Short Term Rental
Management

Surge offers local full service vacation rental management for busy vacation rental owners and Airbnb hosts in Garden City, South Carolina

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Garden City, South Carolina Short Term Rental Overview

Airbnb Market
Garden City, South Carolina presents exceptional short-term rental investment opportunities driven by its strategic coastal location just south of Myrtle Beach, where average daily rates for vacation rentals consistently exceed $150 during peak season and maintain strong occupancy rates of 70-80% year-round. The area's proximity to popular attractions like Brookgreen Gardens, Huntington Beach State Park, and championship golf courses generates sustained demand from both leisure travelers and corporate guests, while the lower property acquisition costs compared to Myrtle Beach proper create superior cap rates averaging 8-12% for well-positioned properties. Market data indicates that oceanfront and marsh-view properties in Garden City command premium nightly rates 40-60% higher than comparable inland units, with many investors achieving gross rental yields exceeding 20% annually through strategic pricing and professional management. The destination's appeal spans multiple demographics—from family beach vacations to fishing enthusiasts and golf groups—ensuring diverse revenue streams and reduced seasonal volatility, while South Carolina's favorable tax environment and growing tourism infrastructure investments position Garden City as an increasingly valuable short-term rental market with significant appreciation potential alongside robust cash flow generation.
Short Term Rental Regulations
Garden City, South Carolina has specific short-term rental regulations that property owners must navigate, including obtaining proper permits, adhering to zoning restrictions, and complying with occupancy limits and safety requirements that can vary significantly depending on your property's location and classification. These local laws are constantly evolving, with municipalities frequently updating their ordinances regarding noise restrictions, parking requirements, registration processes, and tax obligations, making it increasingly challenging for individual property owners to stay compliant and avoid costly fines or legal issues that could result in forced closure of their rental operations. However, when you partner with a professional short-term rental management service, you can rest assured that all licensing requirements, permit applications, tax filings, and ongoing legal compliance matters are handled expertly on your behalf, allowing you to enjoy the income from your investment property while professionals monitor regulatory changes and ensure your operation remains fully compliant with all local, county, and state requirements.
Occupancy Rates
Garden City, South Carolina experiences distinct seasonal patterns with peak occupancy rates typically occurring from May through September, when summer beach tourism drives demand to 80-90% occupancy levels, particularly during July and August when families flock to the area's pristine beaches and nearby Myrtle Beach attractions. The shoulder seasons of April and October see moderate occupancy rates around 60-70% as weather remains pleasant but crowds thin out, while the slower winter months from November through March experience occupancy drops to 30-50% due to cooler temperatures and reduced tourist activity. Professional revenue management becomes crucial during these fluctuations, requiring dynamic pricing strategies that maximize rates during peak summer weekends while offering competitive pricing during slower periods to attract extended stays, business travelers, and off-season visitors. Effective revenue management systems must account for local events, weather patterns, and competitor pricing to automatically adjust rates daily or even hourly, ensuring properties remain competitively priced during low-demand periods while capturing premium rates during high-demand summer weeks, ultimately maintaining year-round profitability despite the inherently seasonal nature of this coastal vacation rental market.
Vacation Rental Management
Self-managing a vacation rental in Garden City, South Carolina presents overwhelming operational challenges that can quickly destroy profitability and guest satisfaction in this highly competitive coastal market. Guest turnover demands precise coordination of housekeeping teams within tight 4-6 hour windows between departures and arrivals, often complicated by Garden City's summer traffic congestion and limited local service provider availability during peak season. The 24/7 communication burden becomes particularly intense when managing oceanfront properties where guests expect immediate responses to issues ranging from beach access questions to emergency situations like severe weather alerts or equipment failures, all while juggling multiple properties across different time zones of incoming guests. Maintenance challenges are amplified by the harsh saltwater environment that accelerates wear on HVAC systems, appliances, and exterior surfaces, requiring specialized local contractors who understand coastal property needs and can respond rapidly to prevent minor issues from escalating into guest complaints or safety hazards. Without full-service property management handling these complex logistics, owners face constant interruptions, emergency calls during family time, and the near-impossible task of maintaining the flawless guest experience necessary to command premium rates and secure repeat bookings in Garden City's saturated vacation rental market, making professional management not just convenient but essential for preserving both sanity and investment returns.
Attractions and Amenities
Garden City, South Carolina's tourism centers around Garden City Beach with its pristine coastline and fishing pier, Brookgreen Gardens showcasing world-class sculpture collections and wildlife exhibits, Huntington Beach State Park offering nature trails and birdwatching opportunities, and the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk featuring waterfront dining and entertainment. To maximize revenue from guests visiting these attractions, properties must provide beach-specific amenities including complimentary beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, and boogie boards for Garden City Beach visitors, along with outdoor shower stations and beach towel service to handle sandy returns. For Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park guests who spend full days exploring outdoor exhibits and trails, properties need comfortable outdoor seating areas, picnic supplies, insect repellent, and early breakfast options to accommodate park opening times. Since Murrells Inlet MarshWalk attracts evening diners and entertainment seekers, properties should offer late check-in flexibility, restaurant recommendations with reservation assistance, and transportation coordination or detailed walking directions. Additionally, all guests benefit from high-speed Wi-Fi for sharing coastal photos, refrigerators for storing fresh seafood purchases, and laundry facilities for extended stays, while covered parking protects vehicles from salt air and sudden coastal weather changes.

