STR Select checked 117 ranked short term rental managers against seven things an owner can verify. Only 15 print a management fee and 8 print a cancellation notice, while 15 have a state licence record under their own name. Run the checks below before you sign. Checked 2026-10-16.
Every check here is a field we keep on each company record. The count beside it is computed from those records when the site is built, so it is a count of what is on record and not a view on any company.
Before you sign, run seven checks: a state licence, a published fee, a cancellation notice, a minimum term, who holds the listings, a list of homes managed and whether the profile is claimed. Across the 117 companies in our 11 markets, 15 have a licence record under their own name, 15 publish a fee, 8 publish a notice period, 13 publish a minimum term, 4 publish a property list and 1 has claimed a profile. 0 state who holds the listings. For what the fees themselves run to, read what managers charge, and for the notice and term figures read the contract terms table.
Each row is one check, what to ask the manager and how many of our 117 companies show it on record. A low count means the answer usually has to come from the manager in writing, not from a public page.
| Check | What to ask | On record | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| State licence | Ask for the licence number and the name it is held under, then search it on the state register. | 15 of 49 | A profile with a licence record |
| Published management fee | Ask for the percent, what it is charged on and every extra fee in writing before a walkthrough. | 15 of 117 | What managers charge |
| Cancellation notice period | Ask how many days of notice end the agreement and whether any exit fee applies. | 8 of 117 | Contract terms table |
| Minimum contract term | Ask for the shortest term you can sign and what leaving early costs. | 13 of 117 | Contract terms table |
| Who holds the listings | Ask whether the Airbnb and VRBO listings sit under your account or the company’s, and who keeps the reviews if you leave. | 0 of 117 | Contract terms table |
| Public property list | Ask for the addresses or listing links of homes it manages today. | 4 of 117 | How a manager adds a list |
| Claimed profile | Ask whether the company has confirmed its own profile with us and when. | 1 of 117 | The claim form |
A field counts as on record only when the data field exists on the company record with a source; a missing field is counted as not on record, never estimated. Counts computed 2026-10-16.
Most states regulate someone who manages a rental home for a fee, though the rule varies. Tennessee requires a Vacation Lodging Service firm licence, Pennsylvania treats managing real estate for a fee as a broker act and South Carolina requires a licence to act as a property manager. We searched each company’s own name on the register for its state, and 15 of 49 printed a record under that name. The other 34 came back with no match on 2026-10-14, which can mean the licence is held under a different legal name. So the useful question is the number and the name it is held under.
Register sources we use: TN, PA, SC, AZ. The lookup runs on the state’s own site, so a record you find yourself is the one that counts.
15 of 117 companies print a management fee: Galvanized Management, Pocono Pads, Short Term Coops, Cabins For You, BnB My Place, Short Term Rentals Tucson, 1st Class Vacation Rental Management, The Bear Cabins, SkyRun Broken Bow, DesertHosts, Open Air Homes, Savvy VRM, Highline Hosting, Destination Big Bear and Folsom Management. For the other 102 the percent arrives after a call. Ask for the percent, what it is charged on, whether that is gross or net of the booking site fee, and every fee on top, such as onboarding or a technology charge. The fees guide works the same fee through a $60,000 home so you can compare quotes in dollars.
A published notice period is on record for 8 of 117 companies and a minimum term for 13. These two lines decide how easily you can leave, so they matter more than a point of fee. Ask how many days of notice end the agreement, whether a minimum term applies and what an early exit costs. Each figure we hold is printed with its source and read date in the contract terms table.
If the Airbnb and VRBO listings sit under the manager’s account, the reviews and the booking history stay with the manager when you leave. If they sit under yours, they come with you. 0 of 117 companies state the holder on a page we can cite, so this answer has to be requested in writing. Ask also who owns the guest messages and the calendar.
4 of 117 companies publish a list of the homes they manage. A named list gives you real listings to open: the photos, the nightly rates, the review counts and the dates. Where there is no public list, ask for three current owners you can call and for the listing links of the homes nearest yours.
A claimed profile means the company confirmed it through the claim form with an email at its own domain. 1 of 117 have done so: Ideal Property Management. A claim confirms identity and the facts the company supplied. It does not change a rank, and unclaimed companies are ranked on the same sourced facts as claimed ones.
