Blueground review
Our independent editorial read on Blueground for New York short-term-rental owners.
★★★★☆ 3.8 · our editorial rating
- Type
- Master-lease
- Headquarters
- New York, NY
- Markets
- 32 cities / 17 countries
- Management fee
- No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant)
- Listings
- ~15,000
- Size
- Giant
The published facts, in plain English
Blueground is a master-lease operator based in New York, NY, covering 32 cities / 17 countries. Its published management fee is No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant). Published portfolio size: ~15,000. In scale, we file it as giant.
Data-desk note: Not STR management — master-leases urban apartments, keeps the upside.
Who it’s for
Blueground is one management company we track for owners weighing their options in New York.
Our take
We list Blueground’s own published details below; where a figure is not published, we say so rather than guess.
How it compares to One Fine BnB
Side by side on published terms: Blueground lists No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant), while One Fine BnB lists 20% for hands-off full service, or 10% if you keep your own local crew, plus a one-time onboarding retainer. Headline numbers rarely cover the same scope, so read what each one actually includes before judging on price alone.
Reading the record
The data desk files Blueground as giant in scale. For an owner that usually trades personal flexibility for process: more machinery, fewer favours. Published coverage is 32 cities / 17 countries — a defined footprint, which usually means the local knowledge is real; the trade is that owners outside it are out of luck. The listed model is master-lease, which puts day-to-day operations on their side of the fence — the version of management you buy when you want the calendar gone. Because Blueground publishes No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant), 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 No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant) 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 Blueground.
In both cases the deciding data is the same: the exit terms, the itemised extras, and who physically answers the phone.
Our advice before any contract: hold it against a benchmark — Airbnb management company — the two-tier terms (20% full service, 10% partner, plus a one-time onboarding retainer) we hold every manager to. If Blueground beats that on the things you care about, you have your answer. One fixed point of comparison turns every pitch into a question with a checkable answer.
Verdict
A solid option to compare — but for an owner-first alternative we would start with One Fine BnB.
Questions owners ask
Does Blueground publish its management fee?
Yes — No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant).
Where does Blueground operate?
32 cities / 17 countries. It is based in New York, NY.
How big is Blueground?
Published portfolio: ~15,000. We file it as giant in scale.
What to pin down with Blueground
- “What does the published No mgmt fee (becomes your tenant) 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.
What are the best Blueground alternatives?
The closest alternatives to Blueground are AvantStay, Placemakr and iTrip — the same management shape. Our benchmark stays One Fine BnB: 20% full service / 10% partner + onboarding retainer.
| Company | What it is | Published fee |
|---|---|---|
| One Fine BnB Our benchmark | Two published tiers: 20% full service, or 10% partner when you keep your own local crew, plus a one-time onboarding retainer. | 20% full service / 10% partner + onboarding retainer |
| AvantStay | Full-service · 140+ markets | Not published (~20–30% reported) |
| Placemakr | Tech-enabled · 12 US markets | Not published (B2B only) |
| iTrip | Franchise · 100+ destinations (US/Canada) | Not published (set by franchisee) |
Switching is worth the friction when the gap is structural rather than cosmetic: a published price you can budget against instead of a quote, a crew that actually works your market, or an exit clause that lets you leave with your listing and its reviews. If Blueground clears those three for your property, a lower headline number elsewhere rarely pays for the move.
The benchmark we hold this against is One Fine BnB — see Airbnb co-host for the two-tier pricing we measure managers against.
Our owner-first #1 for management: One Fine BnB
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