Short-term rental management in Sydney
We manage Sydney apartments and houses as short-stay properties from start to finish: pricing, listings, guests, cleaning, maintenance and reporting. We do this as a licensed real-estate business, not as a side operation.
Sydney is the home market and where this page's detail comes from. The service itself is not limited to it — if your property is elsewhere in Australia, ask.
Who this is for
- Owners of an apartment or house currently sitting empty, or under-performing on a long-term lease. Sydney is where most of the portfolio is; the service is not limited to it.
- Owners self-managing on Airbnb who no longer have the time for it.
- Investors who want short-stay income without taking the guest calls themselves.
What full management covers
Short-stay management is often sold as a listing plus a cleaner. It is more than that. Six things have to happen continuously, and none of them can be left for a fortnight: the nightly rate is adjusted against real demand, the listing is kept competitive on every channel, guests are screened and answered quickly, cleaning is scheduled around bookings rather than around the cleaner's week, maintenance is caught before a guest reports it, and the money is reconciled so you can see what happened.
We do all six on one system. Bookings, guest messages, cleaning jobs, maintenance and owner statements all sit in the same platform. That is why your monthly statement matches the bookings behind it, rather than a spreadsheet someone rebuilt by hand.
Where the demand comes from
We do not rely on one channel. Your property is listed on Airbnb, Booking.com and other booking sites, and is also available for direct booking, corporate stays, relocation and medical stays, and mid-term bookings of a month or more. That mix matters most when one channel goes quiet: February in the CBD after the January holidays, or a wet fortnight in a beach suburb.
It also changes what a property is worth week to week. A one-bedroom near the ICC at Darling Harbour is chasing a different guest during a convention week than in the last week of June, and the calendar should price those weeks differently.
What we do not do
We do not guarantee a return. A manager who guarantees one has either priced that guarantee into the fee, or will renegotiate it in a quiet quarter. Instead, we publish our fee, show every dollar deducted on your statement, and let the numbers speak for themselves.
We also turn down properties we do not think will work. If a building's by-laws prohibit short stays, if the strata scheme has adopted a 60-day restriction, or if the numbers show the property earns more on a long-term lease, we tell you before you spend money on furniture.
Inclusions
What is included
- Listing creation and channel distribution, including Airbnb and Booking.com
- Dynamic nightly pricing reviewed against live Sydney demand
- Guest screening, communication and 7-day response
- Turnover cleaning, linen and consumables coordination
- Maintenance triage and trade coordination
- Compliance with the NSW STRA register and the Code of Conduct
- Monthly owner statement showing gross revenue and every deduction
- Direct-booking availability alongside the OTA channels
Distribution
Where your property gets listed
Airbnb is one channel among many. Relying on it alone is the most common reason a short-stay calendar has a bad February.
Airbnb
Expedia
- Google Vacation Rentals
Plus 7 wholesale, corporate and specialist channels: Hotelbeds, BookingPal, Rentals United, Glamping Hub, Smiling House, StayLonger, Reconline.
Verified against the MetaWise booking system on 6 September 2026.
Questions
Common questions
What does short-term rental management cost in Sydney?
MetaWise publishes two tiers. Full management is 20% plus GST on short-term rental revenue and covers everything on this page, including turnover cleaning and maintenance coordination. Essentials is 15% plus GST — the same pricing, listings, guest handling and reporting, with the owner arranging cleaning and trades. Turnover cleaning is normally charged to the guest either way, and onboarding starts at AUD 1,000 + GST, quoted in writing before anything is signed.
Do I have to use Airbnb?
No. Airbnb is one channel. Most MetaWise properties are also on Booking.com and available for direct, corporate and mid-term bookings. The right mix depends on the property and the area — a Cronulla studio and a Haymarket two-bedroom draw on quite different demand.
How long is the agreement?
Management agreements run on a rolling basis with a 60-day notice period. There is no lock-in beyond that notice.
Who deals with a problem guest at midnight?
We do. Guest communication, incident handling and after-hours issues sit with MetaWise, not with the owner. Owners hear about an incident with the resolution attached, not as a request to decide something at 1am.
Will short-term letting suit my property?
Not every property should be a short-stay. Building by-laws, strata restrictions, the 180-day cap for non-hosted properties in Greater Sydney and the simple arithmetic of the long-term rent all decide it. We give a straight answer before any money is spent on setup.
Find out what your property should earn
A range, with the assumptions written down — including when the honest answer is that this is not the right service for your property.