What Does Airbnb Revenue Manager Do?
With fluctuating demand, seasonal trends, and ever-changing market dynamics, listing a property isn’t enough to earn maximum from the STR business.
Every host needs to either work with a specialized revenue manager for Airbnb or learn all the necessary skills themselves to thrive in a competitive rental environment.
An Airbnb Revenue Manager is a short-term rental property expert who analyzes booking trends, competitor pricing, occupancy rates, etc., to predict upcoming demand, adjust sales terms, and set the right price. The goal is to earn maximum revenue.
Is that it? Well, no. A STR revenue manager does more than just what just mentioned.
So, what do they really do? What are their responsibilities related to Airbnb rentals? Do you really need to hire one, or can you do DIY? Read this guide to learn!
Some Key Revenue Management Metrics
Before you know the responsibilities of Airbnb revenue managers, you should know about a few key metrics they use to better understand their workflow.
Revenue managers play with these metrics to evaluate performance and make decisions:
Average Daily Rate (ADR) — Measures the average revenue earned per booked night.
ADR = Total Revenue/Total Nights Booked
Occupancy Rate — Indicates the percentage of booked nights compared to the total number of available nights within a specified time period.
Occupancy Rate = (Booked Nights / Available Nights) × 100
RevPAR (Revenue per Available Rental) — Combines ADRs and occupancy rate into one figure to better gauge listing performance.
RevPAR = Average Daily Rate (ADR) × Occupancy Rate (%)
Net Operating Income (NOI) — Represents the profitability of your vacation rental after deducting all operating expenses from your gross revenue.
Length of Stay (LOS) — Measures how long guests are staying on average.
These are some of the metrics that revenue managers use to assess the performance of a listing, including profitability, demand, and adjusting prices accordingly.
It is time to learn how they use the metrics in their workflow.
What Does an Airbnb Revenue Manager Really Do?
Here is what an Airbnb revenue manager can do for you:
1. Uses Dynamic Pricing
A revenue manager adjusts Airbnb prices based on what is happening in the market. This helps you earn more money and stay competitive.
They don’t just increase prices on weekends or holidays—they also look at events, nearby listings, and how early people are booking. They use PriceLabs, Beyond Pricing, and other tools, as well as a manual approach, to track this.
They test what prices guests can pay to find the best rate for each property. This brings more bookings during slow times and higher profits during busy ones.
2. Watches Occupancy Trends
One of the main jobs of a revenue manager is to track how often your listings get booked.
They look at which days, weeks, or months are booked and which ones are empty. This helps them plan ahead and make smart pricing decisions.
During slow periods, they can lower the price, adjust the minimum stay requirements, or run a special offer to bring in bookings. And if there is demand, they increase rates or limit short stays to accommodate longer, more valuable bookings.
They use occupancy trends to keep your calendar full and income steady.
3. Adjusts for Each Season
Seasonality affects demand throughout the year and short-term rental success. A revenue manager applies season-specific strategies to capitalize on shifting demand.
During peak times (such as summer for beach rentals), they increase prices and minimum stay limits to bring more revenue. During shoulder seasons (the transition periods between high and low seasons), they set competitive rates to attract bookings.
In slow seasons, they look for micro trends in demand, such as small events or travel trends, to get bookings. They can also rotate which properties are open to lower costs.
These seasonal adjustments help make the most of every month.
4. Study the Competition
Revenue managers regularly spend time looking at what other Airbnb listings are doing.
But they don’t just copy prices—they dig deeper. They create comparison groups (comp sets) as per the property type, location, amenities, and target guest demographics.
They look at what these listings charge, what amenities they offer, how booked they are, and how they respond to changes in demand.
The result? They are able to spot gaps in the market, see what competitors are doing, adjust pricing, and add features that make their listing stand out.
5. Sets the Right Minimum Stay
Setting how many nights a guest must stay is another key part of revenue management. A manager decides minimum stay rules based on location, season, and guest type.
For example, a lakefront cabin might require a 7-night minimum during the summer peak to ensure longer stays, fewer turnovers, and maximum profits in high-demand weeks.
On the other hand, a city apartment might benefit from shorter 2- or 3-night minimums to attract business travelers or weekend tourists.
Revenue managers look at past booking data to see what works best and update the rules as needed. This avoids short, low-value stays during busy times and fills gaps during slow ones.
6. Monitor Portfolio-Wide Performance
As property owners scale their listings across multiple units or markets, it becomes difficult to manage the entire portfolio. Right?
An Airbnb revenue manager can be your best bet here as well. They ensure that the performance of one property doesn’t negatively impact another.
They synchronize pricing and availability strategies to avoid cannibalization—where two similar listings in close proximity compete against each other for the same guests.
They track average daily rate (ADR), occupancy rate, revenue per available rental (RevPAR), and other performance indicators across all listings to ensure consistent growth.
They can also use insights from one high-performing property to inform the strategy for other underperforming ones within the same portfolio.
7. Uses Data Tools to Guide Decisions
Do you know what the heart of revenue management is? Data analysis, in two words.
And managers know this. They use AirDNA, Beyond Pricing, and other property management software (PMS) to collect data for market trends, booking behavior, and competitors.
They track how far in advance people are booking, which dates are in high demand, and what others are charging for their services. They use this data to regularly update pricing, minimum stay requirements, and availability settings.
Data helps them move fast when things change, and it takes the guesswork out of the job.
8. Helps with Long-Term Planning
A revenue manager doesn’t just look at today, but also at the future.
The track historical data and current performance indicators include occupancy rate, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per available room (RevPAR), length of stay (LOS), etc.
This helps them set realistic income goals and plan ahead for upgrades or changes.
If a listing isn’t doing well, they look into why and suggest fixes. They can help decide when and where to invest if you want to grow your Airbnb business.
Long-term planning makes sure your success lasts.
Do You Really Need an STR Revenue Manager?
The short answer: it depends on where you are in your short-term rental (STR) journey.
If you are currently managing just one or two short-term rental (STR) properties, you can likely handle pricing adjustments and other revenue management tasks yourself.
However, as your portfolio grows, so does the complexity.
A professional STR revenue manager comes with expertise in dynamic pricing, local demand analysis, and market trends. They ensure each property is priced for maximum occupancy and revenue. They even handle daily rate adjustments.
For example, if you own multiple listings in tourist areas, a manager can set pricing as per events, seasons, and competitor behavior.
So, if you have a large portfolio and/or want to get the most earnings out of a rental property, you should hire an expert revenue manager.
Where to Hire an Airbnb Revenue Manager?
Several ways are available to hire a revenue manager for your STR business.
If you want to have someone in your team without spending a lot of bucks, freelance platforms are your best bet. Use Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, and other such platforms to pick a manager.
However, if your focus is to have an experienced manager with you, DOSbnb is the best option for you. As a co-host, we handle all hosting-related responsibilities of a STR venture, and revenue management is a key part of our service.
Whether you want a complete co-hosting solution or only revenue management, we can provide it. Connect with us today, have a 30-minute consultation, and get your service!
Conclusion
An Airbnb revenue manager takes care of the numbers so you can focus on growing your rental business. They adjust prices, watch booking trends, study the market, and plan.
Whether you’re just starting out or managing several listings, having the right pricing strategy can make a big difference. You can do it yourself, but it takes time and effort.
If you want to save time and earn more, hiring a revenue manager is the smarter move.
It’s all about making your Airbnb more profitable and stress-free.
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