Most vacation rental manager hidden fees begin with a simple fact: the manager won't publish its rate. You fill out a form, get a "rental projection," take a call, and only then hear a number. By that point you've invested time, you're anchored on a rosy revenue estimate, and the fee sounds small next to it. That's the design. Here's why we think the fee should be the first thing you see, not the last.
The projection-first funnel
Go to any large vacation rental manager's website and try to find the fee. You'll find a button that says something like "See how much you could earn." That's not an accident. A projection is a guess dressed up as a promise, and it does two jobs: it gets your contact info, and it frames the conversation around upside instead of cost.
In our four markets (Eugene, Mt. Hood Village, Neskowin, and Manzanita), we're not aware of a single competitor that publishes a management fee on its website. We publish ours: 20% management fee. Not because we're saints, but because we think a fee you'd hide is a fee that can't stand up in daylight.
What hides behind an unpublished fee
When the headline rate isn't public, the add-ons aren't either. Things we've seen in owner contracts around Oregon:
- Onboarding or setup fees, often several hundred dollars or more.
- Per-night "damage protection" or insurance charges billed to the owner.
- A maintenance reserve held in the manager's account, commonly $500 or more.
- Commission calculated on cleaning fees and taxes, not just rent.
- Markups on maintenance and contractor invoices.
- Monthly technology, marketing, or linen program fees.
- Long lock-in terms and steep exit penalties.
Individually, each sounds minor. Together they're the difference between the number you were quoted and the number you actually pay. Third-party analyses of national brands have put effective rates well above the quoted commission once add-ons are counted. We walk through the mechanics in our fee explainer.
Why transparency changes behavior
A published fee is a commitment. If we say 20% on the website, we can't quietly add a linen program in month four. Owners can hold us to it. It also forces us to be efficient, because we can't recover a bad month by inventing a line item. That discipline is good for us and better for you.
It also makes comparison possible. When two managers both publish, you can actually shop. When neither does, you're comparing sales calls.
What to demand before signing anything
- The full fee schedule in writing, before the projection.
- What the commission is calculated on. Rent only? Rent plus cleaning? Gross including tax?
- Every recurring charge, monthly or per stay, that isn't commission.
- Who owns the listing. If they list under their account, your reviews leave with them.
- The exit terms. Thirty days' notice is fair. Twelve months with penalties is a warning.
- A sample owner statement from a comparable home, with the fees visible.
A manager who resists any of these isn't necessarily bad. But a manager who resists all of them has told you how the relationship will go.
The case for a flat number
Our 20% covers everything on the list: photography, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, and our direct site, dynamic pricing, guest messaging, cleaning coordination between stays, maintenance coordination, lodging-tax handling, a monthly statement, and an owner portal. No setup fee. Your listings and reviews stay yours.
Is 20% always the right number for every home and every market? No. A tiny studio with weekly turns costs more to manage per dollar earned than a large home with long stays. We've chosen to keep one number because simplicity is worth more to owners than squeezing another point out of the edge cases.
Ask us the hard questions too
We'd rather you interrogate our fee than take it on faith. The full breakdown lives on our owners page, and if you're weighing us against a national brand, this comparison lays out the structural differences without the sales pitch. And yes, we offer a earnings review too. We just don't make you earn the fee schedule first.