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For years, the conversation around short-term rentals has largely been told through the lens of demand.

We have become very good at measuring occupancy, average daily rates, visitor arrivals and tourism growth. Those indicators tell us where travellers are going and how markets are performing. They are important measures of demand.

What they rarely tell us is who is delivering that demand.

Across Asia, thousands of professional property management businesses are quietly operating behind the scenes. They employ teams, manage owner relationships, invest in technology, navigate complex regulatory environments and deliver hospitality every day. Many now manage portfolios that rival established accommodation businesses, yet much of this professional operating layer has remained largely invisible.

That disconnect became increasingly apparent to me over the past two years.

As STRA expanded its research, verification and engagement across the region, one theme emerged consistently from conversations with operators, founders and industry leaders. The industry had become highly visible through the properties it marketed, but far less understood through the businesses operating them.

That observation became the foundation for this benchmark.

The STRA Verified Report 2026 is not another report about tourism demand or accommodation supply. It is an attempt to better understand the businesses that sit between property owners and guests. The businesses making thousands of operational decisions every day that ultimately define the guest experience, protect owner assets and support the continued growth of professional short-term rentals across Asia.

What became equally clear throughout this work was that Asia cannot simply be understood through operating models developed elsewhere.

The region is extraordinarily diverse. Markets differ in their maturity, regulation, ownership structures, labour models, technology adoption and customer expectations. While there are lessons to be learned from more established markets, Asia is developing its own professional operating model, shaped by the realities of the region rather than imported assumptions.

This report does not claim to provide every answer, nor does it attempt to document every professional operator across Asia. Industries of this scale are constantly evolving. Instead, it establishes a benchmark that can be built upon year after year, allowing the industry to measure its own progress with increasing confidence and consistency.

My hope is that this report contributes to a broader understanding of the businesses that have long operated behind the booking. Better understanding leads to better decisions. Better decisions strengthen businesses. Stronger businesses contribute to a more trusted, more professional and more sustainable industry.

For everyone who shared their experience, challenged our assumptions and contributed their time throughout this process, thank you. Your willingness to engage openly has helped create something that I hope will continue serving the industry for many years to come.

Keith Cowarn
Founder
Short-Term Rentals Asia (STRA)

Professional property management has grown faster than its visibility. This chapter examines why independent verification matters and how recognised professional businesses can be distinguished from the millions of individual listings across Asia. 

What makes a property management business professional? We look beyond property count to the people, processes, systems and operating capability behind professionally managed accommodation. 

STRA’s research identifies 7,176 professional property managers and more than 126,000 professionally managed properties across 23 Asian markets, establishing a new baseline for understanding the businesses behind the booking. 

Asia is not one short-term rental market. From hospitality-led villa management to urban apartments and rapidly developing professional markets, this chapter examines how different operating models have developed across the region. 

The booking is only the visible outcome. This chapter looks at the commercial business behind it — owner relationships, portfolio growth, operating investment and the economic scale of professionally managed residential accommodation. 

Technology has moved beyond the PMS. With identifiable professional technology adoption reaching 71%, this chapter examines the connected systems increasingly supporting property management businesses across Asia. 

AI use and operational implementation are not the same thing. STRA examines where Artificial Intelligence is actually entering professional property management workflows and establishes a 2026 baseline for Operational AI Implementation. 

Technology can support a growing business, but people still run it. This chapter examines the management capability, specialist roles and leadership required as professional property management businesses become larger and more complex. 

Professional property management businesses across Asia operate under different commercial structures. This chapter examines how management models, owner relationships and local market conditions influence the way those businesses generate and retain value.