Property Management or Co-Hosting?

[Sonia592]

Hi there,

I am a little unclear on how best to set up new listings/ properties which I would be managing.

The context of my question is this:

The properties are owned by different owners (one owner may have two properties, another owner may have just one one, etc)

They would like me to create the listing from scratch, rather than do it themselves, with home description, photos, amenities, house rules, payment methods, prices etc; 

I would then manage all enquiries, bookings, reviews and be the key holder, as well as manage cleaning and maintenance.

Income would go to their account, and I would be receive it my commission as cohost/ property manager. 

The owner(s) in question do not currently have an Airbnb account.

What is the best way to do this:

A-  Do I set up their Airbnb account under their name, having been provided with all relevant private details, then create listing(s) for their property(ies), and manage properties as a Co-host

or

B- List their properties under my Airbnb account name, and become property manager?

Thanks in advance for your help

[Megan19]

To the owners of the property, I would be very very careful about letting other people list your property in their name on any STR site such as Airbnb, Bookings, HomeAway, VRBO.  You are relinquishing important legal powers and control. You will not be able to track all the reservations even when the manager provides you with 3rd party calendar tools. They could have you listed elsewhere and you won't even know about it. It helps to have security cameras so you can see who comes and goes, but then you need to make sure you disclose that to your guests. What happens in the unfortunate case you get into a financial dispute with your manager. How do protect yourself from malicious acts.

[Marketta3]

Hey there I’m Marketta, Is there any owners looking for a co-host in Las Vegas NV. I manage a couple properties and love what I do.   Please let me know if you are in need of a Co-Host or Vacation Property Manager.  I have been a co-host (soley responsible) for 3+properties for the past 2 years and Lisitng Host to 1 property.  I have received 5-Stars across the board. Proving additional marketing and social media outlets to drive additional eyes and book the home solid.   I'm located in Las Vegas NV with homes with an high interest of vacations properties and entertainment.   I have an awesome team of cleaners and handymen on the payroll. Please contact me directly if interested in some assistance at 317-986-0325 

[Desiree80]

Morning, I need a Co-host in the Laguna Niguel or San Juan Capistrano, CA (So. Orange County area) for a reservation on July 8th - 11th for a private room/private bath.  Please email me at desireejones@cox.net or via text (949) 633-8009.  My unit was damaged in a fire and I don't know if it will be repaired  by July 8th.

Best Regards

[Betsy16]

I have been with Airbnb for 4 years, I am a Superhost.   I am also a co-host for 5 properties and would love to add your property to my list.  I live in Sarasota , FLorida.  

[Dnn1]

How did you find your cohost? I am looking for a cohost for 2 properties of mine. There's not much on here that goes into detail letting you know, I would appreciate your advise and help. Thanks

[Tommy226]

@Betsy16 we are looking at purchasing my mother-in-laws home in Clearwater, FL. We are exploring if we should rent it out or turn it into a airbnb. Do you manage airbnb's in Clearwater? If so, How do you charge? percentage of rental or flat rate per month?

[Keva0]

Peace Airbnb Fam!

I have been co-hosting a few properties for the past 2 years on Cape Cod/Boston. I manage everything from check-in to cleanings. I'm interested in co-hosting locally and remotely. I have a degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management and love what I do! My lifestyle allows for flexibility and availability, as I do not have a typical 9-5.  I love to travel and love meeting people from all over the world. Im great with CLEAR and CONSISTENT Communication. Not to mention, I am a licensed Real Estate Agent and have experience with landlords, listings and property management. Please contact me if you want Peace of Mind while you live your best life! ****

*[Personal information hidden – in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Usman43]

Hello everyone, 

Myself and my partner have decided to start up managing properties, We are hard working and enthusiastic people who have managed properties in the past. We fair honest and trustworthy. If you are interested in not having to deal with all the inquiries and renting of your airbnb I would be happy to do it for you. Please get in touch with me so that we can Discuss further in detail how to make your life easier.

Thank you.

Elite Properties

[Andrew1806]

If you list the property under your name, accept payments and distribute payments to the owner then you are a property manager not a co-host. Yes, You get reviews under your profile, and access to resolution center. You also handle the money and pay the owner vs you invoicing the owner. This will require a lot more accounting on your end, profit & loss reports, and liability issues. What if there is a fire in the kitchen? The owner isn't covered by the 1MM protection Airbnb offers. Also, Im positive this would require you to have a certification or real estate license. Something you might be ignorant too.  Tread carefully freelancers as operating with out a license is an easy way for the state to send you a not so friendly letter.

