Do I need a management company?

[Chelsea Price]

My goal is to purchase my first STR this year or early next. The location I have my eye on is a 3 hr drive from my home in a vacation destination. My question is: How do you know whether to hire a management company or whether to just gather your own vendors (cleaners, handymen, etc) I'm confident in my ability to assemble my own team but doing it all remotely scares me a bit. Yes, hiring a company to do it all for me will take a big bite out of my profits but could it save me from huge headaches since I don't live there and not very familiar with the area? Any insight from your experience would be very helpful. Thank you!