Best STR Property Managers in Nashville 2026: Rankings Based on StaySTRA Data

Finding a short-term rental property manager in Nashville is not hard. Vetting one is another matter entirely.

Search online and you get dozens of companies. All of them claim to maximize revenue. Most have testimonials you cannot verify and fee structures written to obscure the real cost. Spend enough time reading PM websites and they blur together, each one promising the same outcomes in slightly different words.

Data indicates a cleaner path. StaySTRA’s PM directory uses a three-step verification process to identify managers serving each market. Every company in this article appears in that directory, has a confirmed live website, and serves Nashville at the time of publication. Nothing here is a paid placement. There are no affiliate relationships influencing who makes the list.

For Nashville, that process yields three verified managers. That number matters, and we will explain why.

Nashville STR Market: What the Numbers Show

Nashville is one of the most durable STR markets in the country. The city’s tourism base is structural, not seasonal. Lower Broadway, the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and the bachelorette and bachelor group travel economy generate demand across all twelve months. Visitors totaled 16.9 million in 2024, generating $11.2 billion in direct spending, a record high. The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp projects 18.1 million annual visitors by 2027.

StaySTRA data shows what that demand looks like for property owners.

Source: StaySTRA Nashville market data. Permit totals from Metro Nashville Codes Department, October 2025.

October is the standout month: fall color, cooler temperatures, and the city’s event calendar push occupancy above 54% for active listings, with ADR clearing $390. Summer months (May through July) also perform well, with occupancy in the high 40s to low 50s. January is the slowest month at roughly 33%. The year-round demand profile makes Nashville more predictable than purely seasonal markets.

That combination, high ADR relative to most non-coastal cities and genuine twelve-month demand, makes professional management a compelling option for owners who cannot be hands-on or who are managing from out of state.

Group travel is the defining demand driver. Nashville attracts bachelorette and bachelor parties at a scale few US cities can match. Properties sized for groups of 8-14 guests regularly outperform smaller units on both occupancy and nightly rate during peak weekends. That dynamic rewards management companies that understand how to price and position group-friendly properties, and it penalizes managers who apply the same template to every listing regardless of size or configuration.

Why Nashville STR Management Is More Complex Than Most Markets

Nashville’s regulatory environment is one of the more layered in the South. A PM who does not understand the permit structure is a liability.

Metro Nashville issues Short-Term Rental Property (STRP) permits in two types. Type 1 covers owner-occupied properties. The owner must permanently reside at the property and must be a natural person. No LLCs, corporations, or trusts qualify for Type 1. Type 2 covers non-owner-occupied properties, and new Type 2 permits in residential zones have been frozen since January 1, 2022. New non-owner-occupied STR permits are now only available as conditional-use approvals in commercial and mixed-use zones.

That matters practically. Investors buying Nashville residential properties today can generally only operate a legal STR if they qualify for Type 1 (live there themselves) or if their property falls within an eligible commercial or mixed-use zone. Roughly 2,179 Type 1 permits, 378 Type 2 permits, and 4,915 multi-family unit permits were active in Davidson County as of October 2025.

The tax picture adds another layer. Metro Nashville’s Hotel Occupancy Tax runs 7% of gross rental receipts plus $2.50 per night per unit. Tennessee state sales tax at 9.25% applies on top of that. The combined burden is approximately 16.25% plus $2.50 per night. Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit state sales tax automatically, but operators remain responsible for verifying Hotel Occupancy Tax compliance independently.

Documents show Nashville’s enforcement posture is classified as strict in StaySTRA’s regulatory database. Operating without a permit triggers a citation and a mandatory one-year waiting period before reapplying. Three documented violations under generally applicable local laws can result in permit revocation. The permit does not transfer when a property sells.

A competent PM in Nashville knows this material. They know permit type requirements, how taxes are collected, and what compliance looks like month to month. That knowledge gap between good and mediocre managers is wider here than in markets with simpler rules.

Review StaySTRA’s complete Nashville STR laws guide for the full regulatory picture before finalizing any management agreement.

How StaySTRA Selects and Verifies Nashville Property Managers

Sources reveal what most PM ranking articles do not tell you: many of the companies listed on aggregator sites and review platforms have never been independently verified. They created a profile, wrote a description, and in many cases paid for placement. The ranking reflects marketing spend, not operational quality or genuine market presence.

