Airbnb Co-Hosting Takes Off on Social Media. Is it a Threat to Property Managers?

Co-hosting on Airbnb has struck a chord on social media, where practitioners offer tips and guides on how to make big money on Airbnb without having to own any property.

There are dozens of posts on platforms like TikTok and YouTube detailing how you can contract with a host to earn commissions of 10-30%, or negotiate a flat monthly fee. Some bill it as a stepping stone to arbitraging rentals into profitable Airbnbs, and eventually buying properties.

“The end goal is not to co-host forever,” said Kaya Reena Vennam, a self-styled “wealth multiplier,” on TikTok. “The end goal is to eventually buy a property yourself.”

In October, Airbnb launched a beefed up co-hosting marketplace, where hosts and co-hosts can hook up and negotiate working relationships. Airbnb said as of the end of the third quarter it has received interest from tens of thousands of would-be co-hosts.

Many of the tasks the co-host carries out overlap with traditional property managers. The co-host handles everything a host wants to delegate from decorating the property to guest communications, handling check-in and checkout, and coordinating the cleaning process.

A Threat to Traditional Property Management Companies?

Some argue that any threat to property management companies from co-hosts may be to smaller companies. Airbnb says the average co-host manages seven properties.

“The risk to the traditional property manager only exists for those who do not believe that the guest is their customer and the homeowner is their asset partner,” said Amber Carpenter, chief marketing officer at VTrips. “We have to find our way back to a higher and more consistent standard for guests.”

Carpenter said the co-host model isn’t new — Airbnb and others have had co-hosts for years — and many co-hosts are facing challenges similar to those of professionals.

However, when a large property management company like Vacasa has shed 5,500 properties since September 2023, when it had 42,000 under management, a strong Airbnb co-hosting push can’t help.

John Banczak, the new chief operating officer of Casago, which recently announced plans to acquire Vacasa, said co-hosting is a positive development, especially for the casual host who needs some help.

“But it is tough for co-hosts to scale up and manage many properties, so we don’t see it having an impact on our business,” Banczak said. “Homeowners who need consistent help have always gravitated towards true professional managers, the ultimate ‘co-hosts,’ and we expect that to continue.”

Casago often manages properties through franchisees, and about 80% in the U.S. are superhosts. “Our franchisees do a great job at a reasonable cost, and we expect them to be even more appealing to owners in the future,” Banczak said.

“A co-host is a property manager, end of story,” said HomeAway co-founder Carl Shepherd. “But s/he’s probably not a registered business, may not have business insurance, and may well want to avoid the gaze of municipal authorities.”

Can Property Managers Turn Co-Hosting Into an Opportunity?

Sean Breuner, founder and CEO of property manager AvantStay, said property management companies can actually use the co-hosting trend to advantage.

“It’s an opportunity for professional managers to continue to differentiate with a holistic hospitality offering and actual expertise to optimize the full cycle of hospitality driven property management versus co-hosts, which can succumb to a single point of failure,” Breuner said. “Professional managers are generally the better option for owners who want to maintain a passive property management strategy.”

Peaceful Coexistence?

For its part, Airbnb feels there’s plenty of room for both larger property management companies and co-hosts to coexist, with co-hosts offering a preferred option for hosts who want more localized service. Airbnb says co-hosts have review scores of 4.86 on average compared with 4.62 for large property managers.

Co-hosts have to maintain a review score of 4.7 or higher to maintain visibility on Airbnb’s host-co-host matchmaking network.

However, many co-host advocates on social media noted that co-hosts can often perform their tasks remotely, depending on the requirements of the host, so these co-hosts aren’t necessarily local.

Airbnb says that co-hosts can set their service area to a maximum of 60 miles.

“I don’t see Airbnb’s co-host model as a direct threat to property management companies, at least not while the long tail of the market remains as fragmented as it is,” said Simon Lehmann, CEO of AJL Atelier and former CEO of Interhome. “The industry still has plenty of room for professionalization, and co-hosting is more of a stepping stone for hosts who aren’t ready to scale or professionalize fully.”

Henrik Kjellberg, CEO of Awaze, a property management company in Europe, said co-hosts are similar to smaller vacation rental management companies, and co-hosts handle properties that don’t tend to get many direct bookings.

“I don’t see it as a threat to larger vacation rental management companies with direct distribution,” Kjellberg said. “Many owners will also want to be able to have distribution across many sites, including Booking.com, so maybe Airbnb is doing it to try to limit availability on other platforms.”

Here’s YouTuber Jorge Contreras talking about how to make money co-hosting on Airbnb.