If you'd like to be an active Airbnb host who is engaged in the management of their property but gets some help from technology-driven tools, you might consider RedAwning. As an essential service short-term rental property management company, RedAwning focuses on marketing, reservations, and revenue management, leaving all other aspects fully under the control of the property owner.
Is RedAwning worth it? In brief, yes! The company charges a relatively low fee and provides essential services. We'll review the top 3 RedAwning competitors in the US market.
What RedAwning Is
RedAwning is a technology-enabled platform that helps second home owners and property managers streamline managing their vacation rentals. Our updated RedAwning property management review shows we cannot really call this company an Airbnb property manager as it is not involved in the actual management of vacation rentals. Instead, they focus on marketing, reservation, and revenue services.
Tim Choate founded RedAwning in 2010. The company headquarters were moved from Emeryville to Petaluma, CA, with the mission to redefine vacation hospitality by combining the benefits of hotel stays with the diversity and value of vacation rentals, improving both guest and host experiences. To achieve this purpose, the company relies heavily on technology.
Unlike most competitors, RedAwning helps both small and big individual investors and professional property managers.
What RedAwning Property Management Is
RedAwning is an essential service vacation rental property management company. This means that they provide some core services to property owners. The services focus on listing creation and distribution, reservations and guest communication, pricing and revenue management, and property damage protection.
Property management is at the heart of the RedAwning business, so they have offered it since the establishment of the company in 2010.
At the moment, RedAwning claims to have over 100,000 properties in more than 10,000 destinations, covering the entire US market. The company provides only essential service and is not directly involved in the manual processes, similar to Evolve.
All vacation rentals managed by RedAwning are owned by real estate investors, supplied directly or through property managers. The company does not own properties itself, so the interests of investors and the company should not compete.
Where RedAwning Property Management Is Available
Our RedAwning property management review shows that their services are available in 10,000 destinations, across the whole US market. This is possible because the Airbnb property management company relies on technology and not human touch for its services.
Regarding property types, RedAwning works with various types of residential properties including studios, condos, apartments, and houses. They work with boutique hotels and resorts as well.
To make sure that their home qualifies, an owner needs to sign up and provide property details before getting approved by the RedAwning team.
How RedAwning Property Management Works
RedAwning property management includes the same services across markets and properties that are charged at a universal fee.
RedAwning offers the following services necessary for the successful and profitable management of short-term rentals:
Listing and Marketing
Marketing is at the core of the RedAwning business model and the primary service which the company provides to Airbnb hosts. RedAwning creates listings that are optimized for booking platforms. They coordinate professional photography of vacation rentals at a time convenient for property owners for images that accurately and effectively reflect the property's value.
Meanwhile, if real estate investors want to be involved in the property listing including photos, title, and description, they can notify their account manager of requested adjustments. But they don't have to be should they opt for a more passive approach.
Listing distribution is now done on 50+ major online global booking and travel platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Travel, and others. Some unique channels that most RedAwning competitors do not use include eBay, Amazon, and Vacation Rentals by Choice.
Importantly, RedAwning is a Preferred IT Partner on Booking.com, a Connectivity Provider on Expedia, and a certified partner for Google Advertising. This status helps RedAwning boost the reservations, occupancy rate, and overall performance of the short-term rentals it manages.
A service that's not offered by many Airbnb management companies that RedAwning provides is creating your own vacation rental website. Using the technology embedded in the RedAwning platform, property owners can quickly and easily launch their own website with full property information and attributes and booking capabilities.
The Smart Website helps increase bookings by offering free website launch and upgrades, SEO, reservation and payment services, personalization options, and integration with all booking platforms used by RedAwning to avoid double bookings.
Reservations and Guest Support
RedAwning essential service property management services include reservation generation and management. Their technology-driven listing distribution strategy helps boost bookings and occupancy rates. Once guests have booked, RedAwning supports them before, during, and after their stay.
Some standard services include inquiry responses, credit card processing, check-in and check-out instructions, and guest review responses. The company provides 24/7 guest support via phone, text, chat, and email. They have an AI-based agent bot that can help guests instantly.
New in 2025: RedAwning has added AI-powered message automation with message prioritization, allowing hosts to focus on the most important guest communications first.
Payment and Revenue Management
Another major service provided by RedAwning is financial management.
First, RedAwning has developed its own Dynamic Pricing mechanism in partnership with PriceLabs, a pricing tool for vacation rentals. The pricing method relies on internal data, competitive data, and human intelligence and is meant to optimize occupancy and revenue.
The RedAwning team works together with property owners during the onboarding process to ensure that they consider all necessary property characteristics in the pricing. Second home owners have the option to set up Dynamic Pricing with the help of RedAwning and forget about it or to adjust daily rates according to their own research through the Smart Portal.
Additionally, RedAwning handles all credit card payments from guests, so hosts don't have to deal with and solve issues like declined credit cards. Then the company subtracts its fees and charges from the revenue before transferring the payout to owners.
