Before you hire a manager.

Can I hire someone to manage my Airbnb?

Yes. You can hand over the hosting completely: Full or VIP Management in the Greater Orlando area, Remote Management anywhere in the US. For a home that needs no major work, it usually takes two to three weeks from the signed contract to the first booked night.

Your current listing.

We don’t take over an existing listing, we create a new one. Your old listing and its reviews stay yours.

Bookings you already have.

They stay in place, and in some cases we can look after those guests too.

What your home needs.

It should be furnished and in good shape, and we’re flexible there. In the Greater Orlando area, if it isn’t furnished yet or needs work, we work with a partner company and can handle the whole process for you, so the home is ready for guests and can earn properly.

License and paperwork.

We take care of the vacation rental license and the other details.

How does Airbnb property management work?

You hand the home to a manager, and they do everything a host would: the listing, pricing, guest messages, check-in, cleaning and repairs. You get paid once a month, with a statement. With us it works like this:

Free revenue analysis.

We look at your exact address and show you what the home could earn and which plan fits.

Agreement and kick-off.

You sign, and we plan the start with you in a kick-off call.

Onboarding.

We review the home and organize the photos and the license. You tick off a short checklist in your owner area.

Go-live.

Your home goes on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and our direct booking site. Without major work, that’s usually two to three weeks after you sign.

Day to day.

Prices adjust with PriceLabs, guests get answers around the clock, partner companies clean after every stay, and repairs up to $500 happen right away. With Remote Management, you handle what comes up on site.

Payouts.

By the 10th of the following month at the latest, with a statement in your owner portal and the app.

What fees should I expect from an Orlando Airbnb property management company?

Expect one management fee, a percentage of your rental revenue, plus the normal running costs of the home. With XENO Management that’s 15% for Full Management in the Greater Orlando area and 10% for Remote Management, VIP pricing on request. We calculate it on rental revenue after the booking platforms’ own fees.

There is no onboarding fee, and the professional photos are on us. Guests pay the cleaning fee, and it covers supplies and linen. Contracts run for at least 6 to 12 months. After that you can cancel with 30 days’ notice, and there’s no termination fee.

What stays with you as the owner: repairs, the government fees for your vacation rental license and tax registrations (we do the paperwork), and running costs like utilities, HOA and pool service.

What is a reasonable management fee for short-term rentals?

From what we see, 10 to 15% of rental revenue is a normal range, and some managers charge more. The percentage alone doesn’t tell you much, though. What counts is what it’s charged on and what gets billed on top.

What it’s charged on.

Ours is 15% for Full Management and 10% for Remote Management, on rental revenue after the booking platforms’ fees.

No markups.

When a contractor does a repair, you pay what the contractor charges, and we don’t earn anything on top. We only bill for a repair when our own team does the work.

No extra fees.

No onboarding fee, no linen fee, no booking fees, no termination fee, and no minimum revenue or monthly minimum fee.

What to watch for elsewhere.

Repairs that get approved too quickly and extra charges you didn’t need. Ask for the full list of fees before you sign, and ask who approves repairs. With us, anything above $500 needs your OK.

Is hiring a vacation rental manager worth it for an Orlando investment property?

If you don’t live near your home, it’s less a question of whether it’s worth it and more a question of who takes care of it. Someone has to bring in the bookings and look after the house. A home nobody runs earns nothing, whether you rent it short-term or long-term.

If you live close by, it’s your call. Remote Management (10%) is a middle way: we run pricing, listings, guests and payouts, and you handle what comes up on site. Either way, be honest about the work. The typical mistakes: the wrong license, guests waiting too long for answers, and underestimating how much a vacation rental takes. It isn’t easy, but it’s very doable once you know how.

Want to run it yourself? That’s what XENO Academy (opens in a new tab) is for. Our course and VIP coaching give you the automations and practical know-how we use ourselves, without a management fee. Not sure yet? Our free revenue analysis shows what your home could earn and which plan fits before you decide.

How can I find a reliable short-term rental manager for an Orlando vacation home?

A reliable manager is easy to reach, works with a clear structure and fixed workflows, and has a real onboarding plan for every home. They don’t take on every property just to make money. They plan the start with you, shape the process around your home and stay fully transparent.

Before you sign, ask three things. Does the company carry its own general liability insurance? Every professional manager should, and we do. Is your home insured as a short-term rental? Your insurer has to know the home is rented to guests. Who owns the listing and its reviews? At XENO they stay with us, because we carry the full responsibility for them.

And look for proof, not promises: PriceLabs, the pricing software we use, quotes me, as founder of Xenorentals, in its 2024 market snapshot (opens in a new tab).

What questions should I ask before hiring a short-term rental management company?

Ask about money, the contract, responsibility and the day-to-day work before you sign. Here are the questions we’d ask, with our own answers:

What is the fee charged on?

