Short Term Rental Issues with Property Management and General Consensus

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions

Short Term Rental Issues with Property Management and General Consensus

Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 7 votes

Good morning! So I am new to Real Estate investing and am looking into starting a couple of my first short term rentals, and I have some questions about the value property managers bring to the table. I have been quoted at 20% of revenue to manage my new vacation rental, and I have seen other property managers that charge up to 40% while also charging for maintenance and upkeep. Many that I have seen are nationwide firms that allegedly increase occupancy, handle guest issues, and keep properties in shape. However, I have the time to manage guest relations and I have a good cleaning crew that I trust to take care of the cleaning and damage control and I have handymen and contractors readily available. It seems hard to wrap my head around paying this premium for a passive service, but I do not have any real world experiences to shape my opinion so I am keeping my options open, especially as I expand. My questions are: Is it worth 20%-40% of monthly revenue to hire a property manager? Are they really more effective in increasing STR performance? What are other STR owners biggest frustrations for those that are using property managers, and for those people that are self-managing? I would love to hear from the community and see what the general consensus is and if there are any other great points you think are relevant please let me know!

Thank y'all!

-Cole

2 Reply

2,144 views

Most Popular Reply

Collin HaysBusiness Member

Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes

I am a property manager, so I will give you the other side of the coin.

Self-management is always the most profitable way to go, if you have TIE. Time, Interest, and Energy. But if you are missing any of these, self-management will cost you instead of save you.

There are a lot of things that I can do in my life on my own and save a bundle of cash. Mow my own lawn, launder and iron my dress shirts, repaint the kitchen cabinets, change my oil, make my own pizza. Heck, if I really want to save some cash, I might even attempt to do my own car repairs and body work, or even build a fence for my backyard. With each of these, we do some mental gymnastics on what our time is worth.

We also tend to spend our time doing things we enjoy, or prefer DIY. I kind of like changing my own oil. It's fun. My next-door neighbor, he's more of a lawn and garden guy, couldn't care less about changing his own oil. And me, I hate doing lawn and garden stuff. I also don't like to bathe and groom the dogs, give myself a haircut, or chop wood for my fireplace. I am happy to pay other people to do these things.

We don't try to convince our clients into allowing us to manage their properties. In fact, we try to talk them out of it to ensure it is going to be a good working relationship. Most are working professionals - physicians, lawyers, real estate brokers, executives, and so on. They hire us because they value their time and don't want to give more of it away, or complicate their lives. Most would rather watch paint dry than manage a rental.

Our biggest frustration with clients is the ones that want to co-manage alongside us. I just fired a client last week - a prominent businessman with a wonderful cabin. But he wanted to second guess everything we did. The rates, repairs, brand of the new coffee pot, you name it. I told him he's better of self-managing because he obviously has TIE. No hard feelings, but we just couldn't continue with it anymore. He was driving my team crazy.

So to your question, whether or not a property manager is worth it, the answer is different with every investor. What matters is your personal situation.

[email protected]806-672-7102

SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review

Website View Page

6 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

17 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Bryant Xavier
Realtor · College Station, TX · Member since 2020 · 121 posts · 58 votes
1y
Cole,

Great questions! As someone who has been managing short-term rentals for six years, I can tell you that whether a property manager is worth the 20%-40% fee depends on your goals, experience, and the systems you have in place.

Since you mentioned that you have the time to manage guest relations, a trusted cleaning crew, and reliable maintenance contacts, you already have a strong foundation for self-management. A good property manager should add value beyond just handling guests—they should optimize pricing, boost occupancy, streamline operations, and protect your asset.

Is it worth 20%-40% of revenue?

• At the lower end (20%), it might be worthwhile if they’re truly hands-off and maximizing revenue.

• At the higher end (30-40%), you’d expect a more full-service experience, including dynamic pricing, design recommendations, preventative maintenance, and potentially even guest acquisition beyond Airbnb/VRBO.

• If you have multiple properties or scale quickly, a PM can free up your time, but many investors opt to self-manage and automate instead.

Do property managers increase STR performance?

• A great PM can improve occupancy and revenue with smart pricing, SEO-optimized listings, and experience-driven strategies. However, nationwide firms can be hit-or-miss—some use generic pricing models and lack the local expertise that an engaged owner or boutique management company might bring.