RedAwning also helps with tax collection. During onboarding, investors provide the team with information on all applicable city, county, and state taxes so that they collect them from guests. Afterwards, taxes are sent to hosts so that they can remit them to the local authorities.
With RedAwning, vacation rental property owners get access to a Smart Portal, where they can monitor and manage all revenue-related processes and factors. They can see and adjust daily rates, view itemized booking breakdown including revenue, taxes, and fees, check performance, and check out upcoming payments.
Property Damage Protection
The last core service offered by RedAwning property management is accidental damage waiver protection of $3,000. This means that the company provides property owners with reimbursement for most types of damages caused by guests as long as they're accidental and not intentional and not caused by a breach of the rental agreement.
They provide this via a Damage Waiver, where guests pay a $50 damage waiver fee per booking. This has replaced the traditional security deposit as the RedAwning team has figured out that guests prefer a damage waiver, so this approach helps boost bookings.
To claim reimbursement, a property owner has to submit a claim through a single-page claim form including repair photos or invoices. Owners receive reimbursements via checks.
If damage is intentional, RedAwning will follow up with guests to make sure that they cover the incurred costs.
If accidental damage exceeds $3,000, property owners have to submit a claim to their homeowner's insurance provider for the rest of the amount.
Additional Services RedAwning Coordinates
All short-term rental property management services provided by RedAwning are paid at a flat rate. However, there are two services which the company can help coordinate with their partners that are paid separately.
Vacation Rental Cleaning
RedAwning has partnered with TurnoverBnB, a vacation rental cleaning platform, to help facilitate cleaning between guests. This partnership gives RedAwning property owners access to 25,000 experienced vacation rental house cleaners.
RedAwning does not provide details on the exact process and the associated fees. Before you opt for hiring RedAwning, inquire about this specific service, how it works, and how much it costs.
Additional Damage Coverage
RedAwning has also partnered with Safely, an exclusive vacation rental insurance provider. Additional intentional damage and theft damage waiver can cover up to $10,000 in coverage for the contents of a rental and up to $1 million in coverage for the structure of the property. Opting in for this additional short-term rental insurance means higher costs for guests.
RedAwning Property Management Services Onboarding
The onboarding process of RedAwning is relatively easy.
To get started, property owners need to:
- Fill in a sign-up form, providing information about their vacation rental
- Get approved by a RedAwning vacation rental expert
- Get access to the RedAwning marketing platform
There is no startup cost when joining RedAwning.
RedAwning does not specify what the onboarding looks like if another company or software currently manages a property.
Property Reviews Generated by RedAwning Property Management
Like most alternatives, RedAwning lists properties under its brand name on booking platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and others. On the positive side, this allows vacation rental owners to benefit from the optimized host status of RedAwning on these websites.
RedAwning Property Management Costs and Fees
RedAwning charges a single commission fee of 10% of booking revenue plus a 3% standard credit card processing fee. This property management pricing structure remains the same for all markets and property types. This model is like Evolve, another essential service vacation rental property management platform.
RedAwning itself does not charge any additional fees beyond these, but they can connect you with their partners TurnoverBnB for cleaning management and Safely for additional damage waiver coverage. If you opt for these services, you will most likely have to pay separately, so you need to check with the RedAwning team first.
RedAwning does not have any onboarding or leaving fees. This is the industry-wide practice, except for Air Concierge, which charges an onboarding fee of $300 and an early-termination fee of $3,500 or $7,500.
Regarding revenue collection and payouts, RedAwning collects all booking fees from guests including taxes and fees. Once they receive payments from guests and deduct their fees, they transfer the revenue payout to the owner. This includes the tax amounts payable to authorities. Unlike most competitors, RedAwning makes payments on a rolling basis rather than at the end of the month.
RedAwning Property Management Terms and Requirements
Working with RedAwning requires signing a contract. However, the company does not provide any details on the length of the agreement and how hosts can opt out of it.
According to the property management contract, RedAwning should provide services related to listing, marketing, finance management, and damage protection.
Meanwhile, hosts keep the right to use their second home as frequently as they want and for as long as they want.
RedAwning Property Management Reviews - 2025 Update
RedAwning's online presence remains with reviews across multiple platforms. The overall scores show both improvements and persistent issues.
You can find online RedAwning reviews on:
- TrustPilot: 4.0/5 stars based on 7,389 reviews (improved from 3.8/5)
- BBB.org: Ratings with no recent complaints
Positive RedAwning reviews are mostly written by guests, who highlight the easy reservation process, the great properties, and the perfect locations.
Company Background and Funding
RedAwning has raised $55 million in total funding and employs approximately 101 people according to recent data. The company is backed by investors including Silversmith Capital Partners, Alpine Pacific Capital, and Elephant Partners. They claim to have generated nearly $2 billion in rental income for hosts in their network and served over 825,000 travelers to date.
Takeaway
Our updated RedAwning property management review reveals that this is a relatively large player in the vacation rental industry in the US. The services that the company provides could be of help to investors who buy properties close to home and would like to remain involved in the management of their vacation rental portfolios.
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