15% for Full Management, 10% for Remote Management, on rental revenue after the booking platforms’ fees.

What costs extra?

No onboarding fee, and the photos are on us. Repairs, license and registration fees and running costs stay with the owner.

How long is the contract?

6 to 12 months minimum, then 30 days’ notice, no termination fee.

Who owns the listing and its reviews?

They stay with us.

How fast do guests get an answer?

Our AI assistant replies within a minute, 24/7, and solves most questions on its own. Everything else goes to a person on our team, usually within 15 minutes.

Which repairs happen without asking me?

We fix anything up to $500 right away. Above that we ask you first, and you decide who does the work. You can set the limit higher or lower.

Can I still use my home?

Yes. You book your own stays in the owner app, just like a guest would.

How are prices set?

Prices adjust automatically with PriceLabs, and we review and fine-tune them regularly.

When do I get paid?

By the 10th of the following month at the latest, usually on the 1st or 2nd, with a statement. You can see every booking and statement in your owner portal and the app at any time.

Which vacation rental management software is the best?

It depends on how many homes you run and how you like to work, so here’s what we use ourselves and why.

Guesty.

Our main system: every platform in one calendar, one inbox for all guest messages, automations from booking to check-in, and the owner portal and app where you see your bookings and statements.

PriceLabs.

Adjusts the prices automatically, and we review and fine-tune them regularly.

SuiteOp.

Our cleaning partners document every cleaning in it, so we can check what was done.

Running your own homes?

You can try Guesty through our referral link (opens in a new tab). If you sign up through it, we may earn a referral fee. XENO Academy covers the automations we use ourselves.

How do Airbnb management companies in Orlando increase bookings and nightly revenue?

Orlando has a lot of competition, so a home has to stand out at first glance and be easy to book. That’s where we put the work:

Photos and listing first.

Professional photos and a listing that looks right and stands out from the crowd.

No hurdles to book.

Guests can book instantly and check in the same day, and everything from booking to check-in runs automatically.

Pricing and stay rules.

Prices adjust automatically with PriceLabs, and we review them regularly. Minimum stays are set for each home and combined with discounts, so the home attracts the right guests and still earns as much as possible.

More ways to book.

Your home goes on the major booking platforms and on our own direct booking site, xenostays.com.

Extras for guests.

Pool heating, early check-in, late check-out, park tickets, birthday packages and honeymoon setups with candles and all. What you earn depends on the extra: an early check-in is revenue for you, and we earn our commission on it. Park tickets earn next to nothing; we offer them because they make the trip easier for guests.

Reviews.

Friendly, fast help the moment something goes wrong, and every guest gets a reminder to leave a review.

What is the best site to list short-term rentals?

There isn’t one best site. We list every home on all the platforms we work with, because every booking counts, wherever it comes from.

The big platforms.

Booking.com and Vrbo are always among the top for us.

The small ones.

Even if a smaller site only brings one or two bookings a year, that’s revenue that counts, and it fills the gaps in the calendar.

Direct bookings.

Your home can also be booked on our own site, xenostays.com. There’s no platform fee, guests who come back get a slightly better price, and everything behind the scenes runs the same way.

Less dependence.

The fewer platforms you use, the more you depend on each one. If a guest is affected by something like water damage, a platform like Airbnb can block the listing for a while. That can happen to any good manager. With other channels in place, we push those instead and keep the income coming.

How do Orlando vacation rental managers handle pricing, guest communication and maintenance?

Pricing runs automatically and gets reviewed by people, guests get answers around the clock, and maintenance goes through local partner companies with a clear spending limit. In detail:

Pricing.

Prices adjust automatically with PriceLabs, and we review and fine-tune them regularly. Minimum stays are set for each home and combined with discounts.

Guest communication.

Guests reach us by message, SMS and phone. Our AI assistant answers messages within a minute, day and night, and anything it can’t solve goes to a person on our team, usually within 15 minutes.

Maintenance.

Our partner companies for cleaning, maintenance and repairs look after the home. We fix anything up to $500 right away and ask you first above that, and you decide who does the bigger jobs.

How do short-term rental managers handle cleaning, inspections and emergency maintenance?

With Full and VIP Management, every cleaning is documented and checked, and when something breaks, someone from our team goes to the home or gets the right technician there as fast as possible.

Cleaning and inspections.

Our partner companies clean after every stay, and each cleaning is documented in our app, so we know exactly what was done and what wasn’t.

Emergencies.

Water damage, a broken AC or a power outage: we go out ourselves or send a technician right away.

Pool and AC.

We organize pool service and AC maintenance and book the companies for repairs.

Hurricanes.

We follow a fixed storm protocol before and after a hurricane. Orlando sits inland and is less exposed than the coast, but we prepare every time.

Remote Management.

You stay available for on-site issues and keep an eye on your cleaning company yourself.