A co-host helps you run a listing that stays yours: you decide what they take on, from guest messages to check-ins. A full-service property manager takes on the day-to-day running of the home for you. In BC the two are also treated differently when the home is registered.
Last reviewed 14 November 2026 · Reviewed by the bnbHost team
This page compares a co-host, a full-service manager and doing it yourself, job by job. It does not compare earnings or fees: what a home brings in depends on the home and the season, and what any helper charges is set in your own agreement with them.
1. What each option means
- Self-managing. You do every job yourself, or buy in help one job at a time. Our comparison of managing it yourself or hiring a manager covers this option in depth.
- A co-host. Someone who helps you run your listing. On Airbnb, co-host is also a listing feature: the listing owner adds the co-host to the listing, and Airbnb tells hosts and co-hosts to agree who does what, how much of the reservation income goes to the co-host and how the co-host's expenses are paid back.
- A full-service property manager. A business that runs the short-term rental on your behalf: the listing, prices, guests, cleaning and repairs. BC's registry calls a property manager a "supplier host": someone who handles short-term rental arrangements on behalf of the property host or under their direction.
Here "co-host" means the role in general. What any one co-host or manager does is whatever your agreement with them says.
2. Who does what
| The job | If you self-manage | With a co-host | With a full-service manager | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listing, photos and description | You | You, or the co-host if you agree it | The manager | Your agreement; Airbnb Help Centre |
| Nightly prices | You | You, or the co-host if you agree it | The manager | Your agreement |
| Guest messages and bookings | You | The co-host, if you agree it | The manager | Airbnb Help Centre |
| Cleaning between stays | You clean, or hire and check a cleaner | You or the co-host arranges it, as you agree | The manager arranges it | Your agreement |
| Provincial registration | You register as the property host, renew each year and show the number on every listing | You register; a co-host who manages the rental for you can be added as a secondary contact | The manager can register as the supplier host, giving your details as the property host | Province of BC, host registration |
| Local business licence | Where your city requires one, you get it and upload a copy with the registration | The same; a co-host does not change who must live in the home | The same; in Vancouver the operator must live in the home | Province of BC; City of Vancouver |
| PST and MRDT | Sell only through a platform that takes the guest's payment and it collects them, though you stay liable for any it misses; sell another way and you register to collect them | The same rule applies | The same rule applies; ask who collects them on any booking taken outside a platform | Province of BC, PST on accommodation |
| Liability and insurance | The registration and licence are yours; check your policy allows short-term rentals | The registration and licence stay yours; check your own policy | The manager can be the registrant, with you named as property host; check your own policy | Province of BC; City of Vancouver |
Rules as read on 14 November 2026. Who does the other jobs is set by your agreement, not by law.
3. Where the rules come in
Registration. Every short-term rental unit in BC needs its own provincial registration, and the number goes on every listing. The Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act puts the duty to register on the supplier host responsible for the offer. The registry accepts either the property host or a property manager acting for them, and a property manager who registers must give the property host's details. The registry lists a co-host only as a secondary contact on the registration.
Local licence. Some cities also require a business licence, and a copy goes in with the provincial registration. In Vancouver, only someone whose principal residence it is, and who owns the home or rents it long term with written landlord approval, can operate a short-term rental. Bringing in a co-host or a manager does not change that, and the City also lists a separate by-law on property manager requirements. Our Vancouver short-term rental rules and BC rules guide have the details.
Where short stays are allowed. Help does not change which homes can be hosted. Where BC's principal residence requirement applies, short-term rentals are limited to the host's own home plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit, and cities can be stricter.
Taxes. PST and MRDT apply to short stays. If you sell only through a platform that acts as an online marketplace facilitator, you do not register to collect them, but you stay jointly and severally liable for any the platform does not collect and remit. If the home is also listed or booked another way, you must register to collect them. Income tax on what the home earns is covered in our short-term rental tax guide.
Insurance. The City of Vancouver tells hosts to review their insurance policies to make sure short-term rentals are allowed and that they are covered, and says you may have to pay for damage caused by operating the rental. That holds whoever helps you. Our short-term rental insurance guide lists what to ask your insurer.
4. Which fits you
- Self-managing fits when you live in the home, are there for most stays and have the time for every job.
- A co-host fits when you want to stay the host: the listing, the registration and the final say stay with you, and you hand over set jobs such as guest messages or check-ins. It works best when you can agree clearly who does what.
- A full-service manager fits when you want one business to run the day-to-day for you: the listing, prices, guests, cleaning, repairs and help with the paperwork.
Whoever you consider, ask how they are paid, what is included and whose account the listing sits on. Our questions to ask a property manager work for a co-host too, and our worksheet on what management costs and what to compare shows what to put side by side.
5. What stays with you either way
- The principal residence rule. Where it applies, it turns on where you live, so meeting it is yours.
- Your strata's permission. If the home is in a strata, its bylaws apply whoever runs the stays. See strata and building permission.
- Your insurance policy. Only your insurer can say what it covers.
- Your income tax. What the home earns is reported on your own return.
6. Questions owners ask
Is a co-host the same as a property manager in BC? Not for the provincial registry. A property manager can register the rental on your behalf as the supplier host. A co-host is added to your registration as a secondary contact.
Does bringing in help change what my home can do? No. The principal residence requirement, your city's licence rules and your strata's bylaws apply the same way whoever runs the stays.
Looking for a full-service manager?
bnbHost is a full-service manager. We handle booking management, the listing, pricing, professional photography, a welcome book with your house rules, cleaning and laundry, maintenance, key exchange and licensing support, and guests come to us. See what our management covers, or how we manage homes in Vancouver.
Tell us about your home and we check the rules that apply to it in a free property review. If it cannot be hosted, we tell you straight.
Checked on 14 November 2026: Province of BC, host registration, Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, Province of BC, principal residence requirement, Province of BC, PST on accommodation, City of Vancouver, short-term rentals and Airbnb Help Centre, co-hosts.
This comparison is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice.
