RedAwning is a well-known Airbnb property management company that works with different types of properties across the US and internationally. Before hiring RedAwning, hosts need to know if the company is worth it. The short answer is: No, not really, because RedAwning provides only half-service management which does not allow owners to earn passive income from their investment.
Meanwhile, Summer, the top-ranked vacation rental manager, does all the work required to start and operate a short term rental business, while charging industry-low rates starting at only 20% of booking revenue. In return, hosts can expect their properties to outperform 95%+ of comps in the market.
RedAwning Company Overview
RedAwning is a half-service short term rental property management company. This means that their services focus on streamlining and automating tasks such as guest communication, payment processing, and cleaning scheduling. However, many necessary activities preparing properties for listing, restocking, and maintenance are outside the scope of work of RedAwning.
The company was founded by Tim Choate in 2008 and has its headquarters in Petaluma, CA. RedAwning aims to redefine the vacation hospitality industry by combining the benefits of hotel stays with the diversity and value of vacation rental homes, while improving both guest and host experiences.
RedAwning works with second home owners who would like to rent out their property on a short term basis as well as with property managers who need help listing properties in their portfolios.
At the moment, the company manages 20,000+ vacation rentals and has generated more than $2 billion in rental income for hosts within their network. This makes them one of the biggest Airbnb managers in the US.
RedAwning Airbnb Management Overview
RedAwning specializes in the half-service management of properties rented out on a short term basis. This makes it a potentially good option for hosts who would like to remain personally involved in the management of their property but need help automating certain tasks to reduce the time they spend on their vacation rental business. Owners who invest close to home and don’t have a full-time job might be able to benefit from working with RedAwning, but they are not the right choice for hosts who invest away from home, have busy schedules, and expect passive real estate income.
RedAwning promises to deliver the following potential advantages to hosts:
- More reservations
- Dynamic daily rates
- Easy promotions
- No double bookings
- No chargebacks
- Around-the-clock guest and host support
Hiring RedAwning is expected to improve the performance of a short term rental property and increase its revenue. However, the company does not specify what revenue boost owners can expect by switching.
RedAwning Property Management Markets
RedAwning Airbnb management review reveals that the company operates in 1,000+ destinations, mostly in the US, Mexico, and Canada. RedAwning has wider geographical coverage than many of the best Airbnb management companies because the manager relies on automation and technology rather than local teams for onsite work.
Some of the most popular destinations include:
- Beaches such as Florida, Hawaii, Southern California, and the Oregon Coast
- Mountains and ski resorts like Aspen, CO, Gatlinburg, TN, Lake Tahoe, CA, Mt. Baker, WA, and Park City, UT
- Cities such as Austin, Destin, Los Angeles, New York City, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC
- Luxury markets and destinations like California, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas
Extensive market coverage is one of the main benefits of RedAwning.
RedAwning Property Type Coverage
RedAwning manages both rental homes and condos. Properties may have a swimming pool or hot tub. Some vacation rentals are pet-friendly depending on the preferences of the owner.
The company doesn’t have specific eligibility requirements. However, rentals need to be ready to welcome guests since RedAwning does not provide interior design and furnishing services.
RedAwning Airbnb Property Management Services
RedAwning covers the services expected from a half-service vacation rental property manager.
