Property managers for short term rentals?

[Joe S.]

So when somebody comes on here and ask about property management for short term rentals all the normal gang pipes up and says they self manage. My wife and I already have quite a number of properties we manage that are not short term rentals. Plus we have an active life with other activities and responsibilities. 
We are very open to finding somebody to manage short term rentals for us, but it seems like everyone wants a large percentage of the gross to the point where they’re getting almost all the profit or more profit than a property would even produce. Is there any sort of hybrids where someone would manage them for say 12%to 15%? or take a larger percentage of the true net not the gross? I am well aware that I can manage some myself or I wouldn’t of made it this far in life.  The deal is there’s only so many hours in a day and I would rather keep buying properties versus trying to totally milk a few houses for all they are worth.

[Luke Carl]

@Joe S. You’re looking for Evolve.

Paul Sandhu built my race car

[Randy Dubiskas]

I am looking for same.  I have seen some firms that manage for less than the percentage you mention, but they may leave some of the operations to the owner, such as cleaner, handyman, etc.  

[Valerie Rogers]

Hi Joe,

You are looking for me!  :-)

I posted a blog post here on BP a while back about the management options for short term rentals, including a service like mine. You can read it below:

Short Term Rentals: Property/Booking Management Options

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Best of luck! .

[Brian Koch]

What city is your STR in?

[Joe S.]

Originally posted by @Luke Carl:

@Joe S. You’re looking for Evolve.

Paul Sandhu built my race car

 Thanks for that recommendation. Do you know anyone that has used them and was extremely happy with their service?

[Paul Sandhu]

@Luke Carl  Jesus Built my Hotrod.  My son in law rebuilt my 'vette.

[Queenie Pinto]

Hi Joe,

We listed with Evolve earlier this month. Though it’s not been that long we have been happy with their service so far. They have been very responsive since day 1. They charge 10% fee per booking. Their service  includes professional  photographs of the property at no cost, a dedicated on boarding specialist who works with you till your listing goes live. Now, I communicate with their customer service through their App and they’ve been great in answering questions. It was the best option for us too with other responsibilities etc. Let me know if you would like any other info.

[Michael Baum]

One thing to remember with Evolve. You don't own your listing. They do. So if you decide to go another direction, like self management or another PM, you lose all the reviews you have built up.

[Luke Carl]

@Joe S. No. I don’t know anyone that likes evolve. Because the people that come to us here at the forum are never happy with their current situation or they wouldn’t seek us out. They all end up “self managing”. The ones that are happy we never hear from.

[Gerald Pitts]

A hybrid option might be hiring a co-host? Or virtual assistant? 

[Justin Anderson]

If you already have your team built in your market, hiring a VA may be the best option. Take a few days to train them up, let them read your canned responses, then turn them loose.

Nationally there is Evolve, turnkeyVR, Vacasa that I'm aware of.

[Amanda Ferguson]

At Turnkey Vacation Rentals we have two options. Full Service property management option at 18%-23% depending on the market. I oversee the Florida Panhandle and we are at 18% here. We also have Guest Works which is a limited service which is at 15%. Let me know which market you are purchasing a STR in, and I can connect you with the appropriate team member for additional information on our options.

[Jake Cohen]

@Joe S. My business partner used to work for evolve. I have also worked with a number of people who went with evolve and as they learned more realized they were leaving a lot of money on the table. The issue is you will not have someone who is personally invested in your property.

I think your best bet is someone to cohost your listing if you decide you don’t want to self manage. @Valerie Rogers is a great option to help. She has been very helpful to me with questions I have had and I’m not even a client.

Good luck!

[Zachary Beach]

@Joe S. I have a property management company and we charge pretty close to the standard rates but more than half of the management percentage goes just to costs at 15% we would lose money making you 70k+ a year on a 300K property I value myself a lot more than that. The pay out I give after costs is more than 75% of the comps revenue and we already paid the cleaner and for sheets towels paper towel TP etc and ran the communications and pricing and the guest hassles. We can do that because we revenue 2-3+ times what the other properties management companies and 50th percentile do because of are focus on the algorithms and pricing.

[Joe S.]

Originally posted by @Zachary Beach:

@Joe S. I have a property management company and we charge pretty close to the standard rates but more than half of the management percentage goes just to costs at 15% we would lose money making you 70k+ a year on a 300K property I value myself a lot more than that. The pay out I give after costs is more than 75% of the comps revenue and we already paid the cleaner and for sheets towels paper towel TP etc and ran the communications and pricing and the guest hassles. We can do that because we revenue 2-3+ times what the other properties management companies and 50th percentile do because of are focus on the algorithms and pricing.

I see you are in California is that primarily where are you manage properties? 

[Zachary Beach]

@Joe S. We are in the big bear Ca market it's a ski and lake town in the mountains about an hour from LA and an hour and a half from San Diego. It's the closest ski resorts to tens of millions of people and also has lots of other draws like snow hiking lake activity weddings Octoberfest rock climbing breweries etc. There are more houses than locals in the market and STR's have been big here for decades before Airbnb started.

[Alex Garcia]

@Joe S. hiring a virtual assistant like what @Justin Anderson said would be a great option. As long as you have already a system in place, the va would just need to be trained on what to do for a week or 2 and then you can go ahead manage your other activities.

[Donald Brooks]

Soda Stays has been phenomenal for my single family and multi family assets. 15% for full-service Airbnb property management. I don’t even think about it anymore and just see the deposits on the first for 3x what I was getting from long term renters.

[Michael Baum]

I am sorry @Donald Brooks, I just get the feeling that you are kinda selling Soda Stays. You are not the first of brand new members talking it up all of a sudden. Resurrecting 2 year old threads...

Just a bit suspicious.

[Mary H.]

Quote from @Michael Baum:

I am sorry @Donald Brooks, I just get the feeling that you are kinda selling Soda Stays. You are not the first of brand new members talking it up all of a sudden. Resurrecting 2 year old threads...

Just a bit suspicious.

Not a Tony Robbins fan I presume? Considering Tony Robbins just gave the founder's a push in Tony's Platinum Members group as a "business to study" and this is the largest, or at least the first site talking about real estate that pops up on Google…members will be flocking to talk about Soda LLC or Soda Stays whatever their name is. Founder raised $86M from Qatar ventures in a 1 hr pitch that's easily looked up.

[Michael Baum]

Yeah @Mary H., I am not NOT a fan. I don't know much about Soda Stays. I just seems like all of sudden a bunch of new users start talking about all their positive successes.

This is a marketing tactic for a lot of startups like this. Get on forums that cover a particular topic and have shills come in and talk it up. I have zero proof that this is what that is. It just seems suspicious when you get 4 or 5 new accounts or low post counts talking about them and how great they are.

It is a shady way to build buzz and always makes me wonder how they actually run their company. Again, no evidence, just wondering.