Airbnb management fees are the single biggest controllable cost of running a short-term rental, and they are surprisingly hard to compare. Two managers can both say "20 per cent" and leave you with very different amounts at the end of the year. This guide explains the fee models used in Australia, what is usually included and excluded, how the fee interacts with Airbnb's own charges, and what it all looks like on a property earning $60,000 a year.
The three fee models
Percentage of booking revenue
This is the standard model in Australia. The manager takes a percentage of the money guests pay for accommodation and, in return, handles everything from listing and pricing to guest messaging, cleaning coordination and maintenance callouts.
Industry guides put the typical full-service range at roughly 15 to 25 per cent, with regional and lower-priced markets often at the upper end and premium or luxury services charging 30 per cent or more (Houst, Wolf Property). Treat these as indicative. On the Sunshine Coast you will see proposals at both ends.
The upside is alignment: the manager only earns more if you do. The downside is that the percentage rarely reflects the actual work. A $400-a-night house and a $150-a-night unit take about the same effort to turn over, but the manager earns nearly three times as much on the first.
Fixed monthly fee
A flat fee per month regardless of revenue. This model is rare for full service but common for "co-hosting lite" arrangements where you keep the listing in your name and the manager handles messaging and check-ins.
Fixed fees suit high-earning properties, because the effective percentage falls as revenue rises. They suit low-earning properties badly, because you pay the same in a quiet August as in a busy January.
Hybrid
A lower percentage (say 10 to 12 per cent) plus a fixed monthly or per-booking charge. Some managers also charge a small percentage for "online only" management, with cleaning, linen and on-the-ground tasks billed separately at cost.
Hybrid models can be good value but are the hardest to compare, so insist on a full-year projection rather than a rate card.
What is usually included
Most full-service percentage fees cover:
- Listing creation and optimisation across Airbnb, Stayz, Booking.com and the manager's own site
- Dynamic pricing and calendar management
- Guest screening, messaging and 24/7 support during stays
- Coordinating cleaners, linen and restocking
- Arranging maintenance and trades
- Damage claims through Airbnb's AirCover and guest deposits
- Monthly owner statements
What is usually excluded
This is where the headline number gets misleading. Common extras include:
| Item | Typical treatment |
|---|---|
| Cleaning | Charged to the guest as a cleaning fee; owner may pay for owner stays or extra cleans |
| Linen hire and laundry | Sometimes in the cleaning fee, sometimes billed to owner per stay |
| Consumables (toilet paper, coffee, soap) | Often billed to owner at cost, sometimes with a margin |
| Maintenance and trades | Billed to owner at cost; some managers add a coordination fee of 5 to 10 per cent |
| Photography and listing setup | One-off setup fee, sometimes waived |
| Smart lock, noise monitor, keysafe | Owner buys the hardware |
| Channel or software fees | Occasionally passed through as a few dollars per booking |
| Council rates, insurance, utilities, internet | Always the owner's cost |
Two questions cut through most of this. First, "what will I be invoiced for that is not the percentage fee?" Second, "do you add a margin on cleaning, linen or trades?" A manager who marks up a $180 clean to $220 is effectively charging a higher percentage than they quote.
Setup fees
Onboarding commonly includes professional photography, a listing build, a guest welcome guide, a compliance check and an initial deep clean. Indicatively these run from a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand, depending on what the manager bundles in. Some waive them on 12-month agreements. If a manager charges a setup fee and also locks you into a long term with an exit fee, treat that as a negotiating point.
Cleaning fees passed to guests
On Airbnb, the cleaning fee is set by the host (or manager) and added to the guest's total. Since Airbnb's move to a host-only service fee, that cleaning fee is part of the booking subtotal on which Airbnb's 15.5 per cent is calculated, so the amount you set no longer arrives untouched (Airbnb Help Centre).
A well-run manager sets the cleaning fee to cover the cleaner's actual charge plus linen, and does not treat it as profit. Ask to see what the cleaner invoices and what the guest is charged.
