Common questions from Tahoe property owners about how we work, what's included, and what to expect.
Our custom AI system responds to guest messages within 2 minutes, 24/7. It's trained on your specific property — WiFi passwords, check-in instructions, house rules, local recommendations, and more. For routine questions (90%+ of messages), it responds automatically. For sensitive topics like complaints, early check-in requests, or pricing questions, it drafts a response and sends it to our team for review before sending. Emergency messages are escalated immediately to a real person.
No. Messages are sent in your property's voice and signed as "Tahoe Hosting Co." Guests experience fast, accurate, helpful responses — they don't know (or care) whether it's a person or AI behind the scenes. The experience feels like having a dedicated concierge who never sleeps.
The AI only responds using verified information from your property's knowledge base — it never makes things up. If a guest asks something the AI doesn't have an answer to, it responds with "Let me check with the team and get back to you shortly" and escalates to a real person. We continuously refine the AI based on real conversations to improve accuracy.
Emergency messages (fire, flooding, injuries, break-ins, safety concerns) are immediately flagged and escalated to our on-call team member via Slack and SMS. A real person responds within minutes. We also provide guests with emergency contact numbers at check-in.
You can block dates directly through our property management system (Hostaway). We'll set up your owner login during onboarding. Just select the dates you want to reserve and save — your calendar updates across all platforms automatically. You can also email or text us and we'll block them for you.
We list on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Vacation Rentals, and Homes & Villas by Marriott. All calendars sync in real-time to prevent double bookings. For the Cohost tier, you keep your Airbnb listing and we optimize it behind the scenes.
We use PriceLabs, an algorithmic pricing tool that adjusts your nightly rate daily based on local demand, seasonality, events, day of week, booking lead time, and your competitors' pricing. You set minimum and maximum rates — the algorithm optimizes within those bounds to maximize your revenue.
Our management fee is a percentage of gross booking revenue: 10-15% for Cohost, 20-25% for Full Management, 25-30% for Premium. Fees are deducted automatically before your payout. You receive detailed monthly statements showing every booking, fee, and expense. Payouts happen on a monthly cycle — typically by the 15th of the following month.
No. Your management fee covers everything listed in your tier. Add-on services (maintenance, hot tub, snow removal, etc.) are billed at published rates — you see them in your monthly statement. Cleaning fees are charged to the guest, not to you. We never mark up vendor costs.
The setup fee covers initial onboarding labor: smart lock installation, listing optimization, photo reordering, property knowledge base creation, platform connections, and AI configuration. The Cohost tier has no setup fee because owners keep their listing — less setup work on our end.
South Lake Tahoe requires a minimum $1M liability insurance policy for vacation rentals. Most homeowner insurance policies don't cover short-term rental activity — you'll need either a rider on your existing policy or a dedicated STR insurance policy. We recommend Proper Insurance or CBIZ, which specialize in vacation rental coverage. On top of your property insurance, we provide guest damage protection through Truvi (formerly Superhog) on every booking — covering accidental and intentional guest damage up to $1M per incident at no additional cost to you.
You need a Vacation Home Rental (VHR) permit from the City of South Lake Tahoe ($548 application fee) and a TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) registration. The city charges 12% TOT plus a $5.50/night Tourism Improvement District fee. There's a cap of 900 VHR permits in residential zones (effective April 2026), but no cap in the Tourist Core. We handle permit processing for Full Management and Premium tiers (or as an add-on for Cohost).
Yes — SLT ordinance requires a local property manager who can respond in person within 60 minutes of a complaint. This is exactly what we provide as part of every service tier. It's one of the core reasons owners work with a local property manager rather than managing remotely.
Absolutely. You can upgrade at any time. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current contract term. Moving from Cohost to Full Management is the most common upgrade — owners often start with Cohost to test the partnership, then upgrade once they see the results.
All tiers require 30 days written notice. For Cohost (month-to-month), you can cancel any time with 30 days notice. For Full Management (6 months) and Premium (12 months), early termination is possible with 30 days notice, and we honor all existing reservations through their checkout date. No penalty fees.
You receive a monthly performance report with revenue, occupancy, average nightly rate, guest ratings, and maintenance summary. Full Management and Premium tiers include quarterly strategy calls. Beyond that, we only reach out when something requires your input — a maintenance decision, a property concern, or a guest situation that needs your call.
With cohosting, you keep your Airbnb/VRBO listing under your account. We optimize it and handle guest messaging, but you maintain ownership and visibility. With full management, we move the listing to our account (or manage it fully under yours), handle all operations including cleaning, maintenance, and snow removal, and you get a truly hands-off experience. The trade-off: more control (cohost) vs. more convenience (full management).
We're happy to chat. Book a free discovery call or send us a message.