Hosted Accommodation Operator
A Hosted Accommodation Operator manages short-term rental properties (holiday homes, apartments, or rooms) across platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or local tourism websites.
What this job is
A Hosted Accommodation Operator manages short-term rental properties (holiday homes, apartments, or rooms) across platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or local tourism websites. They handle guest communications, property maintenance coordination, cleaning schedules, and financial reconciliation whilst ensuring compliance with local council planning permits, council rating requirements, and state-based short-term rental legislation. The role involves maximising occupancy rates and guest satisfaction whilst managing operational costs.
Are employers advertising this role?
Rising, up 9.3% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
List and maintain property details, photos, and pricing across online booking platforms and tourism directories. Respond to guest enquiries and manage bookings via email, messaging apps, and booking platform systems. Coordinate cleaning schedules with contractors or cleaning staff between guest stays. Arrange key collection, handover, and check-in procedures for arriving guests. Process guest payments, reconcile income with booking platform statements, and update financial records. Manage security deposits, bond lodgement, and refund procedures in accordance with state legislation. Monitor guest reviews and ratings, respond to feedback, and implement improvements to service quality. Schedule and oversee routine maintenance, repairs, and inspections of property fixtures and fittings.
Who does this now
About 1,700 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2)
Registration or licensing may be required.
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
You're trapped between platform fees (Airbnb takes 15 to 20%) that crush your margins and strict local council rules that keep changing. Many councils now ban or heavily restrict short-term rentals, and you could lose permission overnight. Seasonal income swings wildly too: summer books solid, winter can be dead. High stress from difficult guests, damage claims, and constant 24/7 availability demands make burnout real.
Where the jobs are
City apartments and regional holiday homes are the main markets. Work is location-dependent: you need to live near or own the property, so remote work isn't an option.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 1419, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Active Listeningcore
- Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
- Assist at check-incore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Complaint Handlingcore
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
- Customer Needs Assessmentcore
- Customer servicecore
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
- Food hygiene rulescore
- Guarantee customer satisfactioncore
- Hotel operationscore
- Identify customer's needscore
- Invoicing and Accounts Receivablecore
- Multitaskingcore
- Oversee guest laundry servicecore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Record Managementcore
- Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
- Support local tourismcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
- Conflict Resolution
- Digital Literacy
- Email Management
- Feedback Collection and Actioning
- Forecast occupancy demand
- Greet guests
- Handle customer complaints
- Incident Reporting
- Maintain customer records
- Maintain customer service
- Manage budgets
- Manage hospitality revenue
- Manage the customer experience
- Measure customer feedback
- Monitor financial accounts
- MYOB Business Software
- Process booking
- Process reservations
- Risk Identification
- Rostering and Scheduling Support
- Supplier Communication
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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