Full-service vacation rental management in Orlando often costs 20% of booking revenue or more, while limited-service options can go lower. Home Vacation Group charges a flat 15% fee that covers management, marketing, guest support and the coordination of cleaning and maintenance. Cleaning and repairs are billed at their actual cost, with no markup on providers. If you prefer a fixed monthly fee, our Basic plan starts at $199 a month.
The percentage is only part of the picture, though. This guide explains how managers charge, what the fee should cover, which costs sit outside it, and how to compare two offers on what you actually keep.
How vacation rental managers charge in Orlando
Most companies use one of three models:
- Commission on revenue. The manager takes a percentage of each booking. It’s the most common model, and it ties the manager’s income to yours.
- Fixed monthly fee. You pay the same amount every month, whatever the property earns. It works well for owners who want predictable costs and handle some tasks themselves, but you pay the same in slow months.
- Hybrid. A base percentage plus separate charges for onboarding, photography, out-of-scope maintenance and other extras. It’s the hardest model to compare, because the advertised rate looks low until the extras add up.
Home Vacation Group offers the first two: a flat 15% commission for full management, or the Basic plan from $199 a month.
What a management fee should cover
A full-service fee should cover the whole operation of a short-term rental, not just the listing. When you compare offers, check each of these areas:
Marketing and listings
- Listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and other channels, with optimized titles, descriptions and photos
- Calendars synced across every platform to prevent double bookings
- Review and reputation management
Pricing and occupancy
- Dynamic pricing that adjusts nightly rates to demand, seasonality, local events and competitor rates
- Calendar strategy to reduce empty nights between stays
Guest support
- Communication before, during and after each stay, around the clock
- Check-in instructions, access codes and emergency response
Cleaning and maintenance coordination
- Scheduling cleaning crews after every checkout
- An inspection after each stay to catch damage or wear early
- A preventive maintenance routine for air conditioning, plumbing and appliances
- Coordinating repairs with reliable local providers
- Restocking guest supplies
Money and reporting
- Guest payments, security deposits and refunds
- A monthly statement showing rental income, every expense itemized, net cash flow, your account balance and occupancy
Compliance
- Keeping guests and the property in line with community rules (see our guide to HOA rules in Orlando and how to avoid fines)
- A clear answer on who collects and remits tourist taxes on each booking
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What the 15% covers and what’s billed separately
“Coordination included” and “cost included” are not the same thing, and this is where many owners get confused. Here’s how it works at Home Vacation Group:
| Included in the 15% fee | Billed separately at actual cost, no markup |
|---|---|
| Listing management and marketing | Cleaning after each stay (usually covered by the cleaning fee guests pay) |
| Dynamic pricing | Repairs and replacement parts |
| Guest communication and support | Pool and lawn service, if not covered by the HOA |
| Scheduling and supervising cleaning crews | Replacement linens, towels and household items |
| Coordinating maintenance and repairs | |
| Monthly owner statements |
No markup means you pay what the provider charges. Some managers add a percentage on top of every contractor invoice as a coordination fee, which raises your costs without appearing in the headline rate.
Why the lowest percentage isn’t always the cheapest
Compare offers on the effective rate: everything the manager keeps, divided by your booking revenue.
Hypothetical example. A home earns $5,000 in bookings in one month and needs $1,000 in cleaning and repairs.
| Manager A | Home Vacation Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised fee | 12% = $600 | 15% = $750 |
| Markup on $1,000 of services | 20% = $200 | $0 |
| Total kept by the manager | $800 | $750 |
| Effective rate | 16% | 15% |
The lower advertised rate ends up more expensive once the markup is added. Onboarding fees, photography charges and admin fees for tax filing work the same way.
There’s also a limited-service tier, often below 15%, that covers bookings and listings but leaves cleaning, repairs and in-person guest issues to the owner. It can make sense if you live near Orlando and have the time. From abroad, it usually means paying someone else for the parts the manager doesn’t do. We compare both paths in self-management vs professional management.
Other costs of owning a vacation rental in Orlando
The management fee is one line in your budget. These are the others to plan for, whoever manages the home:
- HOA fees. Most vacation homes around Orlando sit in HOA communities. Dues often run from about $100 to over $500 a month, higher in resort communities. Some HOAs also charge for guest registration, amenity reservations or special assessments, and fine the owner for guest violations. See what an HOA is and what the fee covers.
- Utilities. Electricity, water, internet and, with a heated pool, gas or heat-pump power. Air conditioning makes summer bills noticeably higher.
- Insurance. Property, windstorm and liability coverage suited to short-term rentals. Lenders usually require it, and premiums vary widely by location and coverage.
- Property taxes. Billed annually by the county based on assessed value.
