How to choose an Airbnb management company in Brisbane

Brisbane managers differ less on what they promise and more on how they charge, how they price and how close they are to your property. Start with four questions.

What does the fee cover? Full-service management should cover the listing, pricing, guest messages, check-ins, cleaning between stays and maintenance. Some companies add an onboarding fee or charge for extras. Ask for a list of everything you would pay.

Where will your property be listed? A listing on Airbnb alone misses guests who book through Booking.com, Vrbo and Stayz. Ask which platforms the company uses and whether calendars are synced.

How is pricing set? Brisbane demand moves with events, school holidays and the season. A manager should change prices often, not set one rate for the month.

How local is the team? Someone needs to reach your property quickly when a guest is locked out or a tap breaks. Ask who covers your suburb and how fast they respond.

If you are still deciding whether to let short term at all, our guides to what a Brisbane Airbnb can earn and the best areas for Airbnb in Brisbane are the place to start.

Airbnb management companies in Brisbane compared

Houst

Houst manages short stays across inner Brisbane, including the CBD, Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Kangaroo Point, South Brisbane, West End, Teneriffe, Woolloongabba and Paddington. It lists properties on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and Stayz.

The fee is a single commission: from 14% of rental revenue for full-time management and from 20% for part-time. There are no setup fees and no monthly charges. Pricing, photography, guest vetting, check-ins, cleaning coordination and an owner dashboard are included. Full detail is on our Brisbane management page.

Hometime

Hometime is an Australian company with a Brisbane office in Bowen Hills. It lists service areas including Fortitude Valley, Hamilton, New Farm, Paddington, Windsor and South Brisbane, and lists properties on Airbnb, Stayz and Booking.com.

Hometime charges a one-off onboarding fee and then a commission on bookings. It does not publish the rate on its Brisbane page. It says the cleaning fee is paid by the guest. Our Houst vs Hometime comparison goes through the two models side by side.

MadeComfy

MadeComfy lists Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast among its Queensland locations. It lists properties on Airbnb, Booking.com and Stayz, and puts weight on its corporate travel network for mid-week and longer bookings. It does not publish a fee on its homepage. Our Houst vs MadeComfy comparison covers how it works.

Local operators

Smaller Brisbane companies can offer close local service, often in a few suburbs. Before you sign, check which platforms they use, how they set prices and what their guest reviews say.

How the fees compare

Brisbane managers use two main fee models.

• Commission only. One percentage of booking revenue covers the service. Houst works this way, from 14% for full-time management.
• Onboarding fee plus commission. You pay a one-off amount to set up the listing, then a percentage of each booking. Hometime works this way.

Cleaning is the other cost to check. Some managers charge the guest a cleaning fee on top of the nightly rate. Others take cleaning from the owner's share. The difference shows up in your payout, not in the headline rate.

A worked example

Houst's Brisbane figures for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom property are an average nightly rate of A$306 at 70% occupancy, or about A$78,188 a year in revenue. These are Houst portfolio and industry benchmarks, and your property will differ.

• Revenue: A$78,188
• Houst commission at 14%: A$10,946.32
• Left before other costs: A$67,241.68

Run the same sum for every company you are comparing, using their rate and any onboarding fee. Our guide to Airbnb management fees explains what usually sits inside the percentage.

What Houst covers in Brisbane

Houst's fee covers the full service. That includes listing setup and optimisation across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and Stayz, professional photography, dynamic pricing, guest vetting, 24/7 guest communication, check-ins, linen and toiletries, cleaning and turnovers, maintenance coordination and a host dashboard with your bookings and income.

Pricing is set around Brisbane's calendar. Demand peaks in January with the summer holidays and Test cricket at The Gabba, in August with the EKKA, and in September with Brisbane Festival and Riverfire.

See the Houst Brisbane page for coverage by suburb, or get an estimate for your address.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What is the total cost? Ask for the commission, any onboarding fee, and who pays for cleaning, linen and maintenance call-outs.
• Which platforms will my property be on? Ask for the full list and whether calendars are synced.
• How often are prices changed? Ask how the company prices around events and quiet weeks.
• Who looks after my suburb? Ask who will visit the property and how quickly they can get there.
• How do I leave? Ask for the notice period and any fees for ending the agreement.
• What do I see each month? Ask for an example statement or a look at the owner dashboard.

Brisbane rules to check first

Brisbane City Council consulted on a Short Stay Accommodation Local Law in 2025. It has said it is not proceeding with that local law at this time, and that it will keep enforcing its existing local laws.

Other rules still apply. Body corporate by-laws can restrict short stays in some apartment buildings, and planning, rates and safety requirements depend on the property. Read the by-laws for your building before you sign with any manager. Our guide to Brisbane short-stay rules covers the detail.

Getting ready for the summer peak

January is Brisbane's strongest month, so a property listed in October or November has time to build reviews before the peak. A manager needs a few days to photograph the property, set up the listings and set prices.

If you plan to use the property yourself over Christmas, block those dates early and let the manager price the weeks around them.