When it comes to vacation rental management in Sonoma and Napa, one thing is certain: never make assumptions about how a property manager makes their money.

Fee structures can vary widely — and they’re not always as transparent as they should be. To make an informed decision, you need to dig deeper and compare managers apples to apples.

The Basics: Commission Rates

The most straightforward part of any manager’s fee is the commission rate. This is usually a percentage of the nightly rate — but sometimes it’s a percentage of your gross booking revenue, which includes cleaning fees and other guest charges.

This small detail can make a big difference. If a manager only takes commission on the nightly rate and not on cleaning fees, that’s worth noting. But watch out: many national managers run in-house cleaning teams. They pass the cleaning fee to the guest — then mark it up significantly to create extra margin for themselves.

The same is true for maintenance. Certain operators, especially national operators, often rely on in-house teams, inflating costs and steering work away from trusted third-party vendors who might actually be a better fit for your property.

The Hidden Fees

Many national firms tack on extra charges, such as:

• Linen fees
• Hot tub cleaning fees
• “Booking site” fees — even for direct bookings on their website (similar to Airbnb’s ~15% service fee)

So while a manager may advertise a certain commission rate, they could be capturing much more of the guest’s total payment once you add up these hidden layers. Worse yet, many managers won’t clearly disclose these markups — but your guests will feel them when they see the final price. Higher fees can easily push your home out of a guest’s budget, resulting in fewer bookings.

What’s Actually Included?

Beyond the numbers, it’s essential to know what you’re actually getting for the fee. Some managers provide only marketing and pricing support — they won’t coordinate vendors or handle guest communication. Others do the opposite: they handle the day-to-day but don’t bring a strategic lens to marketing, pricing, or maximizing distribution across channels like Airbnb, Vrbo, social media, and direct booking sites.

The best managers do both. They handle operations and bring a strategic, data-driven approach to marketing, pricing, and channel management — so you don’t leave money on the table.

Does Higher Cost Mean Higher Quality?

Not always. In fact, a higher fee doesn’t guarantee better service. When managers create profit from hidden markups and add-on fees, they often have misaligned incentives — prioritizing their own vendors over the best vendor for your home — reducing quality.

This is why understanding exactly how your manager operates — and how they earn — matters.

The Right Question to Ask

Assuming a manager meets your standards for quality and coverage, the real test is whether they can justify their fee. Will they deliver more revenue, more peace of mind, or more time back in your life?

If performance is what matters to you, the key question isn’t what is their rate? It’s what will my net revenue be after commissions and fees?

While no manager can predict the future with certainty, the best ones can provide a thoughtful, conservative estimate — backed by real market data, competitive analysis, and experience from their existing portfolio.

If that figure nets you more than you’d make on your own, or saves you time you can spend elsewhere, then their fee might not be a cost at all — it’s an investment in better returns.

If you plan to have a conversation with a property manager soon and intend to ask for an analysis, there are some other questions you could also ask, which I have listed below:

• What are demand trends in my submarket?
• What are supply and competitive trends in my submarket?
• How are the top performing vacation rentals in my market performing? What are they priced at, what is their occupancy rate, and what are the best performing ones doing that the others aren’t?
• How does my property’s performance rank relative to comparable properties?
• How did you arrive at my property’s gross booking revenue potential? What assumptions did you make on pricing and occupancy?
• How did you arrive at my net revenue projection? What did you assume for cleaning fees per turn?
• What is your data informed by?

At Vinifera Homes, our pricing model is simple and straightforward .We charge zero markups on non-revenue generating activities, such cleaning, maintenance, hot tub cleaning, linen, etc. We strictly only make money as a percentage of the nightly rate; in other words, we only make money when our owners make money. Our standard commission rate is 25% of nightly rates. While we cannot make guarantees, we have always exceeded the investment in our services through increased performance.

If you’d like us to conduct a property assessment, please don’t hesitate to fill out this form. If your home aligns with our portfolio standards, we’ll reach out to get acquainted and learn more about your goals. From there, we’ll develop a tailored assessment that includes a submarket analysis of demand and supply, comparable property performance, guest review insights, revenue projections, and clear, actionable recommendations to help you reach peak returns — even if you ultimately choose not to partner with Vinifera Homes.

Written by Anish Patel, Head of Owner Relations at Vinifera Homes (anish@viniferahomes.com)