Choosing an Airbnb manager is a decision you will live with for a year or more, and the difference between a good one and a mediocre one is measured in thousands of dollars and a lot of stress. Managers are not licensed in the same way as long-term property managers in Queensland, and quality varies widely. This guide gives you a 15-question checklist, the red flags that reliably predict problems, a method for comparing proposals, and a way to structure a trial.
Before you talk to anyone
Do three things first.
- Know your numbers. If you have hosted before, pull 12 months of revenue, occupancy and expenses. If not, get a realistic range from market data and comparable listings. Managers will project numbers; you need your own baseline to test them.
- Know your constraints. How much owner use you want, whether pets are allowed, whether you are in a zone where holiday letting needs approval. The Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme treats non-hosted holiday letting of a whole house as short-term accommodation, which can require approval in low-density residential zones (BNBCalc summary of the planning scheme). A good manager will raise this; you should already know.
- Decide what you are buying. Full service, co-hosting, or online-only. The checklist below assumes full service but most questions apply to all three.
The 15-question checklist
Fees and money
1. What is your fee, and what is it calculated on? Percentage of gross booking value, or of the net payout after Airbnb's host service fee? Since Airbnb now deducts a single host-only fee of 15.5 per cent from payouts, the base matters more than it used to (Airbnb Help Centre). Typical full-service fees in Australia run roughly 15 to 25 per cent (Houst). Anything outside that range needs a reason.
2. What will I be invoiced for that is not the percentage? Setup, photography, consumables, linen, maintenance coordination, software or channel fees, owner-stay cleans. Ask for a complete list and whether each item is at cost or marked up.
3. Can you give me a written 12-month net-to-owner projection? With occupancy, average nightly rate, your fee, Airbnb's fee, GST and pass-through costs on one page. If they will not, stop here.
4. Can I see anonymised owner statements for two comparable properties? Not a marketing case study. Actual monthly statements, with names removed, for properties of similar size and location over a full year including winter.
5. When and how am I paid, and how are guest payments held? Monthly is standard. Ask whether guest money sits in a trust or separate account, and what happens to it if the manager's business fails.
Operations
6. Who actually answers guest messages, and how fast? A local team, an offshore call centre, an AI tool, or the founder's mobile. Ask for their average response time and what happens at 11pm on a Saturday.
7. Who cleans, and who checks the clean? In-house cleaners or contractors, whether anyone inspects between guests, and how a failed clean is handled. Ask what the guest is charged for cleaning and what the cleaner is paid.
8. How do you handle maintenance and what authority do you have to spend my money? A spending limit without approval (say $300 or $500) is normal. Ask which trades they use, whether they add a coordination margin, and how emergencies are handled.
9. How do you set prices? Which dynamic pricing tool, how often rates are reviewed, how minimum stays are set for peak periods, and who decides on discounts for last-minute gaps. Ask them to show you the current pricing on one of their listings.
10. Which channels do you list on, and who owns the listing and reviews? Airbnb only, or also Stayz, Booking.com and direct. Crucially, whether the listing is on your Airbnb account with them as co-host, or on theirs. If it is on theirs, your review history leaves with them.
Risk and compliance
11. How do you screen guests and handle damage? Minimum reviews, ID verification, deposits, noise monitors, party rules, and their process for AirCover claims. Ask how many claims they lodged last year and how many were paid.
12. What insurance do you carry, and what do you expect me to carry? Public liability at minimum. Confirm that your own landlord or holiday-let policy covers short-term guests; standard home insurance often does not.
13. What do you know about council rules for my property? A Sunshine Coast manager should be able to explain transitory accommodation rating categories, which apply a higher general rate to holiday-let properties, and the planning position for your zone (Sunshine Coast Council rates information). If they shrug, they will shrug when a complaint arrives.
The relationship
14. What are the minimum term, notice period and exit costs? Thirty to ninety days' notice with no exit fee is reasonable. Twelve-month lock-ins with termination fees are a red flag unless they come with a genuinely lower fee.
