Start Your Airbnb Business in Melbourne

Build an Airbnb business in Melbourne with Houst

Melbourne is one of the largest short stay markets in Australia, with demand running on business travel, events and international visitors rather than a single holiday peak. Whether you want to co-host, run a franchise or build a short stay management business, the same things stall most operators: finding owners, pricing well and running guest operations at scale. As a Houst partner you get the training, the software and the owner leads, and you keep a share of every booking you manage.

Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Melbourne with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a new clean request in Melbourne for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Melbourne with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a receipt of new payment in Melbourne for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Melbourne with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Our partnership track-record:

24 homes

Average portfolio after year one

1-2 months

Time to first earnings

75/25 until recouped, then 50/50

Revenue split on every booking

24 homes

The average amount of properties after 1 year in business.

20%

The average commission on each guest booking

1-2 months

The average time it takes our partners to start earning.

Who can become a partner?

From solo co-hosts to franchise operators, there is a route in whatever stage you are at.

Start co-hosting in Melbourne without owning property

You want to run short stays for other people but do not own property yourself. Co-hosting is the lowest cost way into the Melbourne market and it is how most partners start. We train you on pricing, listings and guest management, then pass you owner leads in your area so your first properties come from us rather than cold outreach.

Already hosting or running rental arbitrage in Melbourne

You host your own property, or you lease properties to relet as short stays. Arbitrage works in Melbourne but the margins get thin once voids, cleaning and the owners corporation risk are counted, and a single building rule change can take a unit out. Partnering gives you management income on other people's properties without taking on lease risk, alongside whatever you already run.

Add short stay management to your agency

You run a rental or letting operation in Melbourne, or you are close enough to the industry to have seen the demand. Offering short stays properly means new pricing, new compliance and a different guest operation to residential tenancies. We supply the platform, the training and the brand so you can run it under a system that already operates across 27 cities.

Run an Airbnb franchise in Melbourne

You want a business across the inner suburbs and the bayside rather than a handful of units. Most franchise opportunities for sale come with a territory, a brand and little else, so you carry the cost of building the operation yourself. We give you the operating model, the technology and the owner pipeline, so you are running a short stay franchise on a system that already works rather than starting from zero.

Airbnb business in Melbourne: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
Airbnb business in Melbourne: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
A dashboard screenshot image of an Airbnb business in Melbourne showcasing upcoming booking details, including check-in dates, booking revenue, and guest profiles to optimize short-let property management and running an Airbnb business in Melbourne.

Who finds the properties

This is the question every applicant asks. Houst already generates owner enquiries in Melbourne through search, referrals and paid channels, and those leads go to the partner covering that area. You are not starting with an empty pipeline. You will still win properties locally, through agents, developers and word of mouth, but the first ones normally come from us.

Why Melbourne works for short stay operators

Melbourne does not depend on a summer peak. Business travel, the events calendar and international arrivals keep demand running through the year, which makes occupancy steadier than the coastal markets even as supply has grown.

Supply is fragmented. Most listings across the inner suburbs are run by individual owners or very small managers, so there is room for a franchise operator or co-host running professional pricing and guest service.

Compliance is state and building led rather than council led. Victoria applies a short stay levy to bookings under 28 nights, collected by the platforms, and owners corporations can pass rules banning short stay letting in their building. Checking the building position before taking a property on matters more here than anywhere else in Australia. We cover both with partners during training.

Airbnb business in Melbourne: Get started with Houst's property management platform to supercharge your property business, featuring an intuitive booking calendar for streamlined Airbnb operations.

We only get rewarded when you do well

There is no upfront cost in Australia. Launch costs of AU$19,000 are covered through the revenue split instead. Bookings split 75 to Houst and 25 to you until that amount is recouped, which happens across the first AU$76,000 of commission revenue, then revert to a standard 50/50 split. Systems, sales, growth, marketing and full guest support are included.

AU$19,000
Total investment
75/25 until recouped, then 50/50
Revenue split per booking
Zero
Joining fee upfront
Recovered from revenue share
Payment spread over
Airbnb business in Melbourne: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Melbourne: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Melbourne: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Melbourne: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Insight into running an Airbnb business in Melbourne with real-time data on total properties and scheduled cleanings, ensuring smooth operations and guest satisfaction.

What a Melbourne property earns

The calculator below uses Houst booking data for Melbourne. A two bedroom property averages AU$334 a night at 70% occupancy, which is around AU$85,000 in booking revenue over a year. Change the inputs to see what a portfolio of that size returns to you as a partner.

GET A MORE ACCURATE ESTIMATE

Properties in your portfolio

25 properties Typical year 1

Average daily rate

AU$334

Occupancy

70%

Annual booking revenue managed

–

Your share, per year

–

Estimates based on current average daily rates and occupancy in your market. Actual earnings vary by property, area and season.

FAQ

How to become a property manager in Victoria?
Managing property for other people in Victoria requires the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice, which qualifies you to work as an agent's representative. Your employer verifies your eligibility and registers you with the Business Licensing Authority before you start. Running your own agency is a further step and needs a full estate agent's licence, which requires the Diploma of Property Agency Management. Houst partners are trained on the Victorian position before they take on their first property.
How to become a property manager in Victoria?
How much do Airbnb cohosts get paid?
Airbnb co-hosts usually earn between 10 and 30 percent of booking revenue, with around 20 percent common for full service management. Remote work such as guest messaging and calendar management sits at the lower end, while hands on management including cleaner coordination and maintenance sits at the top. Airbnb no longer splits payouts automatically, so co-hosts and owners settle payment between themselves. Houst partners earn a share of the management commission on every property they manage rather than setting their own rate.
How much do Airbnb cohosts get paid?
Is Airbnb allowed in Melbourne?
Yes. Short stay letting is legal in Melbourne and the City of Melbourne does not require its own permit or registration to list a property. What applies instead is the Victorian short stay levy on bookings under 28 nights, owners corporation rules, and standard safety obligations including working smoke alarms and gas and electrical checks. Owners corporations can ban short stay letting in their building by special resolution, which is the single biggest constraint on where you can operate.
Is Airbnb allowed in Melbourne?
What are the new rules for Airbnb in Victoria?
Victoria applies a 7.5 percent short stay levy to bookings of less than 28 consecutive days, in force since 1 January 2025 and collected by the booking platforms. A principal place of residence is generally exempt. From the same date owners corporations can pass rules banning short stay accommodation in their building, subject to the required majority, though that ban cannot stop an owner or occupier letting their own principal residence. There is no statewide host register or night cap, so local council planning rules still apply on top.
What are the new rules for Airbnb in Victoria?
Is Airbnb still profitable in Melbourne?
Melbourne remains one of the larger short stay markets in Australia, but it is competitive and returns depend on location, pricing and how actively the property is managed. Demand runs on business travel, events and international visitors rather than a single holiday peak. The 7.5 percent levy sits on the guest side of the booking rather than coming out of the host payout. Properties that are priced dynamically and managed professionally are the ones that hold occupancy against rising supply.
Is Airbnb still profitable in Melbourne?