An Airbnb co-hosting agreement should turn a friendly operating promise into a usable set of decisions. For Seattle access, cleaning, pricing, and guest operations, the agreement matters most when something goes wrong: a lock fails, a guest asks for a refund, the cleaner misses a same-day turn, or the owner wants to change managers.
Start with account ownership and permissions
The agreement should say who owns the listing, who controls login credentials, who can edit payout settings, and who may change pricing, photos, cancellation policies, and house rules. Co-host access should match the work assigned. Avoid giving broad control just because the platform makes it convenient.
Listing control also affects review continuity. If the owner may switch operators later, use the guidance in who owns the Airbnb listing before signing.
Define the fee base in plain language
A percentage fee is not enough. State whether the fee applies to lodging revenue, gross booking value, cleaning collected from guests, refunds, taxes, pet fees, cancellation income, or platform adjustments. Include timing: when the fee is earned, when it is paid, and what happens if a refund arrives after the owner statement closes.
If the fee is fixed or task-based, list each covered task and the price for extra work. A co-hosting agreement that hides pricing in text messages will be hard to audit later.
Write repair authority before the first emergency
Guest operations need speed, but owners need cost control. Create thresholds for routine supplies, urgent repairs, major work, and owner approval. The agreement should name who can call vendors, who pays upfront, how invoices are stored, and when photos or estimates are required.
Seattle weather, building access, and turnover timing can make small maintenance issues urgent. Clear thresholds prevent a repair from becoming either a guest refund or an open-ended spending dispute.
Require reporting and document retention
The co-host should provide a monthly summary that separates booking revenue, cleaning, fees, supplies, repairs, refunds, taxes collected or withheld, and owner distributions. Reservation data, payout reports, invoices, and guest claims should be retained in a shared folder or exportable format.
Owners who want cleaner accounting can compare the co-host statement with the STR bookkeeping monthly close.
Plan the exit while everyone is still friendly
Termination terms should cover notice, final bookings, guest messages, lock codes, vendor lists, guidebooks, photos, pricing data, tax documents, owner statements, and removal of access. If the co-host created assets, say who can use them after the relationship ends.
A co-hosting agreement is not legal advice; have an attorney review the final document. URPM can help owners identify operating gaps during a property assessment, then the professional can convert those issues into contract language.
Name the decision rights in the agreement
Every agreement should identify which decisions the co-host can make alone, which require owner approval, and which are never delegated. Pricing changes, refund offers, guest removals, emergency repairs, cancellation exceptions, vendor hiring, and listing edits all deserve separate treatment. A vague promise to communicate is not enough when a same-day arrival is waiting.
Decision rights also need time limits. If the owner does not respond within a defined window, can the co-host approve a plumbing call, move a guest, or purchase replacement linens? The contract should answer that question before the first urgent incident, because the answer will affect guest experience and owner cost.
Attach operating exhibits instead of relying on memory
The agreement can include exhibits for house rules, cleaner checklist, owner approval thresholds, monthly report format, emergency contacts, platform access, and offboarding steps. Exhibits are easier to update than the main contract, but they still create a shared operating record. They also prevent the co-host relationship from depending on one person’s memory.
Keep the exhibits practical. A two-page turnover standard is more useful than a long manual nobody reads. A one-page offboarding checklist can protect reviews, lock access, future bookings, and final statements. The point is not paperwork for its own sake; it is making the relationship transferable and auditable.
Put the decision into a ninety-day operating review
Do not let the decision end when the agreement is signed or the tool is connected. Set a ninety-day review date and decide in advance what will be measured. Useful signals include response time, review language, owner hours, refund patterns, repair documentation, cleaner reliability, calendar gaps, ADR, occupancy, and whether monthly statements can be reconciled without rebuilding the story from screenshots.
The review should separate market conditions from controllable execution. A slow demand period may not be the manager's fault, but weak follow-up, unclear repair records, late owner statements, or repeated guest confusion are controllable. A strong demand period may make every model look good, so look for process quality while the calendar is busy.
At the review, choose one of three actions: keep the model, adjust the scope, or change operators. Keeping the model should still produce a short punch list. Adjusting the scope might mean outsourcing guest messages, tightening repair authority, adding monthly reporting, or changing pricing review cadence. Changing operators should trigger the exit checklist before access, listings, lock codes, and future bookings become messy.
This final step is what turns a one-time hiring decision into asset management. Owners who review the operating model regularly are less likely to confuse temporary revenue with durable performance.
FAQ
What should be in an Airbnb co-hosting agreement?
Include scope, fees, account permissions, repair authority, guest communication, reporting, document retention, insurance boundaries, and exit procedures.
Can an Airbnb co-host change my payout settings?
Only if the owner grants that level of access. The agreement should restrict payout and banking changes unless explicitly approved.
How should repair approvals work?
Use written thresholds for routine, urgent, and major work, plus documentation requirements for invoices, photos, and owner approval.
Do I need a lawyer for a co-hosting agreement?
For final contract language, yes. Operational checklists help identify issues, but legal drafting should be reviewed by counsel.