Why choose Surge?

Surge is local Airbnb management that’s reliable, affordable and the best for your property.
Cost
Guest communications
Host Communications
Insurance
Contract
Cost
Starting at 15% fee
Guest communications
Guest response within 10 minutes, 24 hours a day
Host Communications
Designated host call in phone line
Insurance
Full damage protection for every reservation
Contract
No annual agreements
Other Property Mangers
Cost
25-40% fee
Guest communications
Sporadic guest communications
Host Communications
Bot response assistants
Insurance
Unreliable insurance coverage
Contract
Contract lock-ins

Understand Your STR Income

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Surge is geared towards maximizing potential

Be at ease with the knowledge that your vacation rental is being optimized to its fullest potential.
30%
In gross revenue
150 M
Potential guests
4.9
Superhost status
7+
Booking platforms
1
Property manager
The house was great. It accommodated our large group nicely. The owner was responsive and checked in on us throughout the trip. The gate around the home added privacy and security. The beds were comfortable as well. Extra linen, towels and washcloths. We are looking to book this home in the future!
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers
We really appreciated Surge. He was responsive, attentive, and went above to make sure our stay was seamless. You can tell he takes pride in providing a clean/organized place. Everyone loved the pool table and shuffleboard. This place is also very close to great restaurants. The place we went to had the best catfish. Would definitely rent from Surge again!!
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers
Our group really enjoyed our long weekend stay here! The property was very clean and spacious but also provided some privacy to accommodate our large family. Surge was responsive when we reached out to them and also accommodated an early check-in. We felt secure given that the property was gated and had smart locks on both entry doors. We strongly recommend this property and would love to stay here again!
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers
My family and I were here for my daughter’s graduation from UofH. Surge was very upfront, kept us informed and accommodating. The place was clean and fit my entire family comfortably. We have already made plans to come back. Great location, private and safe environment. Would highly recommend! Thank you Surge for making this stay memorable and stress free for our family!
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers
Great stay that accommodated all our needs for a successful for trip to Houston, i hope to Book in the coming future.
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers
The host was great, he responded quickly when needed and checked in on us from time to time throughout the whole day. He was awesome and the place was great for my family of 16. Definitely will book with him in the future.
Airbnb Guest Hosted by Surge
Head of Design, Layers