I encourage all co-hosts to represent themselves not as property managers (you don't take care of the lawn do you?) A co-host is the concierge and hospitality business. Yes, you may change a light bulb or have some cross over with a property manager tasks, but as long as you don't accept the money or create leases you are in the clear.  Why do you want the liability for a reviews? Don't you want the money from the client? Your reputation will bring you more clients. When you create the listing page, you create the username and password. Make sure they know you have this when you will need access to their page.

Most owners wont care as they want as little involvement as possible. Technology makes their eyes glaze over, hence why you were hired.

I learned this doing this over a year and buying my own property that I host.

Happy Co-hosting!

[Tess245]

Well I just can't decide how to list this thing!  It sounds like there is a lot of confusion here.   I operated a successful Airbnb before with a property I owned, but I did it entirely on my own.  But now, I am helping my cousin list his house on Airbnb.  I live a few doors from this house, and he spends half the year in another state.  I will be doing all the work, but he will always be available to me for problems.  

Sounds like some people on here would advise me to just list this as it's my own.  So that means it's under my profile, all reviews appear attached to me, and in future if someone else wanted to list it as an Airbnb they couldn't ... is this correct?  Further, this would mean we would have to have all revenue deposited into my own account, and I would pay him the proceeds ... correct?  And it would appear as if I am liable for all the taxes owed to our state for these rentals ... correct?  If this is all correct, I don't see why anyone would do this???

It sounds like the only other option is for me to co-host.  This would mean the listing appears under his profile, all his financial info, taxes are his liability ... correct?  When I create the listing, I give it a user name/password, and share that with the owner ... correct?  As a co-host, he can automatically have my percentage deposited into my account ... correct?  If this is correct,  this is really what we need.  

The negatives people bring up here are that any reviews would not be credited to my profile, but to his ... this is OK with me.  The other problem is a co-host cannot open or manage issues, or have access to the listing's resolution center ... So the owner would have to be involved in that aspect ... is this correct?

The only other question I have is if co-hosting, I assume the listing will show my face with my contact information ... correct?

I'm so sorry to be so long-winded, but I want to get this right!  I truly appreciate any help other more experienced owners can share!  Thank you!

[Andrew1806]

You want to be a guest concierge. You need to link you airbnb account to the owners profile. than you become main host and the owner is just the listing admin and co-host. You keep there user/pass. set up all there info, listing, manage clean, guest communication, etc. You run the whole thing. The owner pays a pretty penny for this service. Why? because you are running the entire business. If they don't want the service they can earn the 30% by investing their own time.  You then invoice the client your % plus the cleaning fees. Owner should receive 60%. The best clients are not involved at all other than blocking a few dates if they want to stay at their own property and managing the house issues if any. The owner gets the revenue and no headaches and you provide 5 star service. You work from home and manage cleaners for the most part other than property inspections. Sweet gig. DM me if you would like further consulting. I accept Venmo and Paypal 🙂

[Brittany467]

@Tess245 what you’re saying makes total sense. Our property was listed on air bnb by a ‘concierge’ or ‘acting property manager’ who listed it under their account as the listing owner. This has caused all sorts of headaches up to this point even after this person made me a primary cohost, which definitely doesn’t allow me to create requests in the resolution center for damages—although, air bnb advised a workaround for this. The biggest problem right now seems to be said missing tax information for calendar year 2021. The listing owner is not accounting for this tax information as they managed the entire account and then distributed commission to themselves and then leftover earnings to us after all other fees associated were handled. We decided to manage our air bnb on our own in 2022, however.  So, this leads into this person giving me the primary cohost responsibility for calendar year 2022 and because of missing tax information on their end from 2021, current payouts are still tied to their account somehow even though I’ve set up our banking accounts and tax information is accounted for, but we are not able to receive payouts since air bnb paused them! What a mess. I’m really at a loss here and not sure if we’ll be paid out. Also, as a cohost, reviews I’ve actually written for guests are still appearing as if the other person wrote it under their name. It’s honestly very confusing to me and guests reading the reviews, especially given they’ve been in communication with me during booking etc. I’d really like to know how others are handling this tax situation when someone else has listed a property under their account and not the actual owner of the property’s name. 

[Dnn1]

Hello, I also was wondering how exactly you find the right cohost for your property? I currently have 2 properties I need to be cohosted but my other question is would they be able to do the following: 

create the listing from scratch, rather than do it myself, with home description, photos, amenities, house rules, payment methods, prices etc; 

Who manages all enquiries, bookings, reviews and be the key holder, as well as manage cleaning and maintenance? I searched every where for a "find a cohost" tab but nothing, I think this would be so much easier if there was something such as the tab to help with people looking for cohost. Help!

[Andrew1806]

I manage others airbnb's. I haven't gone outside my own market, but I'm sure there is a way to make it work if you are the right client for me. DM me.

[Cristina-And-Daniel0]

Hello @Dnn1 I would love to help you co-host. Please reach out. You can send me a private message