Management
Kyoto Minpaku & Airbnb Management
We run more than twenty guesthouses in Kyoto City, every day, with our own team. As a housing accommodation management operator registered with MLIT (No. F03122), we take on everything from OTA listings and guest response to cleaning and neighbor relations — including for owners who live overseas. Kyoto City only.
20+
properties under management in Kyoto City
850+ · 4.97
guest reviews · average rating
100%
owner retention since founding in 2019
(01) No. F03122
MLIT housing accommodation management registration
Figures as of July 2026.
Why running a minpaku in Kyoto is different
The national Minpaku Law caps operation at 180 days a year everywhere in Japan, but Kyoto City layers its own restrictions on top. The best known is the operating window in residential-only zones: mid-January to mid-March, roughly sixty days. One zoning line on a map decides whether a property can run year-round or not. Buyers who choose the house first and check the rules second tend to find this out too late. In Kyoto, the zoning check comes before the purchase, not after.
The second thing that carries real weight here is physical response. Operators are expected to reach the property quickly when a complaint or emergency comes in — the working benchmark used in practice is about ten minutes. It is an industry guideline rather than a line in the ordinance, but it is a standard that remote operators struggle to meet. A noise complaint at midnight, a guest locked out, a boiler that stops in February: someone has to actually go. Our office is in Arashiyama and we operate only inside Kyoto City, so that someone is on our own payroll.
The rules are still moving. Kyoto City is discussing further tightening — stricter limits on operating days and locations, stop orders and fines for unregistered operation, more unannounced inspections. All of it is at the proposal stage and the final shape rests with the city, but nothing in the discussion points toward loosening. This is why the license design — a Minpaku Law notification, or a Hotel Business Act (kani-shukusho) license with no 180-day cap but higher fire and structural requirements — is worth settling before you commit to a property.
What full management covers
We take on full management only — we do not split off individual tasks. When marketing, on-site response and neighbor relations sit with different companies, accountability blurs and the owner ends up as the coordinator. And under the Minpaku Law, an owner who does not live on site is required to entrust management to a registered operator. As that registered operator, we take responsibility for the following as one package.
OTA operation
We build and run the listings on Airbnb, Booking.com and the other platforms — photos, descriptions, calendars and reservations — and adjust rates continuously to Kyoto’s seasons.
Guest response in three languages
From pre-booking questions to mid-stay issues and post-checkout reviews, we respond in English, Japanese and Chinese, around the clock.
Cleaning and linen
We arrange cleaning and linen changes for every checkout and inspect the result against our own standard. These are billed per visit, outside the management fee — see the pricing page for the full model.
Neighbor relations
Whether a Kyoto guesthouse survives long-term is decided largely by its neighbors. We handle the advance briefings, the garbage and noise prevention, the response when a complaint comes in, and the follow-up afterwards.
Administrative coordination
We support the statutory reporting cycle, coordinate with the health center and fire department alongside licensed administrative specialists, and brief you whenever a regulatory change affects your property.
Fees
Our fee is performance-based: 22% of accommodation revenue on each booking, with no fixed monthly charge. In a month with no bookings there is no management fee. Cleaning, linen and consumables are billed per visit, separately, at a rate fixed before you sign. The 22% carries the OTA operation, three-language guest response, on-the-ground callout coverage, and the compliance and neighbor-relations judgment that Kyoto demands.
The market rate for management in Kyoto now sits above 20%, and the old 10%-range tier has largely disappeared. Comparing headline rates alone tells you little — what matters is what the rate includes, what the per-use items cost, and what the monthly total comes to at a realistic occupancy. We put that full breakdown in writing at the quoting stage.
How onboarding works
1 — Consultation
Tell us where the property is and what shape it is in. The consultation itself costs nothing.
2 — Site check
We confirm the zoning and the building’s condition on site, and give you our read on which license path is realistic.
3 — Contract
You review the management agreement and the full fee breakdown in writing.
4 — Listing preparation
Photography, listing build, rate setting and the cleaning setup.
5 — Go live
Bookings open, and from then on you receive occupancy and full accounts monthly. Timelines depend on licensing: already-licensed properties start at listing preparation.
Company and credentials
Any management company’s registration can be checked against MLIT’s public register of housing accommodation management operators. Ours is below. We also hold a real estate brokerage license, so buying, running and eventually selling a property can all be handled at one desk.
Company
081株式会社 (081 K.K. / The081)
Representative Director
李軍言 (Icy)
Founded
2019
Minpaku management registration
MLIT (01) No. F03122 — registered January 18, 2024, valid to January 18, 2029
Real estate brokerage license
Kyoto Governor (1) No. 15131 — valid to April 23, 2031
Corporate number
1130001062133
Office
43-3-103 Arashiyama Uchidacho, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 616-0027
Languages
English · Japanese · Chinese
Frequently asked questions
How much does minpaku management cost in Kyoto?
The going rate in Kyoto is now a little over 20% of booking revenue. We charge 22%, with no monthly fee, and cleaning and linen billed per visit. Because scope and per-use rates differ between companies, compare monthly totals at a realistic occupancy rather than headline percentages.
Can I still start a minpaku in Kyoto?
It depends on the zoning and the building. In residential-only zones the Minpaku Law window is limited to mid-January through mid-March, so year-round operation means either choosing the location differently or pursuing a kani-shukusho license. The city is also discussing tighter rules, still at the proposal stage. Licensing decisions ultimately rest with the authorities — talk to us before you commit to a property, not after.
What is the 180-day rule, and is Kyoto stricter?
Nationally, a Minpaku Law property may operate at most 180 days per year. Kyoto adds its own layer: in residential-only zones the window is roughly sixty days in winter. The alternative without a day cap is a kani-shukusho license under the Hotel Business Act, which permits year-round operation but carries higher fire-safety and structural requirements.
I live overseas. Can you run the property without me?
Yes — that is most of our client base. The law requires an absent owner to entrust management to a registered operator, and we are one (MLIT (01) No. F03122). You get monthly occupancy and accounts in English, Japanese or Chinese, and everything on the ground is handled by our Kyoto team.
Can I switch from my current management company?
Yes. We check your current contract’s notice period, then sequence the handover: existing bookings, OTA accounts and listings, keys and inventory, and the registration amendments. The transition is dated so guest response never drops. Since founding, no owner has left us for another operator.
Start with the property, not the contract
Whether you already own in Kyoto or are still deciding what to buy, send us the location and current condition. In the first consultation we will give you a concrete read: the zoning, the realistic license path, and the full fee breakdown. The consultation costs nothing.