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the product and billing.
Does Surge Property Management allow pets in its short term rentals?
Surge Property Management leaves that decision to the property owner. While allowing pets can be a big perk for some guests, Surge does not have any requirements for the property owner to allow it. Service animals are a different case. Surge is prohibited to refuse a reservation, charge pet fees, hold guests to different rules, apply differential treatment or use discriminatory language if a guest is accompanied by a service animal. A guests service animal must not be out of control, un-housebroken, left alone at the listing without prior approval, allowed into areas that are considered unauthorized by the guest and allowed in a public space without being harnessed, leashed, or tethered and not under the guests control.
Do I get access to an owner portal?
Surge Property Management has a tech leading owner portal to keep its property owners in the loop, instead of on the outside looking in. In the owner portal you can reserve days for personal use, see pending reservations, nightly pricing rates, owner statements, expense receipts, guest messaging and more!
Do you screen the guests that are staying in my property?
Our intelligent Guest Screening technology allows us to screen vacation rental guests before they enter your property, making it easier to keep bad guests out. We proactively assess the risk posed by each guest, through legal, non-discriminatory checks. Guests will be asked to submit some personal details including their name, date of birth, physical home address and contact details. We then verify by having the guest take a live selfie and submit a photo of their ID(either a drivers license or passport). This information will then be processed to determine the true identity of your guest, including whether the ID is fraudulent and if the provided details match those on the ID. This process will generate a risk report for us to review before the guest arrives.
Do you provide insurance for guest damages?
We partner with the premier provider of short term rental protection also offering guest screening and comprehensive insurance coverage. Our partner brings confidence and peace of mind to both Surge Property Management and its clients(homeowners). Our third party partner has protected over 60 billion in homeowner liability coverage and 1 million guest nights. Ask your Surge sales representative for more details.
What happens if there is guest damage to my property?
Each guest is required to make a $500 security deposit. Any damage above $500 we are able to document, submit, and follow a claim through on your behalf with our short term rental insurance partner covering up to $5,000,000.
How does Surge compare to a national provider like Vacasa?
While both Surge and Vacasa both have a full service model designed to be hands off from the property owner, Surge stands out above the rest by being more intentional and selective with the properties we decide to accept into our management portfolio. This allows us to give the required attention to the properties we manage instead of just "setting it and forgetting it" like the other property managers do. Once you go onboard with them you just become another number.
Does Surge handle the maintenance of the vacation rental?
Yes, Surge is able to handle any property maintenance(including hot tub & pool) for your property. We have a large network of service providers, additionally, if you have a preferred vendor we can assign and coordinate maintenance with them as well.
What services does Surge Property Management offer?

Surge is a full-service property manager and provides the following service to property owners:

  • Listing creating and management across multiple channels
  • Calendar management
  • Cleaning
  • Laundry
  • Restocking
  • Maintenance
  • Dynamic Pricing
  • Lock automation
  • Guest Portal
  • Owners Portal
  • Listing optimization
  • Photography
  • 24/7 guest communication
  • Check-in/out support
  • and more!
Is Surge Property Management a Superhost on Airbnb?
Yes, Surge Property Management is a Superhost on AirBNB. Airbnb defines a Superhost as a Host who goes above and beyond to provide excellent hospitality. Guests can easily identify a Superhost from the badge that appears on their Airbnb listing and profile. Superhosts have more visibility and earning potential.
How and when do I get paid?
Surge Property Management initiates ACH payment to its property owners once a month by the 10th day of the next month. Along with the ACH deposit sent to you, you also receive a highly detailed statement for review.
Are there any hidden fees?
Surge Property Management has the most transparent pricing in the industry. Our property owners are our Partners in business which is why we hold transparency at a very high standard. With your monthly statements you will be able to trace every dollar from when the guest paid for their reservation to when it was deposited into your bank account. Contact your Surge sales rep for a personal walk through of our statement structure.
Can I still use my property?
Yes of course. The biggest perk of a vacation rental is still retaining personal use of the property for your personal use. Inside of our Owner’s Portal you can reserve days for personal use.
How do you market my property?

We list your property on the major platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Google Vacation rentals and more! We also allow direct bookings very popular among returning guests. Our integration technology is second to none and was awarded the following:

  • Airbnb Preferred + Software Partner
  • VRBO Elite Partner
  • Booking.com Premier Connectivity Partner
How do you handle complaints or disputes?
We aim to resolve issues quickly and fairly, protecting both the guests and the property owner’s interests. We mediate disputes and ensure a smooth resolution process.
How do I get started with your service?
Contact us to schedule a consultation. We'll discuss your property, our services, and how we can help you achieve your rental goals.
How do you handle waste management?
We coordinate with local services to ensure proper waste disposal and recycling, maintaining cleanliness and environmental responsibility.
What safety measures do you implement?
We ensure the property has functional smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and complies with all local safety regulations.
What does Surge’s full service property management mean?
Surge's comprehensive property management service allows property owners to be completely hands-off with the daily operations of their Airbnb properties. Surge takes care of all the daily tasks, including listings, guest interactions, cleanings, restocking, and maintenance, ensuring a stress-free experience for the property owner.

Still have questions?

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Please chat to our friendly team.
Get in touch
(713) 853-9573