Independent short-term rental (STR) hosts are opting out of using traditional property management companies in favour of alternative, more profitable options, according to new research.
The findings of the study conducted by vacation rental management platform Hospitable show that nearly 80% (79.7%) of hosts have no plans to hire a property management company within the next year.
The majority of hosts point to the high costs of Property Management Companies (PMCs) – 82.2% – and the desire to maintain direct control over their guest experience and property operations (58.4%) as key reasons for their preference for independence.
The report also uncovers a revealing statistic: more than one in eight hosts previously used a PMC but ultimately returned to self-management, indicating dissatisfaction with traditional property management approaches.
Hosts emphasise that independence allows greater control over guest interactions and property maintenance (63.7%), higher profitability without costly management fees (54.7%), and the flexibility to quickly adapt pricing and policies to changing market conditions (48.8%).
Technology is one of the major drivers behind the shift. An overwhelming 96.8% of hosts say it’s critical to staying competitive — giving them the tools and confidence to manage everything from guest messaging to pricing without relying on a third party.
This trend reflects a broader shift within the short-term rental market. Hosts are increasingly prioritizing genuine guest experiences and local market expertise – qualities they often find lacking among larger, more corporate-style PMCs.
As a result, many hosts are either choosing complete independence or seeking support from smaller, locally based property managers who offer personalized service and deep local knowledge.
“Our research reflects a growing confidence among independent hosts,” said Pierre-Camille Hamana, CEO and Founder of Hospitable. “They’re not choosing independence because they have to, they’re choosing it because they can.
“With the right technology, today’s hosts are able to manage operations, guest experience, pricing, and communications more efficiently than ever before, without sacrificing profitability or quality. That level of control is incredibly powerful.
Founded in 2016, Hospitable is a vacation rental software provider offering a suite of tools that empower hosts to automate the most time-consuming elements of hosting. Hosts use Hospitable to answer 90% of guest messages with AI-powered automated messaging, to automate their team notifications so they never miss a clean, and to avoid double bookings with a synchronized calendar across booking channels.