15. How many properties does each person on your team look after, and can I speak to two current owners? References from owners who have been with them more than a year, ideally one who has had a problem resolved.
Red flags
Some of these are disqualifying on their own. Most are warning signs that add up.
- Guaranteed income. No one can guarantee short-term rental revenue. A "guaranteed rent" model is a lease, with different risks and usually a lower return.
- Refusal to show comparable statements or projections. They either do not have them or do not want you to see them.
- Vague inclusions. "Everything is included" followed by a long list of extras on the first invoice.
- Listing on their own account only. You are building their asset, not yours.
- Weak portfolio reviews. Search their listings on Airbnb. If ratings sit below about 4.7 or reviews mention cleanliness and communication problems, that is your future.
- No local presence. For a Sunshine Coast property, someone should be able to get there within an hour.
- Pressure to sign. Limited-time discounts and "we only have two spots left" are sales tactics, not service indicators.
- Marked-up cleaning with no transparency. If they will not tell you what the cleaner is paid, assume a margin.
- Long lock-in plus setup fee plus exit fee. All three together mean you are paying to leave a service you have not tried.
- Unclear handling of guest funds. If payouts run through a personal account, walk away.
How to compare proposals
Headline percentages are not comparable, so build a simple spreadsheet.
- Fix the revenue assumption. Use the same gross revenue for every manager, based on your baseline or a conservative market figure, not each manager's own projection.
- Apply Airbnb's fee (15.5 per cent plus GST on the fee) to get a net payout.
- Apply each manager's fee on the base they specified, plus GST.
- Add every pass-through cost they disclosed, using the same consumables and maintenance assumptions for all.
- Compare the net-to-owner line.
Then, separately, record each manager's own projection. The gap between their projection and your fixed assumption tells you how optimistic they are. A manager who projects 20 per cent above your baseline but shows you owner statements that support it is worth taking seriously. One who projects 40 per cent above with nothing to back it is not.
| Manager | Fee and base | Net on your assumption | Their projection | Notice period | Listing ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 18% on gross | 30 days | Your account | ||
| B | 20% on net payout | 90 days | Their account | ||
| C | 25% on net, all-inclusive | 12 months | Your account |
Finally, weigh the non-financial factors: responsiveness during the sales process (a slow reply to you now predicts a slow reply to guests later), quality of references, and whether you trust the person you will be dealing with.
Trial periods
A trial protects you from the cost of a bad choice and protects a good manager from an owner with unrealistic expectations. Structure it in writing.
- Length. Three to six months. Shorter than three months does not cover enough bookings; longer than six is just a short contract.
- Metrics. Gross revenue against a target, occupancy, average review score, guest response time, and the number of owner complaints. Agree the targets before the trial starts and compare against the same months last year to allow for seasonality.
- Exit. Thirty days' notice from either side during the trial, no exit fee, and confirmation that the listing and any reviews transfer back to you or stay on your account.
- Review meeting. A scheduled call at the end with the statements on the table.
Not every manager will agree to a trial, and some very good ones have full books and do not need to. But most will, and a manager's reaction to the request tells you something about how they will treat you when a problem comes up.
Signing
Before you sign, make sure the agreement covers:
- Fee rate and base, and every extra charge
- Minimum term, notice period and exit costs
- Who owns the listing, photos and reviews
- How owner bookings are handled and charged
- The maintenance spending limit and approval process
- Insurance responsibilities on both sides
- How and when you are paid, and where guest funds are held
- What happens on termination, including handover of keys, codes and guest data
If the manager's standard agreement does not cover these, ask for a schedule that does. A professional operator will have one.
Compare managers on the Sunshine Coast
StayManaged lists Sunshine Coast managers side by side so you can shortlist before running the checklist.
- Browse the Sunshine Coast manager directory
- Or request proposals from several managers at once and compare them on the same spreadsheet