Do you need a co-host or property manager for your Airbnb?

Let’s just start from the basics. Is Airbnb for everyone? Should all property owners require help from a co-host or property manager? Will everyone make money or at least offset all costs associated with owning a property with a co-host? Will listing your property on Airbnb a net contributor to society?

To state the obvious, listing a property on Airbnb, or for that matter, on any short term rental platform, is definitely not for everyone. And not every property requires the assistance of a co-host or manager.

In 2023, according to Airbnb and the US Census Bureau, there were about 660,000 listings on the platform within the US, while US Bureau accounts for 131.43 million households on its territory. That means that even if every listing were to be counted as one household (many listings are within a single property), only about 0.5% of all current US homes are listed on the platform. This is an extraordinarily small percentage of overall listings, for a company blamed for skewing rental rates and availability all over the world. But that’s a different topic, but in our opinion, the growth potential is still enormous.

Here’s our common sense criteria to decide whether your property is a good candidate to utilize a co-host or property manager.

1. Do you have extra room in your home or have a home in which you do not reside at least a quarter of the year? If so, this is a good start. If you’re renting a bed in your bedroom and will be sharing everything from the bathroom to the kitchen (assuming you have one), then this can be fun for a while, but will obtain very little income, and only a few bookings relative to other listings. Nothing wrong with monetizing that dwelling and meeting new folks along the way. But it’s not a viable long-term business model, while understanding that you’d be providing an important service to a niche segment of the traveling population. On the other hand, if you spend too much time on your property, say almost the entire year, it’s wonderful that you rent your space for either special events in your area, or while the place remains vacant. Yet, as a long-term business model, it may be too much of a hustle to make it viable, while not discouraging you to move forward.These cases are good examples of period-base, individual hosts who prefer to do the work themselves. Paying a manager or co-host, may erode any profits or even bring the operation to a loss. You may be better off renting your period base place on your own.
2. A newly constructed dwelling build expressly for short-term rental, defeats the environmental benefits of efficiently using an otherwise underutilized asset. Of course, this is a free country, and home owners are welcome to do as they like and permitted by law with their homes. However, we do not encourage the practice of building something new when there are already millions of existing properties that are not fully utilized. The ideal short-term property is one that is already in existence, but either not used all year long, or has plenty of addition space, such as an in-law apartment within the lot. Building new structures require an enormous amount of energy and resources, and as a society, it is often illogical to consume new assets when old ones are, more often than not, perfectly adequate for using, thereby increasing their lifespan and reducing unnecessary consumption.We therefore do not recommend listing a newly built home built for the only purpose to rent short term. As a butler company, we would kindly prefer to decline your co-host request. We believe that you would be better off financially looking for a used home to put on the short-term market, and you will also have the satisfaction to help the environment.
3. Are you extremely attached to your place or your things within it? Does it bother you when you have guests and they leave the chairs out of place, or do not help you when they pick up the dishes, or bother you that they use too much toilet paper?If you answered yes to any of the above questions, short-term rental may not be your thing. Over the course of several months or years, wear than tear of your property will inevitably show, whether only you and yours use it, or guest do so. A home needs maintenance. Furnaces need to be inspected, water pipes need to run water, light bulbs need replacement, gardens need be attended to, and yes, even appliances break down once in a while. We encourage you to budget between 10 and 20% of your annual short-term income to go back into your property for regular maintenance, which will provide added value when the time comes to sell. In short, your place will be in better shape.If you are extremely emotionally attached to your home and cannot stand the though that others will be roaming within your walls, then by all means, do not put your dwelling on the market. There is no evidence to suggest that guests wear furniture or anything else down at a higher rate than owners, but this is more of a psychological obstacle that you may prefer not to overcome. Its your place, it’s your choice.

The ideal Airbnb listing will therefore be one that you will not be utilizing for your own use for at least half the year, one that already belongs to you or are willing to partially restore, and you also understand that normal wear and tear will take place while used by guests. If you meet these criteria, and your dwelling is located in a highly sought after area, then you are assured to make a profit even after covering the expense of hiring a co-host or property manager. In addition, you will have the satisfaction to know that your place is being enjoyed by others without hurting the environment. This is the perfect definition of a win-win relationship.