If you've tried to find a straight answer to this question online, you already know how it goes. A lot of ranges. A lot of "it depends." A lot of pages that answer the question in the headline and then spend 800 words not actually answering it.
So here it is upfront: in Toronto, full-service short-term rental management typically costs between 15% and 20% of gross booking revenue. But that number only tells part of the story. What that percentage includes, what gets billed on top of it, and how it interacts with the other costs of running a managed short-term rental (STR) in this city — that's where the real comparison happens.
Understanding fee structures: percentage, flat fee, and commission models
Most Toronto short-term rental management companies (or Airbnb management companies) use one of three models.
- Percentage-based commission (most popular) — The company takes a cut of your booking revenue, typically 15–20% for full-service management, or 5–10% for co-hosting and partial arrangements where you retain some responsibilities yourself. Because the manager's income scales with yours, the incentive is aligned: they earn more when your property performs better.
- Flat fee — The company charges a fixed monthly amount regardless of what the property earns. These are uncommon in short-term rental management, where income fluctuates with occupancy and nightly rates. When you do see them, read carefully: a fixed fee structure doesn't incentivize a manager to push your pricing or occupancy, because their income is the same either way.
- Setup fee plus commission — This is used by companies that treat onboarding as a distinct phase of work. A one-time fee covers getting your property listed and operating at a professional standard — usually including photography, listing creation, platform setup, and initial pricing calibration. An ongoing commission covers everything after that initial setup. This model separates the upfront investment from the recurring cost, which is a transparent way to structure it.
Whichever model you're evaluating, the upfront percentage is only the starting point. The more important question is what it actually includes.
What fees cover and what they don't
A full-service property management fee should cover: dynamic pricing, guest communication from inquiry through checkout, booking management across platforms, cleaning and turnover coordination, key exchange, and 24/7 availability when something goes wrong during a stay.
What often isn't included — or is billed as a separate line item — is worth confirming before you sign.
Here's what you can expect for additional costs:
- Cleaning and turnover costs: depending on the company, this fee is sometimes passed through at actual cost, sometimes marked up.
- Maintenance and repair coordination: frequently billed outside the commission, sometimes with a margin on contractor time.
- Restocking essentials: toiletries, household supplies, and welcome touches are a real recurring cost; whether they're absorbed or itemised varies.
- Professional photography: sometimes included in an onboarding fee, sometimes not.
- Toronto STR registration and compliance support: more on this below.
The commission percentage is the starting point, not the full picture. Two companies charging 20% can have meaningfully different effective costs once you see what's actually bundled in.
Questions to ask any Toronto STR management company before you sign
Before committing to any short-term rental management arrangement, get clear answers to these questions:
- Is commission calculated on gross booking revenue (i.e. the total guest payment including cleaning fees), or on net revenue after Airbnb's platform fee? Are there any other fees the commission is charged on?
- Are cleaning and turnover costs passed through at actual cost, or is there a markup?
- What triggers a charge or additional fee outside the commission, and what's the approval process with the property owner?
- What is the contract term, and what are the conditions for ending the arrangement for both parties?
- Who holds the Airbnb (or other rental platform) account — the property owner or the management company?
That last question matters more than most owners expect. If the listing is under the manager's account and the relationship ends, the listing cannot be transferred. This means your review history, Superhost or Guest Favourite status, and overall search performance remain with the manager, and the listing would need to be removed and recreated under your own account. We believe it's your asset, so the account should be yours.
The true cost of short-term rental property management in Toronto
The management commission is one line in the budget. Before you can assess whether STR management makes financial sense for your property, you need to see all of them and understand how they interact.
Airbnb's platform fee: 15.5%
In late 2025, Airbnb transitioned to a host-only service fee model for PMS-connected hosts. Hosts now pay a 15.5% service fee deducted directly from each booking payout, while guests see a single all-in price at checkout. This is entirely separate from whatever your management company charges — it comes off first, before the commission is calculated.
For example, on a $4,000 booking month, that's $620 to Airbnb before your manager takes their share.
Management commission: ~15–20% of gross revenue
Applied to the full booking amount (i.e. nightly rate plus any cleaning or guest fees) before the Airbnb platform deduction in most arrangements, though this varies by company. Confirm exactly how your manager calculates the base.
Toronto STR registration: $390 per year
The City of Toronto requires all short-term rental operators to register annually for $390 (for 2026 renewals). Your registration number must appear on every listing. Some management companies handle this as part of their service. Others leave it to the owner.
Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT): 8.5%
Toronto charges an 8.5% MAT on all short-term rental bookings, temporarily elevated from 6% through July 2026 for the FIFA World Cup. This is a guest-side tax — when you list on Airbnb, the platform collects and remits it to the city on your behalf. While it doesn't come out of your payout directly, it does affect how you price. If you take direct bookings outside Airbnb, you're responsible for collecting and remitting it yourself, quarterly, even in periods with no bookings.
Cleaning and restocking
Professional cleaning between every stay is non-negotiable at a competitive standard. Depending on the property and turnover frequency, cleaning costs are a meaningful recurring line item. Restocking essentials like toiletries, household consumables, and welcome touches adds to this cost further. These should appear as transparent line items in your monthly payout report, not as opaque deductions.
What this looks like in practice
On a property generating $4,000 in gross booking revenue in a given month:
- Airbnb platform fee (15.5%): −$620
- Management commission (20%): −$800
- Cleaning and restocking (estimated): −$300
That leaves roughly $2,280 in net owner revenue before any maintenance costs or mortgage considerations. The management commission is 20 cents on the dollar. The full cost picture is closer to 50 cents, before property-specific variables.
This isn't an argument against professional STR management. In fact, for the right property, the income still compares well against Toronto's softening long-term rental market, where average condo rents are down about 10% from the Q3 2023 peak and vacancy rates have hit about 3.0% in 2025 (among the highest since the pandemic). It's an argument for going in with the complete picture of costs, so you know exactly what to expect upfront and won't be blindsided when your first revenue report arrives.
How HSG structures its Airbnb management fees in Toronto
Our model is a one-time setup fee to get your property operating at a professional standard, plus a commission on bookings. We charge a $250 setup fee and $250 Airbnb photography fee. These are one-time fees to get your unit ready for optimal guests and bookings. The unit, the building, the location, and your goals all affect what a realistic arrangement looks like.
What we will tell you: our commission structure doesn't include hidden markups on cleaning or maintenance, and we don't put revenue projections in front of owners that aren't grounded in what their specific property can actually deliver. We've managed short-term rentals in Toronto for over a decade and we know the difference between a realistic estimate and an inflated one. That's why we think you deserve to know that difference before you make a decision.
The proof is in how the properties we manage perform, and how long our owners stay with us.
- 97% of the properties we manage achieve Superhost or Guest Favourite status within their first year.
- Our client retention rate is 99%. What that number actually means.
- We hold top 0.01% Airbnb status worldwide — a designation that comes with dedicated platform support most management companies simply don't have access to.
- 70% of our clients have been with us for six years or more.
Those are the numbers we'd rather lead with than a generic percentage.
Frequently asked questions: Airbnb management fees in Toronto
What percentage does a short-term rental management company typically charge in Toronto?
Full-service Airbnb management in Toronto generally runs 15–20% of gross booking revenue. Partial or co-hosting arrangements sit lower at around 5–10%, but the scope of what's included is correspondingly limited. The commission alone doesn't tell you much without knowing what's bundled in and what gets billed separately.
Is the management fee separate from Airbnb's own platform fee?
Yes. It's entirely separate. Airbnb deducts a 15.5% host fee directly from your payout on every booking. Your management company's commission is a separate charge. Any honest revenue projection should account for both, along with Toronto's 8.5% Municipal Accommodation Tax, before arriving at a net income figure.
Are Airbnb management fees tax deductible in Canada?
Yes. The CRA allows property owners to deduct amounts paid to a company to manage their rental property as a current expense against rental income, reported on Form T776. The expense needs to be reasonable and directly tied to earning rental income. Your accountant should advise on how this applies to your specific structure, particularly if you operate through a corporation.
What should I watch for in a Toronto STR management contract?
Beyond the commission percentage: how cleaning fees are handled, whether there are markups on maintenance, contract terms and exit conditions, and who holds the booking platform account. Also confirm the company has direct experience with Toronto's regulatory requirements — principal residence rules, the 180-night annual cap on rentals, annual registration, and MAT collection and remittance. These aren't details a generalist property manager will know how to handle well.
Does it matter if my Airbnb management company is based in Toronto?
We believe it does. Short-term rental management is a local, operational business — not a remote service. Cleaning coordination, maintenance response, pricing decisions, and guest support all benefit from a team that is physically present in the city and knows its market. A Toronto-based company also understands the local regulatory environment, seasonal demand patterns, and how different neighbourhoods and property types perform. That knowledge has a direct effect on your occupancy rate, your nightly rate, and what you actually take home.
Find out what your Toronto property could earn
If you want to understand what your specific property could generate under professional short-term rental management — with a realistic view of every cost, not just the headline commission — we're happy to work through it with you. Get in touch with the HSG team.
