Top vacation rental property managers in the US

In order to evaluate the top vacation rental property managers in the US, we looked at which property management companies (PMs) accumulated the highest property count, average star rating, and average occupancy over 2022. In this case, by PMs, we refer to managing domains active on the top 4 OTAs. We have already reviewed in a previous blog the top STRs in Europe based on the same metrics. Additionally, we will be comparing the USA rankings against the European.

Top vacation rental property managers in the US based on property count

We ranked PMs in the United States based on the number of entire home properties they manage. Across the top 25, the total property count was approximately 211,000. Notably, Vacasa takes the spot for the highest property count by a long shot, managing approximately 30% of the total top 25 property count–62.7k properties.

In second place for PMs with the highest property count is Evolve with 40,420 properties - 19% of the top 25 property count. Third place is awarded to RedAwning with 20,100 properties; around a 10% share. The final PM with over 10,000 properties is Corporates, managing approximately 7% of the top 25 inventory with 13,900 properties. 

The remaining 21 property managers have between 1800 to 9800 properties each. Strikingly, with almost half of the top 25 PM inventory between them, Vacasa and Evolve have amassed a significant market share.

Top vacation rental property managers in the US based on average review score

In our search for top-ranked US vacation rental companies, we additionally looked at the average star rating from January to October of 2022. For this, we considered PMs with more than 100 reviews. The three companies with the highest average review scores were Mystic Vacation Rentals, Palm Springs Host, and Big Sky Resort.

The majority of the companies on this list, such as Mystic Vacation Rentals, Palm Springs Host, Sunset Lodge Omena, Fort Lauderdale Stays, Big Sky Resort, and Egg Rock Inn specialize in their local market and offer more personalized services. Traveling Health Care Rentals on the other hand covers more territory, but caters to a more niche guest demographic, also keeping up high average star ratings.

Understanding market performance is crucial to position yourself. Market ratings and review counts are critical measurements. You can learn more about what all your reviews mean and how to implement effective operational changes in our “Review analysis: how to boost your occupancy and revenue” blog article.

Top vacation rental managers in the United States based on occupancy rate

Lastly, we reviewed USA property managers with the highest occupancy rates*. The Wilmington Inn, Bar Harbor Cottages, and South Moreland have the highest rates with 100%, 98.58%, and 96.92% respectively. These three PMs, along with the majority, are smaller, more focused boutique operations, again with their finger on the pulse of the area they service.

*inferred estimates from OTA calendar ‘books and blocks.

Above, most of the top PMs have occupancy rates between 91%-95%, and as you can see in the graph below, have 50-100 average bookings. 

A comparison of top USA and European PMs

When analyzing the differences between the top PMs from the USA and Europe, three notable findings arise. Firstly, there is more competition between European PMs, where the top 25 have a more even share than that of inventory. In the United States, we find a few much larger companies possessing the majority of the market. The top 3 US PMs manage 30%, 19%, and 10% respectively, while the top 3 European PMs each manage around 10% of the property count of the top 25 PMs. 

Secondly, we find a commonality between the two markets in the star 5-star average ratings. In both the US and European markets, most if not all of the top property managers are boutique PMs with unique and local services. 

Lastly, we also found that occupancy rates were distributed more evenly between higher numbers (94% to 100%) for European PMs. At the same time, the USA PM average occupancy rates condensed around 91%-95%. 

These findings give us better indications of how the STR environments in these different regions are performing. Note–these metrics are far from the only measures, and we only covered rank by properties managed, occupancy and rating. There are a plethora of alternative ranking systems that we will cover in future articles. Nonetheless, our metrics allow you to deduce what you can learn from these outstanding companies.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way for you to gauge your property management company against the market. Understand how our data can increase your operational efficiency and boost your revenue by clicking below or by booking a 15-minute demo call with our expert team to discover how Lighthouse data will illuminate your marketing, management, and reporting.