• If you’re using tools like PriceLabs, Hospitable, or OwnerRez, you can handle a lot of these optimizations yourself without giving up a big revenue cut.

Biggest frustrations with property managers?

• Lack of transparency or control over pricing and expenses.

• Hidden fees or nickel-and-diming for basic maintenance.

• Poor communication or slow response times.

• A “one-size-fits-all” approach that doesn’t maximize a property’s unique potential.

Biggest frustrations with self-managing?

• Guest issues at inconvenient times (though with solid automation, this is manageable).

• Finding and keeping high-quality cleaners.

• Staying on top of dynamic pricing and marketing.

If you’re just starting out and have the time, I’d recommend self-managing at least your first couple of properties. You’ll gain valuable experience, keep more revenue, and learn firsthand what aspects of management you might eventually want to outsource.

Would love to hear what market you’re in—some locations benefit more from hands-on local expertise than others!
2 Reply
- Cole Dobbs
  OP
  Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 7 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Bryant Xavier:
  
  Cole,
  
  Great questions! As someone who has been managing short-term rentals for six years, I can tell you that whether a property manager is worth the 20%-40% fee depends on your goals, experience, and the systems you have in place.
  
  Since you mentioned that you have the time to manage guest relations, a trusted cleaning crew, and reliable maintenance contacts, you already have a strong foundation for self-management. A good property manager should add value beyond just handling guests—they should optimize pricing, boost occupancy, streamline operations, and protect your asset.
  
  Is it worth 20%-40% of revenue?
  
  • At the lower end (20%), it might be worthwhile if they’re truly hands-off and maximizing revenue.
  
  • At the higher end (30-40%), you’d expect a more full-service experience, including dynamic pricing, design recommendations, preventative maintenance, and potentially even guest acquisition beyond Airbnb/VRBO.
  
  • If you have multiple properties or scale quickly, a PM can free up your time, but many investors opt to self-manage and automate instead.
  
  Do property managers increase STR performance?
  
  • A great PM can improve occupancy and revenue with smart pricing, SEO-optimized listings, and experience-driven strategies. However, nationwide firms can be hit-or-miss—some use generic pricing models and lack the local expertise that an engaged owner or boutique management company might bring.
  
  • If you’re using tools like PriceLabs, Hospitable, or OwnerRez, you can handle a lot of these optimizations yourself without giving up a big revenue cut.
  
  Biggest frustrations with property managers?
  
  • Lack of transparency or control over pricing and expenses.
  
  • Hidden fees or nickel-and-diming for basic maintenance.
  
  • Poor communication or slow response times.
  
  • A “one-size-fits-all” approach that doesn’t maximize a property’s unique potential.
  
  Biggest frustrations with self-managing?
  
  • Guest issues at inconvenient times (though with solid automation, this is manageable).
  
  • Finding and keeping high-quality cleaners.
  
  • Staying on top of dynamic pricing and marketing.
  
  If you’re just starting out and have the time, I’d recommend self-managing at least your first couple of properties. You’ll gain valuable experience, keep more revenue, and learn firsthand what aspects of management you might eventually want to outsource.
  
  Would love to hear what market you’re in—some locations benefit more from hands-on local expertise than others!
  
  Thank you for the reply Bryant! You brought up a couple points that I would like to talk a little more about. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around paying a recurring monthly revenue when a vast majority of the tasks are upfront services such as pricing, design, preventative maintenance checks, and more listing opportunities. Sure, these can be altered a few times a year, but in your opinion is it worth potentially thousands of dollars a month? I am in the North Houston market currently! I definitely think hands-on local expertise is the way to go regardless of your market. Let me know what you think Bryant!
  0 Reply
- Bryant Xavier
  Realtor · College Station, TX · Member since 2020 · 121 posts · 58 votes
  1y
  @Cole Dobbs
  
  Great points! I completely understand the hesitation about paying a recurring fee when many of the biggest value-adds—pricing strategy, design, and preventative maintenance—are front-loaded efforts. Whether it’s worth thousands per month really comes down to two factors: how much value a property manager adds on an ongoing basis and what your time is worth.
  
  Ongoing Value vs. Upfront Work
  
  While things like pricing strategy and listing optimization are initially set up, they do require consistent monitoring and adjustments. A strong property manager should:
  
  • Continuously adjust dynamic pricing (sometimes daily) based on demand, local events, and market trends.
  
