Short Term Rental
Management

Surge offers local full service vacation rental management for busy vacation rental owners and Airbnb hosts in Greenwood, Florida

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Greenwood, Florida Short Term Rental Overview

Airbnb Market
Greenwood, Florida presents an exceptional short-term rental investment opportunity driven by its strategic proximity to Tallahassee's government sector and Florida State University, creating consistent demand from business travelers, visiting families, and academic personnel year-round. Property owners in this market can capitalize on occupancy rates averaging 65-75% with daily rates ranging from $85-$150, significantly outperforming traditional long-term rental yields by 40-60% annually. The area's limited hotel inventory combined with growing corporate relocations to North Florida has created a supply-demand imbalance that favors STR operators, while the region's lower property acquisition costs compared to coastal markets enable investors to achieve cash-on-cash returns of 12-18%. Additionally, Greenwood's position along major transportation corridors attracts extended-stay guests from the healthcare and consulting sectors, allowing owners to command premium rates for monthly bookings while maintaining the flexibility to optimize pricing during peak university events and legislative sessions when demand surges 200-300% above baseline levels.
Short Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rental regulations in Greenwood, Florida involve a complex web of local zoning ordinances, permitting requirements, and tax obligations that can change without warning, leaving property owners vulnerable to hefty fines, legal action, or forced closure of their rental operations if they fail to maintain proper compliance. The intricate nature of these regulations means that even well-intentioned owners can unknowingly violate occupancy limits, safety codes, business licensing requirements, or tourist tax collection mandates, potentially resulting in thousands of dollars in penalties and the immediate shutdown of their income stream. However, professional short-term rental management services eliminate these risks entirely by taking full responsibility for obtaining and maintaining all necessary permits, ensuring ongoing compliance with evolving local laws, handling all tax collection and remittance requirements, and staying current with zoning changes, allowing property owners to enjoy their rental income with complete peace of mind knowing that every legal obligation is being expertly managed on their behalf.
Occupancy Rates
Airbnb occupancy rates in Greenwood, Florida typically peak during the winter months from December through March when snowbirds and tourists escape colder climates, achieving occupancy rates of 70-85%, while summer months see moderate demand at 60-75% due to family vacations and local events. The shoulder seasons of April-May and September-November experience the lowest occupancy rates, often dropping to 40-55%, as tourists avoid the transitional weather and humidity. Professional revenue management becomes crucial during these fluctuations, utilizing dynamic pricing strategies that increase rates during peak winter demand while offering competitive pricing during slower periods to attract budget-conscious travelers and maintain cash flow. Effective revenue management systems analyze local events, weather patterns, and competitor pricing to automatically adjust nightly rates, ensuring properties remain attractive during low-demand periods while maximizing revenue during peak seasons, ultimately achieving year-round occupancy rates that can average 65-70% when properly managed compared to 45-55% for properties using static pricing models.
Vacation Rental Management
Self-managing a vacation rental in Greenwood, Florida presents formidable operational challenges that can quickly overwhelm property owners and damage their investment returns. Guest turnover in this rural Panhandle location requires coordinating cleaning crews across significant distances, often with limited local service providers, while managing check-ins and check-outs becomes particularly complex when you're not physically present to handle key exchanges or address immediate guest concerns. The 24/7 communication demands are especially taxing in Greenwood's tourism market, where guests expect immediate responses to questions about local attractions, emergency situations, or property issues, regardless of time zones or your personal schedule. Maintenance challenges are amplified by the area's humid climate, which accelerates wear on HVAC systems, creates persistent mold and mildew issues, and requires frequent deep cleaning, while finding reliable, licensed contractors in this smaller market often means longer wait times and higher costs for emergency repairs. Without professional property management handling these intricate logistics—from coordinating same-day maintenance responses to managing guest communications and ensuring seamless turnovers—even minor operational hiccups can result in negative reviews that devastate your property's ranking on booking platforms, ultimately transforming what should be passive income into a demanding second job that threatens both your sanity and your 5-star reputation in an increasingly competitive vacation rental market.
Attractions and Amenities
Greenwood, Florida's primary attractions center around the pristine Emerald Coast beaches including nearby Destin and Panama City Beach, the expansive Blackwater River State Forest offering world-class kayaking and hiking trails, the historic downtown Crestview district with its antique shops and local festivals, and the area's renowned deep-sea fishing charters departing from nearby Gulf ports. To effectively serve guests visiting these destinations, properties must provide beach equipment storage and outdoor shower facilities for sandy beachgoers, secure kayak and bicycle storage with gear-washing stations for river adventurers, early check-in/late check-out flexibility to accommodate fishing charter schedules that often depart before dawn, fish cleaning stations with freezer space for charter guests, high-speed Wi-Fi for guests researching local activities and sharing their outdoor experiences, and spacious outdoor areas with grills and seating where families can gather after long days exploring the natural attractions. Additionally, providing detailed local activity guides, beach wagon rentals, and partnerships with local outfitters for equipment rentals will position the property as the ideal base camp for guests seeking to fully experience Greenwood's outdoor recreation opportunities while ensuring maximum occupancy rates and premium pricing potential.

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