Welcome to it! Southeast Austin's a solid area to be in right now. One thing I'll pass on since I wish someone had told me early: when you're interviewing cleaners, don't just ask "do you do Airbnbs", ask specifically how they handle same-day turnovers, whether they'll text you a photo if something's off or damaged, and whether they restock consumables. STR cleaning is a totally different animal from regular house cleaning, and a lot of great residential cleaners just aren't built for the speed and the checklist side of it. The ones who text you mid-clean about a broken glass or a stain are worth their weight in gold.
On the management side, my honest take is look at the rating and portfolio of whoever you are handing it over to for management. A boutique property manager is better than a mass management company as to what Ive heard. I learned the hard way that you can get dinged or even suspended over stuff you didn't realize was your responsibility, so the more you know the basics yourself, the better you can judge whoever you hire or atleast someone who guides you with it. Happy to share what I figured out the painful way if it's useful.
