The range, and why it is so wide
Short-term rental management in Ontario is commonly quoted between about fifteen and thirty-five percent. That is an enormous spread for what sounds like the same service, and the spread is not mostly about quality. It is about scope and about what the percentage is calculated on.
A twenty percent quote that covers cleaning coordination, restocking, maintenance oversight and guest support is a different product from a twenty percent quote that covers the listing and nothing else. Comparing the two numbers directly tells you nothing.
The four questions that make two quotes comparable
Before you compare percentages, get these four answers from every manager you are considering.
- What is the percentage calculated on? Gross bookings, or the payout that reaches your account? This is the single largest hidden difference between quotes and almost nobody volunteers it. See host payout versus gross bookings for the arithmetic.
- What are the one-time fees? Setup, onboarding, photography, listing creation and initial inspection charges are common and frequently not mentioned until the agreement arrives.
- What is billed on top, and at what markup? Cleaning, linen, consumables and trades all cost money. The question is whether they are passed through at cost or marked up.
- What does leaving cost? Minimum terms, notice periods and cancellation penalties vary enormously.
The fees that sit outside the headline number
In our experience these are the charges most likely to surprise an Ontario host:
- Setup or onboarding fees, commonly up to a few hundred dollars.
- Consultation fees for the initial assessment.
- Property inspection charges, sometimes per visit.
- Premium guest support charged as an add-on rather than included.
- Markups on third party costs, where a cleaner who invoices ninety dollars appears on your statement at a hundred and twenty.
- Cancellation penalties if you leave inside a minimum term.
None of these are unreasonable in themselves. They are only a problem when they are not in the quote.
What we charge, and what we do not
We charge twelve percent of your payout for the Co-Host plan and eighteen percent for Full Service. There is no setup fee, no onboarding consultation fee, no inspection fee and no cancellation penalty. Third party costs are passed through at what they cost. Both plans are billed monthly on completed stays, so a month without stays costs you nothing.
You can see the full comparison, including a calculator that shows the payout arithmetic on your own numbers, on our pricing page.