What Does STR Management Actually Cost in the White Mountains?
You own a cabin near North Conway or a ski chalet in Bretton Woods. You're generating real income or you want to. A property manager could unlock that potential. But handing over 30% of your bookings without understanding what you're paying for? That's how smart investors quietly leave thousands on the table every season.
White Mountain short-term rental management has grown dramatically over the last several years. With the surge in demand for mountain getaways, there are now more management options than ever from solo operators to regional boutique firms to national platforms. That's great news for owners, but it also means the pricing is all over the map. Let's cut through the noise.
The Real Fee Range in the Mount Washington Valley
If you ask around the North Conway, Lincoln, and Bretton Woods corridor, you'll hear a lot of different numbers. Here's what the market actually looks like right now:
The regional norm for full-service STR management across the Mount Washington Valley is 20–35% of gross rental revenue. Properties with more upkeep demands like mountain views, hot tubs, and higher guest expectations typically land toward the higher end of this range.
Within the North Conway market specifically, there's a wider quoted range of roughly 10–30%, with many property owners reporting they actually pay closer to 10–22%. The spread depends on your property's size, finish level, and how much operational hand-holding is truly required.
Here's a practical rule of thumb: a four-season, well-appointed cabin with a hot tub in a high-demand area will cost more to manage (and therefore more as a percentage) than a straightforward condo a few miles off the ski mountain. That's not a rip-off. It reflects the real labor and coordination involved.
"The percentage isn't the whole story. Two managers charging 25% can deliver wildly different results and wildly different bills."
What Should Be Included And What Usually Is
A management fee is only meaningful when you know what it covers. Most legitimate full-service packages in the White Mountains will bundle the following:
Marketing and Listings: Listing creation and optimization across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and more. Professional photography is often included, though sometimes billed as a one-time setup fee.
Revenue Optimization: Dynamic pricing adjusted for ski season, foliage, holiday weekends, and local events. Calendar management, reservation handling, and occupancy reporting should all be standard.
24/7 Guest Services: Pre-booking inquiries, check-in coordination (smart locks or lockboxes), detailed arrival instructions, and real issue resolution, not just automated responses.
Operations and Property Care: Cleaning and linen turnover coordination, basic maintenance, and vendor management for snow removal, landscaping, and hot tub servicing.
Compliance and Admin: Guidance on New Hampshire STR regulations, Meals and Rooms Tax registration, listing license numbers, and income documentation for your accountant.
Owner Communication: Transparent reporting, owner portals, and clear communication about what's happening at your property, especially important if you don't live nearby.
The Line Items That Live Outside the Percentage
Here's where many owners get surprised. Your management percentage covers coordination. It rarely covers the actual cost of the work being done. These items typically come on top:
Cleaning fees per stay: Usually charged directly to guests as a separate cleaning fee. However, always review your contract as some managers take a margin on the cleaning fee or apply a surcharge.
Credit card and platform fees: Processing fees and booking platform commissions are sometimes passed through as separate line items. Know whether you're seeing net or gross revenue in your reports.
Larger repairs and emergency calls: The management percentage covers coordination; you pay for the actual repair at cost. Some managers add a coordination surcharge (commonly 10–15%) on top of vendor invoices for larger jobs.
Winter-specific services: Snow plowing, roof shoveling, and hot tub winterization are billed to you at cost. In the White Mountains, these aren't optional. Budget for them.
Setup and one-time project fees: Interior design, major furnishing projects, or premium photography packages are typically quoted separately from the ongoing management agreement.
The Questions Every Owner Should Ask Before Signing
Before you hand over the keys to any management company, these five questions will tell you everything you need to know about whether the fee is fair:
01 / Is the percentage calculated on gross revenue or net?
There's a meaningful difference. A 25% fee on gross revenue behaves very differently than 25% on net after platform fees are subtracted. Get this in writing.
02 / Do you mark up vendor and maintenance invoices?
Some managers add a 10–15% coordination fee on top of contractor invoices. That's not necessarily unreasonable, but it should be disclosed upfront, not discovered on your first statement.
03 / What does your dynamic pricing strategy look like for this property?
A good manager should be able to walk you through their seasonal pricing approach for the White Mountains specifically. Ski weekends, foliage season, and summer hiking weekends all require different strategies.
04 / What does "24/7 guest communication" actually mean in practice?
Is there a real person available at 2am when a pipe bursts, or is it an automated bot with a callback window? For mountain properties where guests are often far from home, this distinction matters.
05 / Who holds the booking accounts?
If you ever leave the management company, what happens to your reviews, your listing history, your repeat guests? This is a negotiating point that most first-time owners don't think to ask about until it's too late.
Is the Fee Worth It?
The math on full-service management almost always works if you choose the right partner. A well-managed White Mountain property typically outperforms a self-managed one on both occupancy rate and average nightly rate, because professional managers have established reputations, better photography, smarter pricing algorithms, and faster guest response times.
The question isn't really whether to pay the fee. It's whether the manager you're paying is actually earning it.
At Gold Key Rentals, we specialize in Mount Washington Valley properties because we know this market, the demand patterns, the seasonal dynamics, and the guests who come back year after year. We're transparent about every line item before you sign, and we earn our percentage by treating your property like it's our own.