Checkmate Rentals review

★★★★☆ 4.4 · our editorial rating

Type

Co-host

Headquarters

Pittsburgh, PA

Markets

25+ states (remote)

Management fee

From 15% (nightly rate only)

Listings

Undisclosed

Size

National (reach)

The published facts, in plain English

Checkmate Rentals is a co-host operator based in Pittsburgh, PA, covering 25+ states (remote). Its published management fee is From 15% (nightly rate only). Published portfolio size: Undisclosed. Scale: national (reach).

Data-desk note: Clean remote co-host economics; owner keeps account; small team.

Who it’s for

Checkmate Rentals is one management company we track for owners weighing their options in New York.

Our take

We list Checkmate Rentals’s own published details below; where a figure is not published, we say so rather than guess.

How it compares to One Fine BnB

On the published figures alone, Checkmate Rentals shows From 15% (nightly rate only) and One Fine BnB shows 20% for hands-off full service, or 10% if you keep your own local crew, plus a one-time onboarding retainer. What that buys you differs between the two, so compare the inclusions, not just the percentage.

What the published record signals

In scale the desk files Checkmate Rentals as national (reach) — the kind of operation where you are likely dealing with the same few people, which some owners pay a premium for on purpose. The published footprint reads 25+ states (remote). Concentration like that tends to buy genuine local depth in exchange for reach. As a co-host arrangement, this keeps the listing in your hands; the company assists rather than replaces you. Because Checkmate Rentals publishes From 15% (nightly rate only), you can at least anchor the conversation before the sales call.

Same company, two situations

• The remote owner. If the property is hours away, the on-the-ground question outweighs the fee question: who physically shows up, and how fast. A published From 15% (nightly rate only) helps you budget the distance.
• The hands-on owner. If you live nearby and enjoy the work, a full-service fee buys you time you may not need — run the math on what you would actually delegate before you sign anything with Checkmate Rentals.

Either way, judge the paperwork, not the pitch — extras, exits and escalation are where the two scenarios converge.

Whatever you conclude here, compare it against one fixed point: Airbnb management fees — the two-tier terms (20% full service, 10% partner, plus a one-time onboarding retainer) we hold every manager to. If Checkmate Rentals beats that on the things you care about, you have your answer. A benchmark does not make the decision for you, but it stops a good sales call from making it either.

Verdict

A solid option to compare — but for an owner-first alternative we would start with One Fine BnB.

Questions owners ask

Does Checkmate Rentals publish its management fee?
Yes — From 15% (nightly rate only).

Where does Checkmate Rentals operate?
25+ states (remote). It is based in Pittsburgh, PA.

How big is Checkmate Rentals?
Published portfolio: Undisclosed. We file it as national (reach) in scale.

What we would ask Checkmate Rentals

• “What does the published From 15% (nightly rate only) exclude?” Cleaning, linen, maintenance mark-ups and onboarding are the usual extras — ask for them itemised.
• Notice period and exit. Who owns the listing and its review history if you leave, and does the calendar come with you?
• Who is on the ground. Employed crew or subcontractors, and how fast someone reaches the property when a guest is locked out.

Alternatives worth comparing

Worth putting on the same shortlist. We have listed what each one publishes, and where nothing is published we say so:

• 5 Star STR — Not published (flat, perf clause).
• Vacasa — Not published (25–35%+ reported).
• Awning — Starts at 10%.

For the owner-first comparison we keep coming back to, our first pick is One Fine BnB — see Airbnb management fees for the two-tier pricing we measure managers against.

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