  • Monitor performance metrics and adjust listing descriptions, photos, and policies based on guest feedback and data.
  
  • Handle guest issues efficiently, especially last-minute problems that could impact reviews.
  
  • Manage turnovers and quality control, ensuring standards remain high without you having to check in constantly.
  
  If a PM isn’t actively doing these things and is just collecting a fee, then yes, it’s hard to justify paying thousands a month. But if they’re increasing your revenue by 20%-30% while reducing your involvement, that changes the equation.
  
  What’s Your Time Worth?
  
  If you’re managing yourself and optimizing well, you keep that extra 20%-40%. But as you scale, your time might be better spent acquiring more properties or focusing on higher-level investments rather than handling daily operations.
  
  North Houston Market Insight
  
  That’s a great market with strong demand, so hands-on local expertise is definitely a big advantage. If you decide to self-manage, you’re in a good position to succeed, especially with the right tech and team in place.
  
  Would love to hear more about your goals—are you planning to scale quickly, or are you focused on just a couple of high-performing properties for now?
  
  1 Reply
Patricia Andriolo-Bull
Member since 2022 · 529 posts · 413 votes
1y
Hi and welcome to the STR world. Couple? So you are jumping to multiple? I would also ask, will these be local to you or at a distance? Personally, I think getting your hands dirty in understanding STR is always a good thing but harder to do remotely (but not impossible). There are a lot of folks that say you can run them remotely but personally, I feel like I do it better myself. If you start out with one local property I would say do it yourself. If you have multiple and they are remote, 20% would be worth it. I can't see the value (or ability to cash flow) with 40%.
0 Reply
Mark Miles
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 543 posts · 716 votes
1y
Quote from @Cole Dobbs:

Good morning! So I am new to Real Estate investing and am looking into starting a couple of my first short term rentals, and I have some questions about the value property managers bring to the table. I have been quoted at 20% of revenue to manage my new vacation rental, and I have seen other property managers that charge up to 40% while also charging for maintenance and upkeep. Many that I have seen are nationwide firms that allegedly increase occupancy, handle guest issues, and keep properties in shape. However, I have the time to manage guest relations and I have a good cleaning crew that I trust to take care of the cleaning and damage control and I have handymen and contractors readily available. It seems hard to wrap my head around paying this premium for a passive service, but I do not have any real world experiences to shape my opinion so I am keeping my options open, especially as I expand. My questions are: Is it worth 20%-40% of monthly revenue to hire a property manager? Are they really more effective in increasing STR performance? What are other STR owners biggest frustrations for those that are using property managers, and for those people that are self-managing? I would love to hear from the community and see what the general consensus is and if there are any other great points you think are relevant please let me know!

Thank y'all!

-Cole

You don’t need a property manager located in the local area of your properties - that’s the beauty of modern technology!!

It’s super easy. I use offshore assistants to manage everything, for pennies on the dollar. Works amazingly well & I rarely have to get involved. All without having to pay a hefty PM fee. My offshore assistants can:

- call someone to clear the road of snow leading up to your cabin

- call someone to remove a 50 year old tree that fell in your driveway last night and the guests can't depart.

- call someone to remove a snake from under the sofa

- call someone to remove the trash when it's piling up

- help guests find your cabin when it is 1am and they are completely lost

And much much more! You definitely don’t need to waste your money on local property management. This is a forum of highly skilled investors and very few people on here use a local property management firm, it’s just a waste of money.

Of course there are a few property managers on this forum, and they will of course tell you that you must have their services. They will tell you that they add tremendous value and that you could never operate without a local property manager. Up to you to decide.

Here’s a couple other links to other forum posts to help you out:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530-short-term-and-vaca...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1039039-gett...
1 Reply
- Cole Dobbs
  OP
  Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 7 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Mark Miles:
  
  Quote from @Cole Dobbs:
  
  Good morning! So I am new to Real Estate investing and am looking into starting a couple of my first short term rentals, and I have some questions about the value property managers bring to the table. I have been quoted at 20% of revenue to manage my new vacation rental, and I have seen other property managers that charge up to 40% while also charging for maintenance and upkeep. Many that I have seen are nationwide firms that allegedly increase occupancy, handle guest issues, and keep properties in shape. However, I have the time to manage guest relations and I have a good cleaning crew that I trust to take care of the cleaning and damage control and I have handymen and contractors readily available. It seems hard to wrap my head around paying this premium for a passive service, but I do not have any real world experiences to shape my opinion so I am keeping my options open, especially as I expand. My questions are: Is it worth 20%-40% of monthly revenue to hire a property manager? Are they really more effective in increasing STR performance? What are other STR owners biggest frustrations for those that are using property managers, and for those people that are self-managing? I would love to hear from the community and see what the general consensus is and if there are any other great points you think are relevant please let me know!
  
