Choose a Property Manager for your Vacation Rental: 2 Main Categories
• Airbnb Property Management Fee Structures
• The Best Airbnb Property Managers by State
• How to do it (Mostly) Yourself

The Best Airbnb Property Management Companies: What do they do?

Before diving into how to choose a property manager for your vacation rental, let’s establish what exactly an Airbnb property manager typically does. Here are some of the most common services provided by a property manager:

• Marketing your property: Ideally, your property manager helps boost your listing’s exposure. Services here can include listing your property on multiple sites, taking professional photography, and managing its descriptions.
• Optimized pricing: Many property managers manage your listing’s dynamic pricing strategy. They’ll be well-equipped with data-driven resources (often from AirDNA!) to determine how to price your property competitively.
• Guest communication: Communicating with guests is a major reason hosts decide to outsource to a property manager. Many Airbnb management companies will take responsibility for communicating with guests from the moment they make a reservation to their post-stay review.
• Maintenance, repairs, and cleaning: Keeping your property clean and functioning is a must-do for managers. When something breaks or needs immediate assistance, they’ll be responsible for finding a solution.
• Payments and Financial Reporting: When you receive reservations from multiple platforms, managing payments can be a hassle. Plus it’s tough to get a clear snapshot of your rental’s performance. For this reason, many property managers will own your payment processing and offer reports on the performance of your rental.
• Local expertise: If you opt for a boots-on-the-ground property manager, they’ll offer tons of knowledge for guests about the local area. They’ll also be more attuned to things like seasonality and peak booking times.

How to Choose a Property Manager for your Vacation Rental: 2 Main Categories

The first thing to know when choosing a management company is that not all property managers are created equal. Each provides its own unique set of services along with fees and commission structures. There are two main categories of vacation rental management companies: Full-service property managers, and tech+distribution managers.

1. Full-Service Property Managers

If you want to truly “set it and forget it” when it comes to your vacation rental while maximizing your reach, you’ll need a full-service property manager. These property managers will take care of everything involved with your rental – from cleaning to marketing and maintenance – to ensure that your place gets booked without you having to lift a finger.

National property managers aren’t confined to a specific location and have properties distributed throughout a region or country. Some of them also focus on specific types of homes, such as luxury rentals or beach houses.

While many have great channel management strategies across Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, due to the volume of properties that these companies manage, they also have robust direct booking platforms and dedicated revenue managers to drive as much booking revenue as possible.

Servicing properties in 17 US states and Europe, Central and South America. Vacasa maximizes revenue for homeowners and provides a seamless experience for guests. Founded in 2009 and based in Portland, Oregon, it was ranked 9th on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies list.TurnKey Vacation Rentals manages more than 6,000 properties in 80+ top U.S. destinations. Their custom technology, expert local and national teams, and industry-low commission rates mean more revenue for their homeowners, better care for homes, and a consistent, high-quality experience for guests in every home, every stay, every time. Property management focused on large homes with amenities and features for group travel and company retreats.

• Servicing properties in 17 US states and Europe, Central and South America. Vacasa maximizes revenue for homeowners and provides a seamless experience for guests. Founded in 2009 and based in Portland, Oregon, it was ranked 9th on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies list.
• TurnKey Vacation Rentals manages more than 6,000 properties in 80+ top U.S. destinations. Their custom technology, expert local and national teams, and industry-low commission rates mean more revenue for their homeowners, better care for homes, and a consistent, high-quality experience for guests in every home, every stay, every time.
• Property management focused on large homes with amenities and features for group travel and company retreats.

2. Tech + Distribution Managers

The second category of vacation rental management companies includes those that offer flexible contracts and help primarily in the distribution, marketing, and communication components of your rental. They’ll help get your property booked by listing it on multiple sites and provide 24/7 customer service for your guests. As virtual managers, their fees are lower than the local managers listed below, but you’ll be in charge of handling cleaning, maintenance, and anything on-site.

The largest branded collection of vacation properties in the world offering hotel-like reservation and support services. Visit the site here. Evolve requires no long-term commitment, has no limit on personal stays, and has one of the lowest fees in the industry at 10% per booking.

• The largest branded collection of vacation properties in the world offering hotel-like reservation and support services. Visit the site here.
• Evolve requires no long-term commitment, has no limit on personal stays, and has one of the lowest fees in the industry at 10% per booking.

Airbnb Property Management Fee Structures

There are three main fee structures available when hiring a property management company.

1. Commission: Structure where the property manager earns a certain percentage of your Airbnb revenue. The benefit here is that if bookings are slow and revenue is down, so are your fees. However, during peak seasonality, you’re likely to pay more.
2. Flat rate: Structure where hosts pay a stable monthly fee independent of bookings and revenue. This structure makes sense if you’re confident that revenue will be consistent.
3. Guaranteed income (or Master Lease): While not the most common, some property managers will lease your property from you, offering dependable income each month regardless of rental performance.

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies by State

Listed below are the tried-and-true vacation rental managers who operate locally. They typically have years of experience in property management and differentiate themselves and their business by being experts in their local, geographic markets. Some cover just a small geographic area, while others can cover multiple regions within the US.

These property managers capitalize on the increased distribution from listing channels like  Airbnb and Vrbo while still retaining capital and delivering a branded experience through direct bookings. Many also provide end-to-end service for your rental and take care of marketing, maintenance, cleaning, channel management, and everything else needed to run your short-term rental successfully. Fees here are on the higher end and can be anywhere from 20%-40% of revenue.

Best Airbnb Property Managers in Alabama

Best Airbnb Property Managers in Arizona

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in California

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Colorado

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Florida
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Georgia
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Hawaii
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Massachusetts
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in New York
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in North Carolina
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Oregon
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in South Carolina
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Tennessee
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Texas
 

Best Airbnb Property Management Companies in Utah
 

If You Want to Do It (Mostly) Yourself:

The Most Affordable Option

The bulk of what property managers offer revolves around getting your place booked at an optimized rate -- exactly what MarketMinder helps self-starters do every day.
Upload your properties and subscribe to MarketMinder for access to tons of actionable data that will get your properties booked at an optimal rate. Deciding whether to list your property on Airbnb, Vrbo, or both? MarketMinder has the stats to let you make an informed decision. Want to see real-time supply and demand or the top properties in your area? We have you covered.

Part-Time Property Managers and Consultants

There are lots of options today for property owners who want part-time help to help ease the load of running a short-term rental. You can easily find local short-term rental consultants or part-time property managers in short-term rental focused Facebook groups or online forums. A few that we like to follow are Airbnb profit club and Airhosts Forum.

Airbnb Co-Hosting

Another option is the co-host feature on Airbnb, where you can select a dedicated co-host for your listings. This person can be a neighbor, friend, relative, or someone else nearby that can take on much or as little responsibility as you like. Some co-hosts only handle guest communication and check-in, while others take on additional responsibilities such as cleaning and maintenance.
Whatever type of property management service you decide to use for your short-term rental, keep this page bookmarked in for updates on the companies above.