AvantStay is one of the largest venture-backed short-term rental managers in the country, overseeing roughly 2,500+ homes across 140+ markets in states including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Texas and Utah. It leans hard into a design-and-amenity story — expect professional staging, in-house photography, and a focus on larger, amenity-rich homes (think pools, game rooms, ski-in/ski-out chalets) that can command premium nightly rates for groups.

How it works

AvantStay bills itself as full-service: marketing and distribution across 50+ channels, guest screening and 24/7 support, in-house cleaning and maintenance, dynamic pricing, and monthly financial reporting with tax documentation. On its own site the company claims a 20% average revenue lift versus unmanaged comparables, a 6-day average time to first booking, and a 7:1 staff-to-home ratio. Owners get access to a dashboard for statements and performance tracking.

Pricing

We checked avantstay.com directly for a rate card. There isn't one. The owner page describes the fee only as "a percentage of the gross booking revenue," personalized by property location, type and expected revenue — revealed only after a sales call. Third-party reporting and owner accounts put the effective rate in the 20–30% range, which is in line with the top of the industry for full-service management. If a published, comparable rate matters to you, that's a real limitation here — you're committing before you know the number.

What owners actually say

AvantStay's Trustpilot page runs a mixed 3.2/5, with the split roughly tracking role: guests are generally positive about the homes and stays, while owner-perspective reviews skew more critical. One owner who managed a ski-in/ski-out property in Breckenridge for a year before leaving for another manager described the biggest misses as coming from the revenue team, saying pricing was set aggressively low and out of step with comparable properties nearby — AvantStay replied publicly that the feedback was passed to leadership, revenue and operations teams. (Trustpilot, AvantStay reviews)

A more pointed complaint is documented with the Better Business Bureau, where a homeowner describes AvantStay ending a signed management agreement without the notice period the contract required:

"On February 4, 2026, AvantStay notified me they were terminating the agreement due to STR permitting issues. The contract requires 30 days notice for termination tied to government restrictions; no such notice was provided." — BBB complaint #24579642

The same owner detailed roughly $2,000 in setup costs and declined bookings elsewhere undertaken in reliance on the signed agreement — a reminder that AvantStay's own contracts are two-way, and enforcement isn't always symmetric. Independent aggregators tracking owner complaints across Yelp and BBB report a recurring pattern of payout and accounting discrepancies — unexplained line items, underpayment, and delayed statements — alongside multi-year contracts with early-termination fees. (Awning, AvantStay complaints) AvantStay has also gone through real belt-tightening: a 22% workforce reduction in November 2022, with additional cuts into 2023, which owners should factor in as churn risk for whoever is actually assigned to their home. (Short Term Rentalz)

Who it's actually for

AvantStay makes the most sense for owners of larger, higher-end homes in its core markets who want a fully hands-off, design-forward operation and are comfortable signing a multi-year agreement without knowing the exact fee up front. If your property is modest, your market isn't one of AvantStay's 140+, or you want a manager who will quote you a percentage before you sign anything, this isn't the fit.

How it compares to our top pick

AvantStay's scale is real — the photography, the tech stack and the staffing ratio aren't vaporware, and for the right luxury property it can outperform a small independent on distribution alone. But scale is also the trade-off: the fee is opaque until you're already in a sales funnel, the contracts run multiple years with termination fees attached, and owner accounts of payout discrepancies and unmet revenue projections are documented, not rumor. One Fine BnB takes the opposite approach — custom terms discussed openly before you sign, no roll-up incentives to hit acquisition targets, and no algorithm quietly deciding your nightly rate without a documented explanation. If you want AvantStay's level of service without gambling on what the statement says at the end of the month, that conversation is worth having first.

See how AvantStay stacks up against every manager we've vetted in our full ranking of Airbnb management companies.