New to Real Estate · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 2 votes
Hi everyone! My name is Rashonda and I’m located in Jacksonville, FL. I’m new to BiggerPockets and currently learning more about short-term rentals and co-hosting.
Professionally, I work in program analysis and have a strong background in administrative coordination, customer service, organization, and problem-solving. I'm interested in bringing those skills into the STR space, particularly through remote co-hosting and operational support.
I’m starting from the ground up, so my goal right now is to learn, connect with experienced hosts, and hopefully find an opportunity to assist an owner who could use additional support with guest communication, reservation monitoring, check-in/check-out coordination, turnover coordination, and other administrative needs.
I'd especially love to connect with STR owners and co-hosts in Jacksonville/Florida, but I'm open to connecting with hosts anywhere since my goal is to provide remote support.
Looking forward to learning and connecting with everyone!
Lender · Licensed in 28 States · Member since 2026 · 127 posts · 33 votes
2w
@Rashonda Belton Welcome to BiggerPockets, Rashonda! STRs can be a great space to grow into. If you eventually work with owners looking to acquire or expand their STR portfolios, having a reliable lending resource can be a big advantage. Feel free to reach out anytime if you or your clients need financing options. Happy to connect!
New to Real Estate · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 2 votes
2d
Thank you, Brad! I really appreciate the insight and warm welcome. I'm excited to learn more abou the STR space and connect with people like yourself who have experience in the industry. Thanks again!
Rental Property Investor · Lakeland Florida · Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 7 votes
2d
Welcome, Rashonda. I'll give you the useful version rather than the encouraging one.
The part of co-hosting you're offering, guest messaging, reservation monitoring, check-in coordination, is real work, but it's also the part of this business that's easiest to buy cheaply. You'll be quoted against offshore VAs at a fraction of US rates and plenty of owners will take that trade for messaging alone. What's actually scarce is the local and physical side: a cleaner bench, someone who can look at a turnover and tell it's wrong, a vendor who picks up the phone. Remote-only puts you on the crowded side of that line.
That doesn't mean don't do it. It means lead with something narrower and harder to replace. A few that map directly onto what you already do:
Florida tax compliance. Anything rented for six months or less here owes state sales tax plus the county tourist development tax, filed to different places depending on the county, and the platforms collect some of it in some counties and not others. Owners get this wrong constantly and it carries penalties. It's deadline-driven documentation work, which is your actual skill set, and almost nobody offers it as a standalone service.
Damage and AirCover claims. Deadline-bound, evidence-heavy, and owners dislike doing it enough that they routinely leave money on the table.
Owner reporting. A lot of owners can't tell gross booking revenue from their own net. If you can produce a monthly statement that cleanly separates the two, you're solving something people actively complain about.
Overnight and weekend coverage. That's the one thing your time zone gives you over a cheaper VA, and it's the shift owners most want off their plate.
On landing the first one: don't open by asking for a percentage. Very few owners hand a percentage to someone without a track record. Take a narrow, hourly, clearly defined scope for one or two owners, do it well for six months, and then you have numbers to quote and a reference to point at. Much easier first sale.
One thing worth knowing before you build a business around this. Florida generally requires a real estate license to rent property for others for compensation, but 475.011 carries an exemption for renting transient occupancy, meaning public lodging, which is where vacation rentals sit. So nightly hosting for owners is likely fine unlicensed. If you drift into 30-day-plus or longer placements, you're probably outside that exemption. Worth an hour with a Florida attorney before you scale, and please don't take my reading of it as legal advice.
Good luck with it. The administrative background is a real asset here. Most people coming into this space have the opposite problem.
New to Real Estate · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 2 votes
2d
Thank you so much and I appreicate the practical insight. I actually would like to start locally and build experience before expanding remote support. I initially looked into Airbnb's Co-Host Network, but you already have to have hosting/co-hosting experience to qualify, so I'm trying to find a way to get that first opportunity and build experience. You've definitely given me some things to think about and a different perspective on how to approach this. Thank you again!
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