StaySTRA’s verification process works differently. Three requirements apply to every company in the directory:

1. Directory presence: The company must appear in StaySTRA’s PM database, built from first-party research, platform data, and direct outreach. A listing on Airbnb’s co-host directory or Google Maps alone does not qualify.
2. Live website: Every listed company must have a confirmed, functioning website at the time of publication. Dead domains and parked sites are immediate disqualifiers.
3. Market coverage confirmation: The company must be confirmed as actively serving Nashville, not simply claiming general availability.

This is the same methodology used in StaySTRA’s national PM roundup, which covers 415 verified managers across 565 U.S. markets. Read the full national directory and verification methodology here.

Nashville’s verified count is three. That is not the total number of management companies active in the Nashville market. StaySTRA’s platform data tracks listings from multiple management operations in the Nashville metro, including several companies with hundreds of active listings. None of those companies have completed directory verification at the time of publication. This article only names companies that passed the process. The list is deliberately narrow.

The Three Verified Nashville STR Property Managers

Air Concierge

Air Concierge is a boutique vacation rental and Airbnb property management company with a national presence and a significant review volume. The company claims more than 14,000 five-star reviews and operates across multiple states, including Tennessee.

Their model is full-service: multi-platform listing across Airbnb, VRBO, and direct booking channels, end-to-end guest communication, and around-the-clock support. The boutique positioning is deliberate. Air Concierge presents itself as a higher-touch alternative to large enterprise managers, with more direct communication between owners and the management team.

Verified services in StaySTRA directory: Emergency assistance, multi-platform listing, 24/7 guest support

Market coverage: Air Concierge serves Nashville alongside a national footprint that includes Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, Palm Springs, San Diego, Denver, Breckenridge, Destin, Miami, and others.

Website: airconcierge.net

Air Concierge is a reasonable first call for Nashville investors who want a nationally recognized boutique manager with a documented review track record. Ask directly about their Nashville team size and how many Nashville properties they currently manage. Scale in one market is not the same as scale across a network.

One thing to clarify upfront: their listed phone number in StaySTRA’s database carries an 850 area code, which is the Florida Panhandle. That does not disqualify them from Nashville operations, given their multi-state model, but it is worth confirming you will have a dedicated Nashville point of contact before signing.

Awaze

Awaze is the largest vacation rental property manager in the world by unit count, with approximately 90,000 properties under management across 36 countries. The company formed from Wyndham’s former vacation rental business and carries several regional brands including Novasol, Hoseasons, James Villa Holidays, and Cottages.com. The operation is roughly 30 years old.

Their US presence is a smaller portion of their overall footprint, but the infrastructure that comes with operating at that scale is real: established distribution channels, centralized technology, and the operational depth that decades of property management experience produces.

Verified services in StaySTRA directory: 24/7 guest support, emergency assistance

Market coverage: Awaze serves Nashville alongside a wide range of US and international markets. Their presence in Tennessee positions them for Nashville investors seeking a globally recognized management partner.

Website: awaze.com

Awaze suits investors who prefer institutional scale and international brand recognition. The tradeoff is typical of global operators: system-driven operations work well at scale but may offer less individualized owner communication than boutique alternatives. Ask specifically about their Nashville-specific team structure, local market expertise, and ADR performance data for properties they manage in the city.

It is also worth asking how Awaze handles Nashville’s Hotel Occupancy Tax. Their European-origin operations are experienced with occupancy tax structures, but the Nashville HOT’s specific remittance requirements and the $2.50 per night surcharge are distinct from most markets they serve. Confirm that tax compliance is handled within the management agreement, not left entirely to the owner.

Awning

Awning provides full-service vacation rental property management with broad national market coverage. Their verified service set is the most comprehensive of the three Nashville-listed managers in StaySTRA’s directory, covering professional photography, guest screening, home inspections, concierge services, 24/7 guest support, and emergency assistance.

Their geographic reach is extensive. Awning operates across most major US STR markets, which gives them the operational infrastructure to handle Nashville alongside dozens of other active markets simultaneously. Their approach is technology-driven, with management processes designed to scale across a large and geographically diverse portfolio.

Verified services in StaySTRA directory: 24/7 guest support, concierge services, emergency assistance, home inspections, professional photography

Market coverage: National. Awning serves Nashville alongside hundreds of other US markets across most major STR states.

