Management Percentage for STR

[Kevin Hutchens]

For those of you who that have your short term rental managed by another company, what do you typically pay in fees or a percentage for the management service? I have some family who are considering renting out their beach house on Cape Cod MA by the week during the summer and they want to get an idea for what they should expect to pay and what that fee gets them.

[Robert Gilstrap]

Contrary to what @Luke Carl is suggesting it is far from a "do it yourself or lose money proposition." Rates range from 20-35% depending on market. I'm in Atlanta so 25-30% is what I see. Of course everybody likes to bash professional management as some waste of money but none of these guys is apparently worth much or else they would value their own time and factor that in. I can also assure you that an STR will take more than 30 min. per week of oversight although that would be nice.

I'm clearly biased but I can assure you a professional can do it cheaper, faster and better than you can every time. The same reason why I pay someone to cut my grass and change my brake pads. They can do it cheaper, faster and better than i can do it. They have the tools, the know how and the experience. 

All that being said I actually agree that for one unit you probably should try and manage it yourself just so you get a full understanding of the business and all that it entails. There is MUCH more to it than it first seems.