Hometime looks after holiday rentals across Melbourne: CBD apartments, bayside houses, family homes in the inner north, and luxury homes. That includes listing, photography, pricing, guests, cleaning, linen, maintenance and your monthly report.
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Melbourne is Australia's most event-dense short-term rental market. The Australian Open, the Grand Prix, the AFL Grand Final and Melbourne Cup each create a sharp demand spike, so the earnings sit in a handful of windows, and the job is holding rates through them.
Those windows also fill early. Close to 29% of December bookings arrive more than 90 days out, and March follows the same shape thanks to the Grand Prix. April through June is a genuine low season, managed for occupancy rather than rate.
Victoria's rules are lighter than most owners expect. Four things to know.
Last reviewed August 2026. Rules change, so we check the current position for every property we onboard.
Victoria charges 7.5% on stays under 28 consecutive days, calculated on the total booking fee including cleaning and GST. Airbnb adds it to the guest's total, while some platforms deduct it from your payout (worth knowing when you set your rate). Book through a platform, and it registers and lodges for you. Take direct bookings, and you register with the State Revenue Office yourself.
We combine advanced market tools with live data to to capture demand beyond Airbnb’s Smart Pricing.
Victoria sets no limits to the number of nights a holiday rental can be rented.
Most Melbourne councils run no register of their own. The Mornington Peninsula is the exception.
A full-service manager takes the whole operation off your hands. Here's what Hometime offers:
The model is simple to describe. A named person who lives in your market runs your property day to day. Behind Hometime sits a national platform: a revenue team, listing specialists, and performance data from thousands of homes. Most managers offer one or the other.
A three-bedroom penthouse in Southbank and a studio in Carlton don't compete for the same guest, so we don't price or present them the same way. For luxury homes in the CBD and inner city:
• Property styling and professional photography showcase the property's best features
• Listing copy that sells the experience, not just the floor plan
• Rates are held firm through Grand Prix week, the Australian Open finals, Melbourne Cup and New Year's Eve, with minimum stays extended so each booking earns more
A one-off onboarding fee gets your property ready and live. From there, a percentage commission on booking revenue, so we earn when you earn.
• Included: listing management and multi-channel distribution, dynamic pricing, guest communication and vetting, cleaning and maintenance coordination, owner reporting and Owner Portal access.
• Charged separately: guest cleaning fees (paid by the guest, not you), consumables and linen replacement, and any property maintenance we organise with your approval.
It depends on your suburb, bedrooms, how the home presents and the season. Ask for a free earnings estimate based on your address.
In most cases, yes. Victoria charges 7.5% on the total booking fee for stays under 28 consecutive days. We factor it into your pricing.
Most Melbourne homes need no planning permit, and Victoria has no night cap. We check council and building rules during onboarding.
It can, if 75% of owners in your building vote to ban short stays. The ban can't apply if you live in the apartment yourself. This is worth checking before you list.
None in practice. They're the same service under different names, across Airbnb, Booking.com, Stayz and direct bookings.
More than 130, from the CBD and inner city to bayside, the eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula. Enquire and we'll confirm yours.
Yes, and you don't need to ask anyone. Block the dates yourself in your Owner Portal any time. It's worth planning peak dates early, since those weeks often carry more of your annual return.
It depends on how ready your home is. Some homes are close to guest-ready at signing and go live sooner. Others need work first, which can stretch the timeline out.
Before we list your place, we'll usually need:
• an inspection and onboarding walkthroughfurniture and amenities in place
• any maintenance or repairs sorted
• styling and professional photography
• local council or strata requirements checked
Your onboarding team will go through what's outstanding after the inspection and give you a realistic timeline for your property.
We screen guests and set house rules before anyone stays. If something does get damaged, your Local Host documents it and we handle the claim. We only bring you in if the damage is extensive.
Get your accurate earnings estimate to find out how much you could make.