Awning is suited to investors who want comprehensive service coverage from a single vendor. The combination of photography, guest screening, and inspection services in the verified directory listing reflects a broader operational scope than the other two Nashville-verified managers. Contact the company directly to confirm current Nashville-specific capacity, management fees, and contract terms.

Worth noting: Awning also provides STR investment analysis tools alongside its property management services. Investors considering using both Awning’s data tools and their management offering should clarify how each service is structured, priced, and whether they are sold independently or bundled.

What Professional STR Management Costs in Nashville

Management fee structures in the Nashville market typically fall into three models.

Full-service percentage: The manager takes 20-30% of gross rental revenue. This covers listing optimization, guest communication, cleaning coordination, maintenance oversight, pricing management, and often tax remittance assistance. Some full-service managers charge a separate onboarding or setup fee, typically $200-500. This is the most common arrangement for owners seeking completely hands-off management.

Revenue management only: Some operators hire a manager only for dynamic pricing and multi-channel distribution. These arrangements typically cost 5-10% of revenue. The owner handles guest communication and turn coordination independently or with separate service vendors.

Flat monthly fee: Less common in Nashville but offered by some national operators. Flat fees provide cost predictability but can cut against owners during high-revenue months when a percentage arrangement would earn less.

On a Nashville property generating $63,000 annually, a 25% management fee equals roughly $15,750 per year. That math works if the manager is meaningfully increasing occupancy and ADR above what a self-managed baseline would produce. It works less well if the manager is simply listing the property and collecting a share of organic demand.

Ask every PM candidate what their average managed properties earn versus the Nashville market median. A manager who cannot answer that question with data should raise a flag.

Choosing the Right Nashville PM for Your Situation

Three verified managers does not mean one right answer. The correct match depends on your property type, location within Nashville, and how involved you plan to be as an owner.

A few questions to ask every PM before signing anything:

• What permit type does my property qualify for, and how do you handle compliance? Any manager serving Nashville should be fluent in Type 1 versus Type 2 permits, the January 2022 residential zone freeze, and Hotel Occupancy Tax remittance obligations.
• How many properties do you currently manage in Nashville specifically? A national company with tens of thousands of global properties and a Nashville portfolio of five listings is a very different operational reality than one with 200 active Nashville units.
• What platforms does my listing appear on? Beyond Airbnb and VRBO, ask about Booking.com, direct booking websites, and how multi-channel calendar synchronization is handled to prevent double-bookings.
• How is cleaning coordinated for same-day turns? Nashville has high group travel demand, which means frequent back-to-back bookings. Turnover reliability is a real operational variable that affects both reviews and revenue.
• What is your dynamic pricing approach? Ask whether they use a third-party tool (PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, Beyond) or proprietary pricing logic. Understand how they approach Nashville event weekends, which drive the highest ADR in the market calendar.

For out-of-state owners, management quality is especially consequential. Nashville STR properties reward consistency: responsive maintenance, reliable turnovers, and well-managed guest communication drive the review scores that determine search ranking on Airbnb and VRBO. A PM who generates five-star reviews and handles operational issues quickly is worth more than one who simply keeps the calendar occupied at any price.

Also verify that your PM understands Nashville’s permit non-transferability rule. When a property sells, the permit does not carry to the new owner. A manager involved in any sale process needs to communicate that accurately so buyers know they will reapply for a permit under current rules, not inherit the seller’s operating status.

One additional contract item to review carefully: termination clauses. Many STR management agreements include 90-day or longer termination notice windows and provisions that allow the manager to continue collecting fees from bookings made during the notice period, even if the working relationship has effectively ended. Read the exit terms before you sign, not after.

Finally, ask for references. Not the testimonials on the company website, but direct contact with two or three Nashville-based owners they currently manage. A manager confident in their Nashville performance will provide this without hesitation.

We do our best to keep our reporting accurate and up to date, but situations evolve and we are only human. Always verify current details directly with local officials and sources before making decisions.

Use the StaySTRA Nashville property analyzer to run revenue projections for any specific address before hiring a manager. The tool shows occupancy, ADR, and estimated annual revenue for comparable Nashville properties so you can benchmark any PM’s performance promises against real market data.

Run a free Nashville STR property analysis