Management proposals are written to be compared on one number and signed on the same day. The useful information is almost never in the proposal — it is in what the proposal does not say.
Here are twelve questions. Send them by email, ask for written answers, and send them to every company you are considering. Including us.
Ownership and control
1. Whose Airbnb account will hold my listing?
The most important question, and the one most owners never ask. If the listing sits on the manager’s account, your reviews, your rating, your review count and your search placement belong to them. When you leave, you start from zero — which in practice means months of discounted pricing while you rebuild social proof.
Good answer: “Yours. We operate as co-host.”
2. If I leave, what do I take with me?
Reviews, photos, listing copy, guest history, direct-booking contacts. Get the list in writing.
3. Do you list my property on your own branded website or direct-booking channel?
Not automatically bad — direct bookings save platform fees. But understand who owns the resulting guest relationship and the guest data.
Money
4. Is the fee on gross or net? If net, list every deduction taken first.
5. What is the total dollar amount I pay you in year one at $60,000 gross?
One number. Not a percentage. This question does more work than the other eleven combined.
6. List every charge outside the management fee.
Setup, onboarding, photography, linens, software, tech fee, revenue-management upcharge, compliance handling.
7. Do you take any margin on cleaning or maintenance?
Ask it plainly: “If a cleaner charges $120, what am I billed?” A pass-through-at-cost operator will say so immediately and offer to show you invoices.
8. When do I get paid, and what triggers the payout?
Monthly on a fixed date is standard. “Within 30 days of guest checkout” creates float on your money.
Performance
9. Show me trailing-twelve-month occupancy and ADR for three properties like mine in my market.
Not case studies. Not testimonials. Numbers, for comparable properties. A manager who cannot produce this either does not track it or does not want you to see it.
10. How do you price my highest-demand week of the year?
Name the specific week — CMA Fest, a World Cup match, F1, whatever applies. A good answer contains specific numbers and reasoning. “We use dynamic pricing software” is not an answer; it names a tool, not a strategy.
11. Who is my local person, and how many properties do they carry?
This number is the best single predictor of your service quality, and it is almost never volunteered.
The exit
12. How do I leave, how long does it take, and what does it cost?
Notice period, termination fee, and what happens to bookings already on the calendar. An operator confident in their performance makes leaving easy, because they do not expect you to.
How to read the answers
You are not really scoring the answers. You are scoring the behavior:
- Answers all twelve in writing, plainly: a serious operator. Now compare on the numbers.
- Answers ten, gets vague on fees and the exit: the vagueness is the answer.
- Redirects to a phone call rather than writing anything down: some of this is legitimate sales practice. But if the written answers never arrive after the call, that is information.
- Fights hardest on question 1: stop. Whatever else is true, they intend to own your reviews.
One thing in the managers’ defense
A manager who charges more and answers all twelve well is a better deal than one who charges less and does not. The point of this exercise is not to find the cheapest fee — it is to be able to pay a fair price knowingly, and to know exactly what you are buying and what it costs to walk away.
Ask the twelve. Whoever you hire, you will hire them with your eyes open.
Talk to a real person before you sign anything
HostStarter manages short-term rentals on a 12.5% flat fee. No setup fee, no contract, cancel with 30 days’ notice. If you want a second opinion on a proposal you already have in hand, we will read it with you and tell you what we would push back on — even if you do not hire us.