- Property listing: Creates a custom listing that’s published on the company website
- Professional photography: Provides professional, high-definition photography services through their partnership with a real estate photography firm plus a network of 6,000+ photographers across the country. The company follows a checklist to ensure that all property’s unique features and amenities get highlighted
- Dynamic door codes: ConnectedHome digital lock integration works with the most popular smart lock brands, such as Schlage, Yale, and KwikSet, to automate check-in processes via unique codes
- Vacation rental distribution: Optimizes and distributes on 50+ major booking websites including but not limited to Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, Google, HomeToGo, Trivago, Agoda, Hopper, Got2Go, GlampingHub, Homes & Villas by Marriott International, Hotels.com, and others
- Vacation rental website: Hosts get a free, personalized website to list their short term rental for direct bookings and enhanced online presence
- Guidance: Owners get access to a team of experienced professionals who can help them get more reservations to boost their Airbnb occupancy rate and revenue
- Rental rate optimization: Uses proprietary dynamic pricing platform - RedAwning Smart Pricing, developed in partnership with PriceLabs - to optimize rates and occupancy in line with market demand. During onboarding, additional charges, such as pet fees, pool heating fees, and others, are set
- Reservation support: Covers all guest support tasks from responding to guest inquiries and processing payments to sending check-in instructions and managing guest reviews
- Guest notifications and 24/7 communication: Remains in constant communication with guests before, during, and after bookings. Notifications are sent out to confirm bookings, introduce hosts, and send check-in instructions. Guests can send questions via text, chat, phone, or email
- Cleaner management: Partners with Turno, formerly TurnoverBnB, to provide cleaning services between guests
- Tax collection and remittance to hosts: During onboarding, hosts provide RedAwning with information about applicable local, city, and state taxes so that the company collects necessary taxes on bookings and remits them to the owner. After that, the owner needs to make payments directly to the relevant tax authority
- RedAwning Damage Waiver: The vacation rental manager provides a damage waiver covering accidental damage up to $3,000 per booking. Claims accompanied with invoices and photos need to be submitted by the owner, and reimbursements are made via check. Damages above $3,000 are covered by the short term rental insurance
These services allow investors to significantly reduce the time they have to spend managing their vacation rentals, but many tasks are still left for them to run a successful business.
RedAwning Missing Services
The most important services that RedAwning does not provide to the owners of short term rentals are:
- Interior design and furnishing: Similar to other property managers, RedAwning does not help with designing and furnishing properties. However, having a professionally furnished property inspired by an experienced interior designer is key to grab the interest of more potential guests, attract more bookings, improve guest satisfaction, and generate 5-star reviews. Thus, hosts that choose to work with RedAwning might explore the services of one of the best Airbnb design and furnishing companies in their local market
- Licensing and permitting: The company does not help hosts acquire or renew the short term rental permits and licenses required in many US markets
- Guest supply restocking: RedAwning does not restock supplies between guests, which means that hosts must take care of it themselves or hire additional contractors.
- Inspections: There are no routine inspections to check the condition of the property
- Maintenance: RedAwning does not schedule and coordinate property repairs and other tasks. Preventive maintenance and addressing issues in a timely manner is a must to avoid costly problems
Because all these services are required for the smooth operation of vacation rental properties, owners must find an alternative solution. They can either perform them themselves or hire vendors and pay them additional fees in addition to coordinating their work.
How to Get Started with RedAwning
Working with RedAwning starts with signing up on the company website and providing details about the home. Then, RedAwning reviews and confirms the property’s eligibility. Once a rental has been approved, the team publishes a listing on the RedAwning website. Going live on third-party booking channels takes up to two weeks.
RedAwning Vacation Rental Management Fees and Costs
RedAwning charges a universal Airbnb management fee of 10% of actual bookings. This is comparable to the cost of other half-service property managers, such as Evolve. There are no additional fees for hosts as the company does not offer optional services. All services are included in the monthly fee.
While 10% of monthly revenue sounds like a very competitive rate, it covers only partial services.
RedAwning does not charge an onboarding fee when getting started with a new property.
RedAwning Airbnb Management Terms and Conditions
Owners must sign a simple online Property Owner Participation Agreement in order to get started with RedAwning. The agreement specifies the property information as well as the participation fee commission (property management fee) of 10%. It is not clear how hosts can cancel the contract or if they must pay an early-termination fee. It’s important for owners to understand these details before opting in for RedAwning services.
The required agreement is an exclusive one, meaning that RedAwning will fully manage the booking calendar. Hosts are allowed to bring repeat guests from direct bookings, as long as they do not overlap with RedAwning reservations, without paying a management fee. Moreover, owners can book their second home for personal use as much as they want.
