Businesses Assist Home Owners in Managing Their Dreams
The Airbnb database shows around 200 rental properties on Roatan, but the majority of island homeowners who want to rent out their properties rely on intermediaries. These are medium- and small-sized, island-based home management companies that usually trace their beginnings to the early 2000s, in the early days of the internet and before online credit card processing. While some homeowners try to rent out their Roatan homes independently, doing so remotely and profitably with just one property is not easy.
The oldest property management company —Roatan Property Management (RPM)— belongs to Stella and Fran Marazzito. Stella and Fran launched their property management business in 2001 after a realtor mentioned the need for such a service at Hole in the Wall, a then-popular East End restaurant. The couple started with just a few homes in Gibson Bight. “Through word of mouth, the business grew from there,” says Fran.
After 24 years, the Sandy Bay-based RPM has a staff of seven full-time employees and manages 52 properties. “With more people buying second homes in the last few years, the property rental sector will likely continue to grow,” says Fran.
Home management companies trace their beginnings to the early 2000s.
Roatan is part of a worldwide phenomenon in which property rentals for tourists have grown at a higher rate than hotel rooms. A growing segment of travelers prefers renting a property that is bigger than a hotel room, offers a kitchen and provides a level of autonomy that a hotel stay typically cannot. “They have ‘live-like-a-local’ type of freedom,” said Mike Carter of Roatan Life Vacation Rentals (RLVR).
RLVR traces its roots to 2006, when Steve Hasz, Mike Carter, Gene DeMarco and Mark Harvey bought Roatan Life Real Estate from Phil Weir, a Realtor and longtime island resident.
Already in 2006 Carter felt that the island needed a property management rental company that offered the convenience of accepting credit cards. “It was a pain to rent homes. It was the early days, and you had to wire the money to rent the house,” Carter said. “We brought in a lot of technology and different types of banking and credit card options.”
There was an obvious niche in a growing market, and RLVR took off. “We started with zero and got one property at a time — Coral Vista and Half Moon Bay in West End, Turrets and West Bay, and the West Bay Mall condos,” Carter said.
In 2026, RLVR will celebrate 20 years of operating out of its base in Lawson Rock. The company is currently owned by Mike Carter and Steve Hasz, another longtime island resident and real estate broker. RLVR employs 27 people and manages about 100 properties. The company has the largest pool of homes and condominiums under management on the island.
About 70 of these 100 properties are available for rent year-round. Some are owned by individuals; others are part of homeowners associations. Some properties are managed for owners who don’t want to rent them out but appreciate the convenience of having them maintained and ready when they decide to visit.
Potential profitability of a rental house depends on its location and amenities.
The company focuses its rentals on the west side of the island, from CocoView in the east to West Bay in the west. RLVR properties are available for booking via the company’s website, but to stay competitive and accessible to potential clients, nearly all the properties are also listed on other hosting platforms, including Airbnb, Vrbo and Expedia.
According to Carter, the potential profitability of a rental house depends on its location and amenities. “If you don’t owe anything on the house —mortgage or loan— typically they break even or do a little bit better,” Carter said. “You have to be as good as, or better than, your neighbors at a similar price. If it’s not in a desirable location, it doesn’t compete well.”
The early starters in the island’s property rental sector continue to grow and evolve. According to Carter, all of the Roatan house management companies help each other. Most of them focus on different parts of the island, so the competitive spirit is centered on promoting Roatan as a destination, not on fighting over potential clients.
Another company with a long track record is Island House Vacation Rentals in West Bay. The company traces its origin to an Italian couple who lived on Roatan and rented houses out of Las Cúpulas in West Bay.
In 2005, Ruth Elmore bought it with a partner. “We were both working in the diving industry in West End and looking for something a little more sustainable,” says Ruth, who renamed the business Island House. Roatan in the mid-2000s was a much quieter place than it is today. “When we started, it was in a small studio office underneath one of our vacation rentals in West Bay Village,” says Elmore, who started with just four properties in West Bay Village and three in Turtle Crossing.
In 2007, Brad Volk joined Ruth as a partner, and Island House Vacation Rentals (IHVR) was born. Today, IHVR manages 45 properties, has a staff of six, and contracts 25 part-time housekeepers, gardeners and repair workers.
Home rental prices have been climbing at 3% to 5% a year, slightly ahead of inflation. Part of the expense —and a challenge— of owning a Roatan property is the upkeep. Owners have to deal with termites, bee infestations, hurricane warnings and relentless, corrosive salt. It’s definitely not for everyone and is more expensive than most people expect.
The high electricity costs make renting a house on Roatan pricey compared to its regional competitors. While Mexico or the Dominican Republic might still have cheaper rental properties than Roatan, the island offers better value than Belize or the Cayman Islands.
