Start Your Airbnb Business in Australia

Build an Airbnb business in Australia with Houst

Australia runs some of the highest nightly rates of any market Houst operates in, against a regulatory picture that changes at every state line. Whether you want to co-host, run a franchise or take properties on arbitrage, the same things stall most people: 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 Australia 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 Australia for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Australia 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 Australia for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Australia 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 Australia without owning property

You want to run short lets for other people but do not own property yourself. Co-hosting is the lowest cost way in and it is how most partners start. Airbnb's own co-host network wants a track record before it will list you publicly, which is hard to build from zero. We train you on pricing, listings, guest management and the registration position in your state, then pass you owner leads in your territory so the first properties come from us.

Already letting one or two places

You let your own property, or you look after one for an owner, and you know what registration and compliance involve. Growing past two or three units usually breaks the setup, because cleaning, linen, guest communication and out of hours cover stop fitting around everything else. Partnering gives you the systems and the support team to take on more without hiring first.

Add short stay management to your agency

You run a property or real estate business and your owners keep asking about short stays. Offering it properly means new pricing, state registration, a guest operation and cover outside office hours. We supply the platform, the training and the brand so you can serve those owners on a system that already operates across 27 cities rather than building one.

Run an Airbnb franchise in Australia

You want a territory and a real business rather than a handful of units. Most franchise opportunities in this sector sell you a brand and a territory and leave you to build the operation yourself. We give you the operating model, the technology and the owner pipeline, so you are running a short stay franchise on infrastructure that already works.

Airbnb business in Australia: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
Airbnb business in Australia: 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 Australia 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 Australia.

Who finds the properties

This is the question every applicant asks. Houst already generates owner enquiries across Australia 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 Australia works for short stay operators

Australia carries high nightly rates and strong domestic demand. The cities run on business travel, events and weekend leisure across the year, while the coastal markets run a concentrated summer and school holiday peak. An operator working both patterns can hold occupancy steady where a single market would swing.

Houst operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. Six markets across five states, each with its own demand shape and its own rules.

Regulation is set by state and by council, not nationally, and the differences are material. New South Wales runs a mandatory register and caps unhosted properties in Greater Sydney at 180 nights a year, with Byron Shire limited to 60. Western Australia has required registration since January 2025 and limits unhosted properties in the Perth metro area to 90 nights without development approval. Victoria applies a 7.5% levy on stays under 28 nights and allows owners corporations to ban short stays by special resolution, but sets no statewide night cap. Queensland regulates through local councils, with Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast each requiring council registration. Knowing which rules apply to a property before you take it on is part of the job here. We cover it with partners during training.

Airbnb business in Australia: 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 fee to join. The AU$19,000 launch cost is recovered from your revenue share rather than paid in advance. You take 25% of management commission while the launch cost is being recouped, which completes across the first AU$76,000 of commission revenue, and 50% from that point on. 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 Australia: 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 Australia: 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 Australia: 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 Australia: 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 Australia with real-time data on total properties and scheduled cleanings, ensuring smooth operations and guest satisfaction.

What an Australian property earns

The calculator below uses Houst booking data from across our Australian markets. A two bedroom property averages AU$358 a night at 72% occupancy, which is around AU$94,000 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$358

Occupancy

72%

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

What are the new rules for Airbnb in Australia?
There is no national rulebook. New South Wales runs a mandatory register and caps unhosted properties in Greater Sydney at 180 nights a year, with Byron Shire limited to 60. Western Australia has required registration since January 2025 and limits unhosted properties in the Perth metro area to 90 nights without council approval. Victoria applies a 7.5% levy on stays under 28 nights and lets owners corporations ban short stays by special resolution. Queensland works through local councils.
What are the new rules for Airbnb in Australia?
Is Airbnb profitable in Australia?
It can be, and rates in the major cities are among the highest Houst operates with. The margin comes from how the property is priced and run rather than the market alone. State levies, registration costs, cleaning, linen and void nights all take a share. Operators who make money are the ones with the systems to hold occupancy up without adding hours per property.
Is Airbnb profitable in Australia?
Is Airbnb arbitrage profitable in Australia?
Sometimes, but it is the hardest of the models and the most fragile. You carry the lease whether the property books or not, and you need written landlord consent plus insurance that actually covers short-term subletting. If the owner or the owners corporation withdraws permission the business stops. Managing properties for owners carries none of that downside risk, which is why most operators end up there.
Is Airbnb arbitrage profitable in Australia?
Does Airbnb allow co-hosts?
Yes. Owners can add co-hosts to a listing and set what each one can access, from messaging and the calendar through to payouts. The platform supports the model; what it does not give you is the operation behind it. One or two properties is a side income, and the work per property does not fall as you add more unless you have systems. Houst partners share management commission on every property they run and use our technology and support team to carry the volume.
Does Airbnb allow co-hosts?
Which franchise is best for beginners?
The ones that do not require you to buy premises, hold stock or fit out a site, because those are the costs that sink a first business. Short stay management fits: the cost base is people and technology. A Houst partnership has no upfront fee, with the launch cost recovered from your revenue share instead, so you are not funding the entry from savings before the first property is signed.
Which franchise is best for beginners?