- Tourist taxes. Short-term rentals must collect state sales tax and the county tourist development tax on each booking. In Osceola County, where Kissimmee and much of the resort area sit, that adds up to 13.5%. Rates differ slightly in Orange and Polk counties. Guests pay these taxes, but someone has to collect and remit them on time.
- Platform fees. Airbnb now charges most hosts a single host-only fee of about 15.5% of the booking subtotal, including the cleaning fee. Vrbo and Booking.com use their own fee structures, so check each platform’s current terms and factor them into your nightly rates.
- Pool and lawn care. Weekly service for a private pool and yard, unless your HOA includes it.
- Supplies and wear. Toiletries, trash bags and paper goods for every stay, plus periodic replacement of linens, towels, kitchenware and worn furniture. Buying consumables in bulk lowers this line.
- Emergency or after-hours cleaning. Last-minute bookings and incidents like spills or pet messes can require extra cleanings.
- Vacant weeks. HOA dues, insurance, taxes and utilities keep running in slow months. Good pricing reduces empty nights, but budget for them.
- Bank and currency costs for foreign owners. International transfers and currency conversion can take a meaningful share of each payout. Many owners abroad open a U.S. bank account or use low-cost transfer services to reduce these fees.
Monthly cost worksheet
Use this to estimate your own numbers before you buy or sign a management contract:
| Cost | Where to get your number |
|---|---|
| Management fee | Your booking revenue × the manager’s fee, plus any extras |
| HOA dues | The community’s current fee schedule |
| Utilities | Past bills from the seller or the manager’s estimate for similar homes |
| Insurance | Quotes for short-term rental coverage, divided by 12 |
| Property taxes | The county property appraiser’s estimate, divided by 12 |
| Pool and lawn | Provider quotes, if not included in the HOA |
| Maintenance and supplies | The manager’s average for similar homes |
| Platform fees | About 15.5% of Airbnb booking subtotals, plus other channels |
For the revenue side of the equation, see our guide to vacation rental revenue in Orlando. If you’re still at the buying stage, start with investing in Orlando as a foreign buyer.
What moves your costs up or down
- The manager’s pricing model. Markups and extras can raise the effective rate well above the advertised one.
- Location and community. Resort communities charge higher HOA dues but also support higher nightly rates.
- Property type and size. A large home with a private pool needs more cleaning, maintenance and supplies than a townhome.
- Season. Occupancy drops in slower months while fixed costs stay the same.
- Property condition. Newer or well-kept homes need fewer repairs.
Questions to ask any manager before signing
- Is the fee charged on gross or net revenue?
- Is cleaning included in the fee, or billed separately? At what cost?
- Do you add a markup on repairs or contractor invoices?
- Are there onboarding, photography, licensing or tax-filing fees?
- Who handles tourist tax collection and remittance?
- Do you charge anything in months with no bookings?
- What’s the minimum contract term, and how do I exit?
- What does the monthly statement show, and can I see every expense?
- Which platforms do you list on?
- Can I block dates for personal use, and with how much notice?
A manager who answers all ten clearly, in writing, is usually a manager you can trust with the rest.
How Home Vacation Group keeps costs transparent
We manage vacation homes in Kissimmee, Davenport, ChampionsGate, Storey Lake, Windsor Island and Clermont. For every owner:
- One flat 15% fee for full management, or the Basic plan from $199 a month.
- No markup on cleaning, repairs or any provider we coordinate.
- Itemized monthly statements showing income, each expense at actual cost and your net cash flow.
- Bilingual support in Spanish and English.
Frequently asked questions
Is cleaning included in Home Vacation Group’s 15% fee?
The fee covers scheduling and supervising the cleaning crew. The cleaning itself is billed at actual cost, with no markup, and in most bookings it’s covered by the cleaning fee the guest pays.
Why isn’t the lowest management fee always the cheapest option?
Because some managers add markups on repairs or charge separately for onboarding, photography or tax filing. Compare the effective rate, meaning everything the manager keeps divided by your revenue, not just the advertised percentage.
Who collects tourist taxes on an Orlando vacation rental?
The owner or the owner’s agent is responsible for collecting state sales tax and the county tourist development tax on each booking and remitting them on time. In Osceola County the combined rate is 13.5%.
How do Orlando management costs compare to other Florida markets, like Cape San Blas?
Management fees follow similar ranges across most Florida vacation rental markets, including Gulf Coast areas like Cape San Blas. What changes by region is the rest of the budget: insurance, HOA dues and tourist tax rates vary by county, so confirm local numbers before comparing two markets.
Get a cost estimate for your Orlando property
Tell us about your home and we’ll walk you through the fee, the costs billed separately and what you can expect to keep, in Spanish or English.
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