  Thank y'all!
  
  -Cole
  
  You don’t need a property manager located in the local area of your properties - that’s the beauty of modern technology!!
  
  It’s super easy. I use offshore assistants to manage everything, for pennies on the dollar. Works amazingly well & I rarely have to get involved. All without having to pay a hefty PM fee. My offshore assistants can:
  
  - call someone to clear the road of snow leading up to your cabin
  
  - call someone to remove a 50 year old tree that fell in your driveway last night and the guests can't depart.
  
  - call someone to remove a snake from under the sofa
  
  - call someone to remove the trash when it's piling up
  
  - help guests find your cabin when it is 1am and they are completely lost
  
  And much much more! You definitely don’t need to waste your money on local property management. This is a forum of highly skilled investors and very few people on here use a local property management firm, it’s just a waste of money.
  
  Of course there are a few property managers on this forum, and they will of course tell you that you must have their services. They will tell you that they add tremendous value and that you could never operate without a local property manager. Up to you to decide.
  
  Here’s a couple other links to other forum posts to help you out:
  
  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530-short-term-and-vaca...
  
  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1039039-gett...
  
  Thank you for the reply Mark! That is a great idea. I do have some questions about this model though. I understand that you have outsourced your call centers overseas but when you do need that hands on property care that you mentioned, how do you go about it? Did you partner with local animal control, waste removal, maintenance crews, etc?
  0 Reply
- Mark Miles
  Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 543 posts · 716 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Cole Dobbs:
  
  Quote from @Mark Miles:
  
  Quote from @Cole Dobbs:
  
  Good morning! So I am new to Real Estate investing and am looking into starting a couple of my first short term rentals, and I have some questions about the value property managers bring to the table. I have been quoted at 20% of revenue to manage my new vacation rental, and I have seen other property managers that charge up to 40% while also charging for maintenance and upkeep. Many that I have seen are nationwide firms that allegedly increase occupancy, handle guest issues, and keep properties in shape. However, I have the time to manage guest relations and I have a good cleaning crew that I trust to take care of the cleaning and damage control and I have handymen and contractors readily available. It seems hard to wrap my head around paying this premium for a passive service, but I do not have any real world experiences to shape my opinion so I am keeping my options open, especially as I expand. My questions are: Is it worth 20%-40% of monthly revenue to hire a property manager? Are they really more effective in increasing STR performance? What are other STR owners biggest frustrations for those that are using property managers, and for those people that are self-managing? I would love to hear from the community and see what the general consensus is and if there are any other great points you think are relevant please let me know!
  
  Thank y'all!
  
  -Cole
  
  You don’t need a property manager located in the local area of your properties - that’s the beauty of modern technology!!
  
  It’s super easy. I use offshore assistants to manage everything, for pennies on the dollar. Works amazingly well & I rarely have to get involved. All without having to pay a hefty PM fee. My offshore assistants can:
  
  - call someone to clear the road of snow leading up to your cabin
  
  - call someone to remove a 50 year old tree that fell in your driveway last night and the guests can't depart.
  
  - call someone to remove a snake from under the sofa
  
  - call someone to remove the trash when it's piling up
  
  - help guests find your cabin when it is 1am and they are completely lost
  
  And much much more! You definitely don’t need to waste your money on local property management. This is a forum of highly skilled investors and very few people on here use a local property management firm, it’s just a waste of money.
  
  Of course there are a few property managers on this forum, and they will of course tell you that you must have their services. They will tell you that they add tremendous value and that you could never operate without a local property manager. Up to you to decide.
  
  Here’s a couple other links to other forum posts to help you out:
  
  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530-short-term-and-vaca...
  
  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1039039-gett...
  
  Thank you for the reply Mark! That is a great idea. I do have some questions about this model though. I understand that you have outsourced your call centers overseas but when you do need that hands on property care that you mentioned, how do you go about it? Did you partner with local animal control, waste removal, maintenance crews, etc?
  
