Managing a short-term rental in Florianópolis: an operating guide

A short-term rental management company in Brazil charges between 15% and 30% of gross revenue to run the property; HostnJoy, one firm in the sector, offers a flat 16% fee. That commission is the first real operating decision: how much of the daily work you keep and how much you hand off.

Self-managing or delegating: the fee range

Self-managing means answering guest messages, coordinating cleaning between stays, keeping the listing updated on every platform, and adjusting the rate week to week. Hiring a management company or a co-host shifts that work in exchange for a commission: industry sources place the general range at 15%-30% of gross revenue, and full-service contracts —linens and amenities included— can reach 35%. That percentage is deducted from each booking's revenue, before cleaning and other operating costs.

What each service tier actually includes

Brazilian management companies typically tier their service in three levels. Essential (15%-20%) covers listing creation, basic dynamic pricing, and guest messaging. Intermediate (20%-25%) adds professional photography, automated rate adjustment, and check-in support. Premium (25%-30%) adds concierge service, preventive maintenance, and performance reports. Before signing, ask in writing which tasks each tier covers — the gap between 15% and 30% usually sits there, not in the package name.

The furnishing standard guests take for granted

Airbnb labels a connection fast wifi once it tests above 50 Mbps download, measured through the speed test built into its own app; below that threshold, the listing does not display the badge. General industry practice —without one single statistic behind it— converges on a baseline: stable wifi, air conditioning or heating, a fully equipped kitchen, and a lock simple enough for a keyless check-in. Any gap in that baseline turns into pre-booking questions and, afterward, into negative reviews.

Photography and price: the two levers with data behind them

AirDNA and Airbnb report that listings with professional photography get 26% to 40% more bookings than those using amateur photos. A documented case in Bombinhas, Santa Catarina, illustrates the combined effect with pricing: after hiring professional photography and restructuring the rate, one apartment's revenue grew 51% comparing April-August 2023 against the same window in 2024, with the daily rate climbing from R$ 166 to R$ 329 (Seazone, October 2024). A professional photo shoot in Brazil costs between R$ 500 and R$ 1,500, and typically pays for itself within one to three extra bookings.

The second lever is price. Dynamic-pricing software —PriceLabs is the most widely adopted globally, with more than 600,000 connected properties and over 150 integrations with property-management systems— adjusts the rate for demand, seasonality, and nearby competition instead of holding it fixed year-round. Ask the management company which tool it uses and how often it recalculates the rate.

Cleaning and turnover between guests

Turnover is the window between one guest's checkout and the next check-in: full cleaning, changing linens, restocking consumables, checking for damage, and flagging maintenance if something fails. In Florianópolis, coastal humidity and salt air add a step that generic checklists from other cities skip: airing out and treating mold in bathrooms and closets before each season's opening, plus a deeper cleaning —a full day's work— at closing, to clear accumulated salt from window tracks and hardware. A standard between-guest cleaning in the city runs R$ 180 to R$ 280, depending on the property's size.

The platform's own fee stacks on top of the management fee

Since October 2025, Airbnb has moved hosts operating through an API —property-management systems or channel managers— to a single-fee model; independent hosts without that software remain on the split-fee model. Under the single-fee model, Brazil pays 16% of the reservation subtotal, above the 15.5% global rate, entirely borne by the host. That fee stacks on top of, not against, the management commission: a 25% management contract plus the 16% platform fee leaves roughly 59% of gross revenue before cleaning and other costs.

Pre-launch operational checklist

1. Decide the service level —self-managed, co-host, or full-service management— and get the fee breakdown in writing.
2. Test the wifi with Airbnb's tool (target: 50 Mbps or more) and equip the kitchen, climate control, and an easy check-in lock.
3. Book a professional photo shoot (R$ 500-1,500) before publishing the first listing.
4. Pick a dynamic-pricing tool, or confirm with the management company which one it uses and how often it adjusts the rate.
5. Build the between-guest cleaning checklist, adding the humidity-and-salt step if the property sits near the coast.
6. Calculate the real margin —management fee plus platform fee (16% in Brazil) plus cleaning— before setting the final price.

This guide covers day-to-day operations. Whether your condominium allows short-term rental at all depends on its bylaws and the STJ's case law on the subject, covered in a separate post. If you bought with return in mind, the comparison against long-term rental and the island's tourist occupancy are developed elsewhere. And if you will run the property without living in Brazil, the non-resident owner's legal and tax setup —power of attorney, 15% withholding, remittances— has its own guide.

Sources

• HostnJoy — "Tarifas Gestão Airbnb 2026: Custos Reais e ROI" (commission ranges by service tier, photography, cleaning and setup fees).
• HostnJoy — "Qual a taxa do Airbnb para anfitriões em 2026" (single-fee model, 16% in Brazil, migration dates).
• Seazone — "Entenda as taxas cobradas pelo Airbnb no Brasil".
• Seazone — "Aumento de 51% no faturamento no Airbnb com fotos profissionais" (Bombinhas, Santa Catarina case, October 2024).
• PriceLabs — dynamic-pricing platform for short-term rentals (hello.pricelabs.co).
• Airbnb — Resource Centre, "Attract guests with the new wifi speed test" (50 Mbps threshold for the fast-wifi badge).
• Mais Capricho — "Limpeza de imóvel de veraneio em Florianópolis: o checklist essencial em 8 passos".