How to Become an Airbnb Property Manager (Step by Step)

An Airbnb property manager runs short-term rentals for owners in exchange for a share of the revenue. Done well, it's a real business with recurring income, built on systems and a team rather than on you doing every cleaning and every guest message.

Here's the step-by-step path, with stories from people who've done it. All quotes come from BNB Co-Hosting Mastery students' video testimonials.

Step 1: Check licensing rules first

This is the step most guides skip. Some states and countries require a real estate or property management license to manage other people's rentals.

"In North Carolina you have to actually have to have a broker's license to be a manager. So I just started delving in maybe four months ago." — Eileen O'Neill

Check your state, province, or city rules, and local short-term rental regulations, before you sign anyone.

Step 2: Choose your service model

• Full-service management: listing, pricing, guest communication, cleaners, restocking, maintenance, owner reporting. Highest fee and highest workload.
• Remote co-hosting: guest communication, pre-check-in, pricing, and listing management, with local partners handling on-site work.
• Pre-check-in only: a lighter service for owners who want to stay involved.

"I'm still a little bit concerned if I wanna be full service or just do pre-check. But I know my area." — Tammy Randle, former travel agent and bed-and-breakfast owner

Step 3: Set your fee and your agreement

Most managers charge 15–25% of booking revenue. Decide whether your fee includes cleaning fees, who pays for supplies and repairs, and how either side can end the agreement. Model your income with the free Airbnb co-hosting calculator.

Step 4: Get your first owners

Your first clients will most likely come from your network: friends, family, local forums, and other hosts. See 7 ways co-hosts landed their first clients.

Experience as a host helps, but it isn't the same as running a management business:

"Even despite, I have a 10 years experience hosting on Airbnb as a Superhost... I never grew a property management company before, and this has given me kind of all those inside tricks... the strategies and the marketing materials and the scripts and everything I needed." — Bobby FitzPatrick

Step 5: Run your first properties exceptionally well

Your first owners' results are your marketing. Price actively, protect the reviews, and communicate with owners proactively. Check booking pace every week with the free pricing calculator.

Step 6: Build the team and systems

This is the difference between a job and a business.

"I'm looking for a business that I can build and train people, so it can run by itself... With this, is like a manual we have in all aspects of the business." — Ruben Rivarola, who runs eight Airbnb properties with his family's business in Paraguay

"I have my own LLC and I employ a cleaning company. And it is a lot of work, but it's a hundred times more rewarding than when I was just working for corporate America." — Sam Harris

Key hires, roughly in order: a reliable cleaning team, a backup cleaner, a handyman, a virtual assistant for guest messaging, then operations staff.

Step 7: Scale, and consider a second market

"I have a little over 20 properties and I think six more coming on board. I have two full-time employees and a bunch of cleaners. We just opened another business in a different city, and we've already had some traction with some sales meetings coming up." — Jami Broad, two years in

Is becoming an Airbnb property manager worth it?

It's a strong business if you want low startup costs and are willing to sell and serve. Read the honest trade-offs in is Airbnb co-hosting worth it?, and if you're weighing it against arbitrage, see co-hosting vs rental arbitrage.

Learn the full system

BNB Co-Hosting Mastery is a six-week program for building a short-term rental management business: client acquisition, pricing your services, operations, automation, and scaling. It includes scripts, a client conversion presentation, templates, and twice-weekly live Q&A calls with James Svetec, who built and later sold his own management business.

"If you're looking to be a property manager, I would highly recommend this course... There's not really one stone that is unturned in this program." — Eileen O'Neill