The 15 companies that print a management fee, with the profile that shows each figure and its source. This lists who has the field, not who is better.
| Company | Management fee as printed | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Galvanized Management | 25% of gross rental income, published | Galvanized Management profile |
| Pocono Pads | Online tier 12% of gross revenue plus a $1,000 one time signing fee, published. Full service rate not published | Pocono Pads profile |
| Short Term Coops | Flat 20% of net rental revenue plus a $75 monthly technology fee, published | Short Term Coops profile |
| Cabins For You | 10% management fee, published | Cabins For You profile |
| BnB My Place | 20% of net rental proceeds | BnB My Place profile |
| Short Term Rentals Tucson | 20 to 25% commission; 20% for owners who list multiple properties | Short Term Rentals Tucson profile |
| 1st Class Vacation Rental Management | 20% flat fee on the nightly rental rate only; cleaning, pet and other guest fees are never shared with the company | 1st Class Vacation Rental Management profile |
| The Bear Cabins | 20% commission on rent for full service; 15% commission on rent for its co-hosting tier | The Bear Cabins profile |
| SkyRun Broken Bow | 20% commission on average, per its own site; no onboarding or startup fees | SkyRun Broken Bow profile |
| DesertHosts | 15 to 25% management fee; optional permit application service at $400 | DesertHosts profile |
| Open Air Homes | 20% commission on the accommodation fare plus a $125 monthly platform fee; no setup fees | Open Air Homes profile |
| Savvy VRM | 20 to 30% of the earnings; no hidden fees or long term contracts, per its own site | Savvy VRM profile |
| Highline Hosting | One management fee on gross booking revenue collected and one up-front launch fee; neither percentage nor launch amount is published | Highline Hosting profile |
| Destination Big Bear | 27% management fee, per the owner FAQ on its own site | Destination Big Bear profile |
| Folsom Management | Starts at 25%, per the About page FAQ; the upper end and what it is charged on are not published | Folsom Management profile |
Fee text is the company’s own wording from its profile record. The fees guide and the contract terms table link back here for the checks that come before the quote.
A low count is a fact about the public record, not about a company. When 15 of 117 print a fee, most owners will be asking for numbers privately, and the checklist above gives you the same seven questions for every candidate. Put the answers side by side, and weigh a manager that answers all seven in writing before the walkthrough against one that answers none. The ranking on each market page follows the printed methodology and is not changed by this guide.
The record is not complete. A company can hold a licence we did not match, a notice period it has not published or a property list that sits behind a login. That is why each check is framed as a question to put to the manager, with our count as the baseline for how often a public page already answers it.
Check by check, state licence shows on 15 of 49 records, management fee shows on 15 of 117 records, notice period shows on 8 of 117 records, minimum term shows on 13 of 117 records, listing holder shows on 0 of 117 records, property list shows on 4 of 117 records and claimed profile shows on 1 of 117 records. State licence is the most covered check at 31 percent of records, and listing holder is the least covered at 0 percent. No record shows listing holder, so for that check the question goes to the manager and the answer has no public page to be compared with. The licence sweep searched 49 of 117 companies on 4 state registers, and 0 of 117 companies show all five record fields at once. 1 company has claimed a profile: Ideal Property Management.
Answered from the same company records as the checklist.
Ask for the licence number and the name it is held under, then search it on the state register. Our register sweep covers 4 states (TN, PA, SC, AZ) and finds a record under the company’s own name for 15 of 49 companies. A miss is not proof of no licence, because a company can hold it under a different legal name, so ask which name to search.
Only a few. Across our 117 ranked companies, 15 print a management fee, 8 print a cancellation notice period, 13 print a minimum term and 4 publish a list of the homes they manage. For the rest, the answer has to come from the manager in writing.
The holder is the account that owns the Airbnb and VRBO listing and its reviews. None of our 117 companies states the holder on a page we can cite, so 0 of 117 show it on record. Ask in writing, because it decides what you keep if you leave.
15 of 117 companies print a management fee on their own site: Galvanized Management, Pocono Pads, Short Term Coops, Cabins For You, BnB My Place, Short Term Rentals Tucson, 1st Class Vacation Rental Management, The Bear Cabins, SkyRun Broken Bow, DesertHosts, Open Air Homes, Savvy VRM, Highline Hosting, Destination Big Bear and Folsom Management. The other 102 price after a conversation, so get the percent and what it is charged on in writing before a walkthrough.
8 of 117 companies print a notice period, and 13 print a minimum term. The contract terms table shows each figure beside its source and the date we read it. If a manager shows neither, the notice and the minimum are the first two lines to ask for.
4 of 117 companies publish a list of the homes they manage, and the claim form lets any company add one. A named list lets you look at the listings, their photos and their reviews before you decide. A company with no list is not hiding anything by default, it just gives you less to check.
It tells you the company confirmed its own profile with us through the claim form. 1 of 117 companies have done so: Ideal Property Management. A claim confirms identity and the facts the company supplied. It does not rate the company and it does not change its rank.
0 of 117 companies show a fee, a notice period, a minimum term, a listing holder and a property list on record at the same time. That is why this guide treats each check on its own and not as a score. The record fills in as companies publish more or claim their profiles.
The counts are computed from the company records every time the site is built, so they move when a record changes. This guide was last checked on October 16, 2026. Each company profile prints the date its own facts were read.
Register sweep fetched 2026-10-14. Counts computed from the STR Select company records on 2026-10-16.