What does a vacation rental manager do?

A vacation rental manager runs a short-stay property for its owner. In practice that means listing the home, setting prices, answering guests, coordinating check-in and cleaning, arranging repairs, handling the money and, in Virginia, helping keep the rental on the right side of local rules and taxes. The owner keeps ownership and the final say; the manager does the daily work for a fee.

What the work looks like

Before guests arrive. The manager builds the listing with photos and a description, sets nightly rates and minimum stays, and keeps the calendar current across booking sites. Good managers also set house rules and a clear cancellation policy so that guests know what to expect.

During a stay. Guests ask questions at all hours, so the manager is the contact for the door code that does not work, the Wi-Fi that dropped or the heat that will not come on. The manager sends check-in instructions, handles complaints and deals with neighbours if noise or parking becomes a problem.

Between stays. Turnover is the core of the job: cleaning, laundry, restocking supplies, checking for damage and photographing the condition. Most firms use a cleaning crew and a handful of tradespeople they know, and they dispatch them when something breaks.

Maintenance. The manager schedules routine upkeep, such as filter changes and seasonal checks, and arranges repairs. Ask for a dollar limit above which the manager must call you before approving work, and for the work to go to licensed tradespeople where Virginia requires it. If you are looking for help with that side, the property management category is where to describe it.

Money and reporting. The manager collects payments, pays the cleaners and vendors, takes its own fee and sends you statements. This is where the licence rules matter most.

Licensing and your money in Virginia

Virginia's definition of a real estate broker includes anyone who, for compensation, "leases or offers to lease, or rents or offers for rent, any real estate or the improvements thereon for others".^[1] A company that rents your house for you in return for a fee fits that description, so ask for the firm's and the principal broker's Virginia licence numbers and look them up before you sign. Our answer on whether a property manager needs a licence in Virginia goes through who needs which licence.

The Real Estate Board's rules list the activities only a licensee may perform. They include negotiating or agreeing to any commission, commission split, management fee, or referral fee, and discussing, explaining, interpreting, or negotiating a contract, listing, lease agreement, or property management agreement with anyone outside the firm.^[2]

Escrow is the other safeguard. The Real Estate Board's escrow rule lists application deposits, rental payments and rental security deposits among the money that must be deposited into an escrow account, in accordance with relevant law, unless all principals to the transaction have agreed otherwise in writing.^[3] Ask which account your guests' payments go into and when you are paid out of it.

You do not need a licence to manage your own property. Virginia exempts an owner who performs those acts with reference to property owned or leased by them, where the acts are performed in the regular course of or incident to the management of the property and the investment therein.^[4] That exemption covers the owner, not a friend or a neighbour who rents the home for you for pay.

Taxes and local rules

Short-stay income carries taxes a long-term landlord does not usually collect. Virginia's retail sales tax law counts a short-term rental among the accommodations covered, along with places in which rooms, lodging, space, or accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for a consideration,^[5] and it defines a retail sale to include the sale or charges for any accommodations furnished to transients for less than 90 continuous days.^[5] On top of that, any county, by duly adopted ordinance, may levy a transient occupancy tax on hotels, motels, boarding houses, travel campgrounds, and other facilities offering guest rooms rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days.^[6]

Whether the manager collects and files these for you is a contract term, not a given. Ask.

Local rules vary too. State law lets a locality require operators to register, and defines a short-term rental as one for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days, in exchange for a charge for the occupancy.^[7] The details are in do I need a permit to run a short-term rental in Virginia.

What the owner still does

You still carry the property, the insurance, the mortgage and the legal responsibility for a safe home. A manager can arrange the smoke alarm check or the plumber's visit, but the building is yours. Decide ahead of time how much you want to be involved, and what a manager may spend without asking.

How to choose a manager

Start from the list of tasks you want handled, then compare firms on that list. See what a property management agreement should include before you sign, and how property managers charge in Virginia and what vacation rental managers charge for the fee side.

Stop and call a pro if

• the firm cannot show a Virginia real estate licence, or will not put its fees and your payout dates in writing
• a repair involves gas, electrical work, a roof, a deck or structural framing, which needs a licensed tradesperson or contractor and sometimes a permit
• a locality sends a notice of violation or a tax bill you do not understand, in which case a Virginia attorney or the locality's tax office is the right call
• guests report a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm or water where it should not be, which is an emergency for the utility, the fire department or a licensed pro

More help is in commercial answers and the commercial services directory. When you are ready to line up help for your rental, describe the job once and local pros quote it.