How to choose a minpaku management company in Tokyo — 2026 owner's checklist

“How should I pick a minpaku management company?”

I’ve been asked this more times than I can count. Google the question and you’ll find endless “Top 15 Airbnb management services!” listicles — almost all written by third-party marketers with no operating experience, collecting affiliate fees.

This post gives you the five criteria from the perspective of an operator running 15+ properties in Tokyo, registered with MLIT since 2018 (license F-00388). These are the things that will actually determine whether you make money, or whether you lose your license.

1. No registration number, no deal

Under Japan’s Private Lodging Business Act, any company managing a minpaku on behalf of the owner must be a registered Residential Lodging Manager (住宅宿泊管理業者) with MLIT.

This means they should publish their MLIT registration number (ours: “国土交通大臣（０１）第F-00388号”) prominently on their website.

Companies calling themselves “Airbnb management agents” without this license are at best legally grey, at worst illegal. If something goes wrong, you — the owner — can be penalized, not them.

Checking the registration number alone eliminates 30-50% of candidates.

2. Full management vs. partial management — which fits you?

Two main service shapes in the market:

• Full management: listing creation, guest comms, cleaning coordination, dynamic pricing, multi-OTA management, regulatory filings — all handled. Fees: 15-28% of revenue.
• Partial management: you outsource specific tasks (messaging only, cleaning only, etc.). Typically ¥20,000+/month.

Decision rule:

• Want to operate yourself but offload foreign-guest messaging → partial
• Treating it as passive investment → full

Warning: don’t compare “15% full” vs “20% partial” at face value. Calculate the all-in cost (monthly fee + cleaning + add-ons) — the numbers often flip.

3. Test the depth of their multilingual support

“English supported” on a website often means “we run Airbnb messages through Google Translate.” Not good enough.

Questions to ask:

• How many native speakers do you have, and in which languages?
• If a guest has a lockbox problem at 3 a.m., in what language and how fast can you respond?
• How do you translate a Japanese-language neighbor complaint and communicate it to the guest?

Our team is native Japanese / English / Vietnamese. Some larger competitors advertise 8-language support. The right mix depends on your location — Chinese and Korean matter more around Asakusa and Akihabara, for instance.

4. Ask about neighbor relations — specifically

The highest-risk area in minpaku operations isn’t cleaning or pricing — it’s neighbor complaints. Noise, garbage, smoking. Left unaddressed, these escalate to municipal warnings and, worst case, license suspension.

Probe:

• Can they cite 1-2 specific cases immediately?
• Do they have staff who can speak Japanese directly with the neighbor?
• Is there a written first-response workflow?

If yes, you’re dealing with a pro. If no, move on.

5. Numbers or nothing

The final and most important filter. Ignore words like “recommended,” “trusted,” “professional.” Demand numbers.

• How many properties under management? Where?
• Average occupancy? Average ADR?
• Superhost status? Review count?
• Have they filed every bi-monthly regulatory report on time?

Our own examples:

• 15+ properties managed, Airbnb Superhost 2024
• Flagship Kimiko Jujo House: ADR ¥22,850 average, NYE peak ¥49,800
• Continuously MLIT-registered since June 2018; 100% filing compliance

If they won’t give you numbers, it’s because the numbers are bad.

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Summary: the 5 criteria

1. ✅ Registration number publicly displayed
2. ✅ Clear full-vs-partial service model with all-in pricing
3. ✅ Depth of multilingual support demonstrated concretely
4. ✅ Neighbor-relations experience they can articulate
5. ✅ Numerical operating track record

Any company that passes all five is at least a viable candidate.

If BB sounds like a fit, send us your property details via Facebook Messenger. We’ll recommend the right plan for free. We respond in Japanese, English, or Vietnamese.