  Yes of course you will have a Rolodex of local people that your offshore property managers can call upon when they need things done in person. But you’re saving yourself a huge expense of 20 to 40% per month and the offshore person can do just as good a job pulling in the local helpers as needed
  
  If you hire the right offshore virtual assistants, they will also help you build your local team by being active in local Facebook groups and asking a lot of questions, interviewing cleaners for you, etc.
  
  You don’t need to get bogged down in these details, nor do you need to spend 20 to 40% per month on a local property manager. You can offshore it all at a fraction of the cost and a good offshore person will be self-sufficient and can manage the whole thing themselves, freeing you up for higher value opportunities. Such as spending your time posting on biggerpockets like I’m doing now 😅
  Just be sure to be picky and hire the right offshore assistants. As in all walks of life, there are good people at their jobs and bad people. You need to hire the good people and they will handle everything on your behalf like mine do
  0 Reply
John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1y
You already have all the tools and contacts in place to be successful at self managing.
I would recommend you self manage and not pay out the 20% to 40% of your gross income.
1 Reply
- Cole Dobbs
  OP
  Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 7 votes
  1y
  Quote from @John Underwood:
  
  You already have all the tools and contacts in place to be successful at self managing.
  I would recommend you self manage and not pay out the 20% to 40% of your gross income.
  
  Thank you John! I can see you have expertise on this subject! I am curious, how many rentals did you have before you turned to property management? Or do you have another method that you use and could recommend? Let me know!
  -Cole
  0 Reply
- John UnderwoodPro Member
  Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
  1y
  Quote from @Cole Dobbs:
  
  Quote from @John Underwood:
  
  You already have all the tools and contacts in place to be successful at self managing.
  I would recommend you self manage and not pay out the 20% to 40% of your gross income.
  
  Thank you John! I can see you have expertise on this subject! I am curious, how many rentals did you have before you turned to property management? Or do you have another method that you use and could recommend? Let me know!
  -Cole
  
  I mainly have a bunch LTR' with a couple STR's. I self manage all but one.
  1 Reply
Bryant Xavier
Realtor · College Station, TX · Member since 2020 · 121 posts · 58 votes
1y
Great points! I completely understand the hesitation about paying a recurring fee when many of the biggest value-adds—pricing strategy, design, and preventative maintenance—are front-loaded efforts. Whether it’s worth thousands per month really comes down to two factors: how much value a property manager adds on an ongoing basis and what your time is worth.

Ongoing Value vs. Upfront Work

While things like pricing strategy and listing optimization are initially set up, they do require consistent monitoring and adjustments. A strong property manager should:

• Continuously adjust dynamic pricing (sometimes daily) based on demand, local events, and market trends.

• Monitor performance metrics and adjust listing descriptions, photos, and policies based on guest feedback and data.

• Handle guest issues efficiently, especially last-minute problems that could impact reviews.

• Manage turnovers and quality control, ensuring standards remain high without you having to check in constantly.

If a PM isn’t actively doing these things and is just collecting a fee, then yes, it’s hard to justify paying thousands a month. But if they’re increasing your revenue by 20%-30% while reducing your involvement, that changes the equation.

What’s Your Time Worth?

If you’re managing yourself and optimizing well, you keep that extra 20%-40%. But as you scale, your time might be better spent acquiring more properties or focusing on higher-level investments rather than handling daily operations.

North Houston Market Insight
That’s a great market with strong demand, so hands-on local expertise is definitely a big advantage. If you decide to self-manage, you’re in a good position to succeed, especially with the right tech and team in place.

Would love to hear more about your goals—are you planning to scale quickly, or are you focused on just a couple of high-performing properties for now?

0 Reply
Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
1y
I am a property manager, so I will give you the other side of the coin.

Self-management is always the most profitable way to go, if you have TIE. Time, Interest, and Energy. But if you are missing any of these, self-management will cost you instead of save you.

There are a lot of things that I can do in my life on my own and save a bundle of cash. Mow my own lawn, launder and iron my dress shirts, repaint the kitchen cabinets, change my oil, make my own pizza. Heck, if I really want to save some cash, I might even attempt to do my own car repairs and body work, or even build a fence for my backyard. With each of these, we do some mental gymnastics on what our time is worth.
We also tend to spend our time doing things we enjoy, or prefer DIY. I kind of like changing my own oil. It's fun. My next-door neighbor, he's more of a lawn and garden guy, couldn't care less about changing his own oil. And me, I hate doing lawn and garden stuff. I also don't like to bathe and groom the dogs, give myself a haircut, or chop wood for my fireplace. I am happy to pay other people to do these things.