GST on management fees
Two separate GST questions arise.
GST on the manager's fee. A manager registered for GST will charge 10 per cent on top of their fee. Most owners of residential short-term rentals cannot claim that GST back, because residential rent is input taxed and the owner is usually not registered (ATO, holiday homes). The GST is simply part of your cost.
GST on Airbnb's fee. Airbnb's host service fee is also subject to GST for Australian hosts, which lifts the effective platform cost above the headline rate (Houst).
Neither of these means you charge GST to guests on the accommodation itself. Get advice from an accountant if you own through a company or trust, or run a commercial-style operation.
How the manager's fee interacts with Airbnb's host-only fee
Airbnb has been moving hosts from a split fee (about 3 per cent host, 14 to 16 per cent guest) to a single host-only fee of 15.5 per cent deducted from the host's payout. Hosts using management software were moved earlier, and the final waves for remaining hosts were scheduled for September 2026 outside the EU (Hostfully). Because almost every professional manager uses channel management software, a managed property is on the host-only fee already.
This raises the question that matters most: what base is the manager's percentage calculated on?
- Gross booking value. The percentage is applied to what the guest pays before Airbnb's deduction. This is the older convention and the more expensive one for owners.
- Net payout. The percentage is applied to what Airbnb actually pays out after its 15.5 per cent. This is fairer, and more managers are moving to it now that the platform fee is larger.
On a $60,000 property, the difference is around $1,800 a year at a 20 per cent rate. Contracts do not always spell this out. Ask.
Worked example: a $60,000-a-year Sunshine Coast property
The figures below are indicative and rounded. They assume $60,000 in gross accommodation revenue (nightly rate only), all booked through Airbnb, cleaning fees passed to guests at cost, and a manager charging 20 per cent.
| Line | Fee on gross | Fee on net |
|---|---|---|
| Gross accommodation revenue | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Airbnb host-only fee (15.5%) | -$9,300 | -$9,300 |
| GST on Airbnb fee (10% of fee) | -$930 | -$930 |
| Payout from Airbnb | $49,770 | $49,770 |
| Manager fee at 20% | -$12,000 (on $60,000) | -$9,954 (on $49,770) |
| GST on manager fee | -$1,200 | -$995 |
| Consumables, linen top-ups (indicative) | -$1,500 | -$1,500 |
| Maintenance and trades (indicative) | -$2,000 | -$2,000 |
| Left before rates, insurance, utilities | $33,070 | $35,321 |
From that figure you still pay council rates (higher on the Sunshine Coast for holiday-let properties, which is covered in the long-term rental comparison guide), insurance, electricity, water, internet, streaming and any mortgage. The point is not the exact numbers but the shape: on a "20 per cent" contract, roughly 45 per cent of gross revenue is gone before you pay a single property bill.
If the manager instead charged 15 per cent on net payout, the manager line falls to about $7,465 plus GST. If they charged 25 per cent on gross, it rises to $15,000 plus GST. Same property, same guests, a swing of roughly $8,000 a year.
How to read a fee proposal
- Ask for a 12-month net-to-owner projection, not a rate card. Make the manager show revenue assumptions, their fee, Airbnb's fee, GST and every pass-through cost on one page.
- Confirm the base (gross or net) and whether cleaning fees are included in the base.
- List the extras and whether each is at cost or marked up.
- Check exit terms. A lower fee with a 12-month lock-in and a termination fee may cost more than a higher fee on 30 days' notice.
- Compare against self-managing. If your time is worth something and you are local, the comparison is not fee versus no fee, it is fee versus your hours.
Compare managers on the Sunshine Coast
StayManaged lists Sunshine Coast managers with their published fee models side by side, so you can shortlist on structure before you talk to anyone.
- Browse the Sunshine Coast manager directory
- Or request proposals from several managers at once and compare the net-to-owner figures