Hosting standards

Working with a co-host or property manager

Sooner or later, running the loop alone gets hard. Messages arrive while you're at work, two turnovers fall on the same afternoon, or you live abroad and the apartment is in Yerevan. This guide is about bringing in help, a co-host or a property manager, without losing control of your place, your guests or your numbers.

The short answer

Get help when you can no longer answer guests on time or keep your standard at every turnover. Decide first how much you want to hand over: a few tasks (a co-host) or the whole operation (a property manager). Agree every responsibility, the pay and the exit in writing before anyone gets keys. Give each helper their own access on each platform rather than your password, and keep every guest message and payment on the booking platform. Ask for a short report every month, and read it.

When to get help

Some signs it's time:

• Guests wait hours for replies because you're busy elsewhere
• Turnovers clash with your job or your family
• You live in another city or country
• You've added a second or third property
• Reviews mention slow replies or cleanliness
• You're going away for weeks and don't want to block the calendar

If only one task is the problem, such as cleaning, you may need a reliable cleaner rather than a co-host. Hosts with a live Revamp listing can find cleaning services in the trusted services list in their dashboard.

Co-host or property manager

These are general descriptions. What any person or company offers varies, so judge each by what they put in writing.

Co-host

• Usually takes on some tasks: guest messages, check-in, coordinating cleaning, small repairs
• You usually keep the listing, the prices and the big decisions
• Often a friend, relative or local host with time to spare

Property manager

• Usually runs the whole operation: listing, pricing, guests, cleaning, maintenance and reporting
• You're more hands-off, and give up more control
• Often a business managing several properties

Whichever you choose, it's still your property and your listing. The helper works for you, so the final decisions stay with you.

How co-hosting works on Airbnb

Airbnb has a built-in co-host feature. According to Airbnb's Help Center:

• For homes, the listing owner or a co-host with full access can add co-hosts to a listing.
• There are three permission levels for home co-hosts: full access (which includes managing the listing and pricing), calendar and messaging access (messaging guests and viewing the calendar), and calendar access (viewing it only).
• Only the listing owner can set up co-host payouts. The options are the cleaning fee, the cleaning fee plus a percentage, a percentage, or a fixed amount. Airbnb says there are regional limitations depending on where you, your co-host and the listing are, so check it works for you.
• Hosts and full-access co-hosts can remove a co-host. Airbnb says the host remains responsible for current and future requests, including those the co-host accepted.

Airbnb also says hosts and co-hosts need to be clear about responsibilities, earnings and expenses. Permissions only decide what someone can do in the app, not what they've agreed to do for you. Other platforms have their own ways to give someone access; check their help pages before you share anything.

Put it in writing

A short written agreement prevents most disagreements. Our suggestion is to cover these points, and to have a lawyer look over anything long-term.

1. Tasks and who does them. Messages, check-in, cleaning, laundry, supplies, repairs, prices, calendar, replies to reviews.
2. Response times. How fast guests get a reply, and who covers nights and weekends.
3. Spending limits. How much the helper can spend on a repair without asking you first, and how receipts are shared.
4. Standards. The cleaner's checklist, the welcome set-up and the house rules, attached to the agreement.
5. Emergencies. Who is called first, and when you must be told.
6. The platform rule. All guest messages, bookings and payments stay on the booking platform. No contact details swapped before a booking is confirmed, no offers to book direct, no side payments.
7. Notice and handover. How much notice either side gives, and what happens to upcoming bookings.

How pay is commonly structured

There's no single standard. These are the models you're likely to be offered.

A share of revenue

• The helper earns a share of what each booking brings in
• Agree exactly what "revenue" means: before or after platform commission, with or without the cleaning fee

A fixed fee

• A set amount each month, whatever the bookings
• Simple to plan, but the helper earns the same in quiet months and busy ones

Per booking or per turnover

• A set amount for each stay or clean
• Fits co-hosts who mainly handle check-ins and cleaning

A mix

• For example, a fixed base plus a share in busy months
• Write down every part

Whatever the model, agree who pays for cleaning, laundry, supplies and repairs, and when the helper is paid. Run the numbers through the "What you keep from a booking" calculator before you sign. For how this affects your tax, check with an accountant.

Access, keys and reports

Access

• Give each helper their own login where the platform allows it
• Never share your own password
• Give the lowest permission that lets them do the job

Keys and codes

• Keep a note of who holds which key
• Give the helper their own code where you can
• Change codes when someone leaves

Reports

• A short summary every month, on the same day
• Occupancy, ADR, money kept, review score, issues
• Receipts for every expense

The business guide explains the five monthly numbers and how to read them. Ask your co-host or manager to report the same five, so you can compare month with month, whoever is running things.

Parting ways cleanly

Even good arrangements end. Plan the exit when you start, then follow it.

1. Give the agreed notice in writing.
2. Agree who handles upcoming bookings, guest by guest, until the handover date.
3. Remove their access on every platform. On Airbnb, you stay responsible for requests the co-host already accepted.
4. Collect keys and change every code.
5. Settle the final pay against the last report and receipts.
6. Update your check-in instructions and tell your cleaner who to contact now.

Co-hosting mistakes to avoid

• Handing over keys before anything is agreed in writing
• Sharing your own platform password instead of giving separate access
• Leaving "revenue" undefined in a revenue-share deal
• No spending limit for repairs
• Letting a helper take guests or payments off the platform
• Never reading the monthly report
• Forgetting to change codes when someone leaves

Your checklist

Before you start

• Tasks, pay and exit agreed in writing
• Separate platform access set up
• Keys and codes logged

Every month

• Report received and read
• Receipts checked
• Guest messages spot-checked

When you part ways

• Notice given, bookings handed over
• Access removed, codes changed
• Final pay settled

Questions hosts ask

Do I need a co-host for one apartment?
Not always. If you can answer guests on time and keep turnovers to standard, you may only need a reliable cleaner. Help makes sense when time or distance starts to show in your reviews.

Can a family member be my co-host?
Yes. Put the arrangement in writing all the same, and give them their own access rather than your password.

What share should I pay?
We don't publish a figure, because it depends on what's included. Compare offers task by task, and check what each one leaves you with the booking calculator.

Who is responsible if something goes wrong?
You, as the owner, in the end. On Airbnb, the host stays responsible for requests a co-host accepted. Your agreement should say who handles what day to day.

Can my co-host take bookings directly?
No. Keep every booking, message and payment on the booking platform. It protects you, your guests and your listing.