We don't try to convince our clients into allowing us to manage their properties. In fact, we try to talk them out of it to ensure it is going to be a good working relationship. Most are working professionals - physicians, lawyers, real estate brokers, executives, and so on. They hire us because they value their time and don't want to give more of it away, or complicate their lives. Most would rather watch paint dry than manage a rental.

Our biggest frustration with clients is the ones that want to co-manage alongside us. I just fired a client last week - a prominent businessman with a wonderful cabin. But he wanted to second guess everything we did.  The rates, repairs, brand of the new coffee pot, you name it. I told him he's better of self-managing because he obviously has TIE. No hard feelings, but we just couldn't continue with it anymore. He was driving my team crazy.

So to your question, whether or not a property manager is worth it, the answer is different with every investor. What matters is your personal situation.
[email protected]806-672-7102
SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
Website View Page
6 Reply
Michael BaumPro Member
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
1y
We self manage from about 350 miles away. Having all the people to take care of things makes it relatively easy.
If you keep up on maintenance and service all the hard systems 2x a year or recommended it will really cut down on failures in the house.
Get a great cleaner who will be your eyes and ears on the ground. They will be able to make sure that the things are copacetic.
You can do it!
0 Reply
Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 996 posts · 1k+ votes
1y
It's unlikely that a property manager will increase your revenue by enough to make up their fee (unless you're really bad at it), so if you're looking at it strictly from a returns perspective then you're probably better off self managing.
The question, of course, is how much your time is worth to you. Because on an hourly basis, your time may or may not be better spent elsewhere. It's cheaper to walk from the airport to the hotel than take an Uber, but it takes more of your time.
It sounds like you have the means and desire to give self management a try. So what does it hurt to give it a shot? Try it, and see if it works for you, or if you'd rather pay a slight premium to not be bothered with midnight clogged toilet calls. For some people, that's worth saving some extra cash. For some it ends up not being worth it. Most people are afraid to even try. It sounds like you're not, so give it a shot and see how it goes!
Cosmic Vacations4.9177 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1y
A lot of good points by fellow PM's above, rather than parroting or writing a diatribe, I would add that it really depends on who you hire. A lot of the nationwide companies have bad reputations. Usually due to lack of...everything. Guests complain about bad cleaning jobs, lack of maintenance, slow communication etc. You could be paying them to run your property down. A good local manager can earn their fee and maybe more. Using economies of scale I can afford more complex pricing software, a revenue manager, and other tools. I also have access to channels (over 15+) like Marriott Homes and Villas that bring in more occupancy. They only deal with PM's with 50+ properties. These things mean I usually beat the market 10-15+% in aggregate each month. It could be higher on a specific property. Pairing that with 24/7 guest communication and more a case that paying 20% could actually net more money. We have had clients leave (one example was a wife becoming a stay at home) and tell us they were netting around the same but doing all the work. Long story short, not all PM's are the same and results will vary.
Lastly, I will also say anything over 25% I would consider high. I have not seen anything North of 25 in quite a while, with some excepetions being in very rural and remote areas.
[email protected]813-563-0877
Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
Website View Page
1 Reply
Gary NelsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Branson, MO · Member since 2016 · 141 posts · 93 votes
1y
If you already have a strong cleaning crew, reliable handymen, and the time to handle guest relations, you’re in a great position to self-manage—especially for your first STRs. Property management fees can eat into profits, and while some firms add value with pricing optimization and marketing, many just automate what you can do yourself with the right tools.

The key question is: what’s your time worth? If managing bookings, guest issues, and maintenance coordination fits into your schedule, you’ll maximize your income by keeping that 20-40%. If you plan to scale quickly, a PM could free up your time, but for now, learning the ropes yourself will give you valuable experience.

If you go the self-management route, leverage automation tools like PriceLabs for dynamic pricing, Hospitable for messaging, and build a great local team. Then, if you ever decide to hire a manager, you’ll know exactly what value they need to bring to justify the cost.
[email protected]417-464-6915
Gary Nelson Real Estate, EXP Realty, LLC554 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.