RedAwning Reviews
Online RedAwning reviews by hosts and guests are available on:
- Trustpilot: 3.8/5 stars (6,818 reviews)
- Airbnb: 4.48/5 stars (2,465 reviews)
- Birdeye: 3.1/5 stars (45 reviews)
- Google: 3.2/5 stars (36 reviews)
- BBB: 1.17/5 stars (35 reviews)
- Reviews.io: 1.0/5 stars (14 reviews)
- Yelp: 1.0/5 stars (10 reviews)
Online reviews of RedAwning Airbnb management are mixed, potentially due to regional differences. Thus, it’s recommended that interested hosts contact local investors who have worked with the company to ask about the quality of services in their specific market.
Happy hosts and guests generally highlight the easy processes, useful advice, professional services, well-maintained and cleaned properties, comfortable spaces, great locations, safe areas, comprehensive responses to questions, and fast communication.
Unhappy customers complain about incompetent staff, cumbersome processes, unethical practices, undeserved cancellations, inflexible refund policies, non-published charges, redundant emails, rude and judgemental team members, and poor communication skills.
RedAwning Alternatives and Competitors
RedAwning Airbnb management review shows that the company is not worth it for all short term rental property investors in the US. While the market coverage is comprehensive, the list of provided services falls short.
Thus, vacation rental owners might need to look into the best RedAwning competitors and alternatives to find a property manager that is better equipped to meet their needs.
RedAwning vs Summer
Summer is the top short term rental management company in the US, providing all-encompassing services at competitive rates. What distinguishes Summer from other property managers is the highly selective process of choosing which properties to work with in order to ensure that top-notch services can be provided to consistently exceed both host and guest expectations. Thus, Summer has a smaller portfolio than RedAwning, comprising top-performing rentals earning more income than at least 95% of comps in their location.
Summer services include everything from getting properties ready and listed on all top distribution channels to revenue optimization, Airbnb insurance, and property maintenance. Interior design and furnishing services are also available and are fully flexible to meet the precise needs of properties and the exact preferences of owners.
Summer also has national coverage but works only in markets where hospitality excellence can be guaranteed. Moreover, Summer manages exclusively properties that bring a minimum annual income of $50,000.
The monthly management fee starts at only 20%, which is calculated based on the booking revenue excluding cleaning fees. Design and furnishing services start at $10,000.
RedAwning vs Vacasa
Vacasa is the largest vacation rental management company in North America, with 44,000+ properties in their portfolio, distributed in 400+ destinations. Unlike RedAwning, Vacasa offers both full-service and half-service solutions to investors and hosts.
Full-service Vacasa property management includes a wide range of services that are required to run an Airbnb business. However, some of them are included in the standard management package, while others are optional and paid separately. Additional services include linen provision and laundry, swimming pool and hot tub maintenance, and damage and liability protection. Interior design and furnishing are not available.
Vacasa doesn’t have specific property eligibility criteria, but properties need to be ready for listing since the company does not help with furniture and decor.
Vacasa fees depend on location and property and are not specified on the company website. Based on customer reviews, they start at 25% and in many cases exceed 35-40% of monthly revenue. In addition, there are extra charges for the optional services.
RedAwning vs Evolve
Evolve is a half-service Airbnb property manager, making it the closest alternative to RedAwning. The company works with 30,000+ hosts in hundreds of markets in North America, so it’s slightly bigger than RedAwning.
Evolve also focuses on the automation of tasks including property listing with professional photography, dynamic pricing, marketing and advertising, guest support and communication, guest review management, property and liability protection, and tax collection and remittance. Additionally, Evolve connects interested hosts with local vendors for tasks like cleaning and maintenance.
To work with Evolve, vacation rentals need to have their own entrance, a kitchen or kitchenette, and at least one bathroom. Properties also must be safe, clean, as advertised, and guest-ready.
Evolve has the same fee as RedAwning at 10% of revenue.
Bottom Line
All in all, RedAwning is not worth it for Airbnb hosts and investors, especially those who invest out of state, have multiple properties, work a full-time job, and aim for passive income from real estate. Moreover, many hosts and guests share experiences that indicate low quality services.
Owners looking for comprehensive management of their vacation rentals can check out Summer for absolutely everything that’s needed for managing a short term rental, including design and furnishing. Fees start at only 20% of booking revenue.
