Short Term Rental Management in Big Sky, Montana

We are a Bozeman based short term rental management company, about an hour up Gallatin Canyon from Big Sky, and we take on Big Sky properties.

Big Sky is not a city, and that changes everything

Big Sky is unincorporated and straddles the Gallatin and Madison county line. There is no Big Sky city government and no Big Sky short term rental ordinance. What governs your property depends on which side of the county line it sits on, and most owners have never been told that.

On the Gallatin County side, short term rentals are a permitted use in the Gallatin Canyon and Big Sky zoning district, meaning no conditional use permit and no public hearing. That is the most permissive treatment of short term rentals anywhere in Gallatin County. In most other county zoning districts a conditional use permit is required, and the county's own rule is blunt: if short term rentals are not mentioned in a district's regulation, they are not permitted in that district at all.

On the Madison County side, which includes Moonlight Basin, the Yellowstone Club, Big Sky Resort and part of Spanish Peaks, Madison County has not adopted countywide zoning. Nothing in county land use rules restricts a short term rental there today. Worth knowing that the county's 2025 growth policy lists evaluating the impact of short term rentals on housing as an action item with a 2026 target, so treat the current absence of rules as the present state rather than a permanent one.

Which means in Big Sky the binding constraint is usually not government at all. It is your subdivision's recorded covenants and your HOA rules, and those vary property by property. Get the recorded declaration for your specific subdivision before you assume anything, because that is the document that will actually decide whether you can rent.

The resort tax, and the registration most owners miss

Big Sky sits inside the Big Sky Resort Area District, which levies a 4 percent resort tax on lodging for stays of 30 days or less. That is on top of the 8 percent state lodging tax, so your guest pays 12 percent rather than 8.

Here is the part owners get wrong. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the resort tax for bookings made through them, so it feels like it is handled. It is not fully handled. Every short term rental owner still has to complete an annual business registration with the resort district regardless of which platform they use, and you still collect and remit yourself on direct bookings. The taxable base includes cleaning fees and other charges written into the rental agreement, not just the nightly rate.

What the state requires everywhere in Montana

Every Montana short term rental owes a 4 percent lodging facility use tax plus a 4 percent lodging facility sales tax, 8 percent combined, filed quarterly. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit for bookings made through them. You remain responsible for anything booked directly.

You also need a Montana public accommodation license for what the state calls a tourist home. It is issued by the Department of Public Health and Human Services and applied for through the county health department, which handles plan review and the pre opening inspection. Note the threshold: the state health license uses less than 28 days, while most zoning definitions use 30.

Separately, Montana's 2025 property tax reform created a reduced rate for primary residences and long term rentals. A long term rental has to be rented in blocks of 28 days or more for seven months or more a year. A short term rental cannot meet that test and qualifies for neither reduced rate. On Big Sky valuations that difference is not small.

Being straight with you about geography

We are based in Bozeman, not Big Sky. That is roughly 45 miles and about an hour each way through Gallatin Canyon, and in winter that canyon is a real drive. We currently manage properties in Bozeman and Belgrade, and we are taking on Big Sky owners.

If what you want is a manager whose cleaners live in Meadow Village and can be at your door in ten minutes, that is a reasonable thing to want, and we will tell you so rather than talk you out of it. What we will do is tell you plainly, before you sign anything, how your property would be staffed and how quickly someone reaches it. You should ask every manager you talk to that question and compare the answers.

What we handle

Dynamic nightly pricing, listings on Airbnb and Vrbo, guest communication around the clock, professional turnovers, maintenance and vendor coordination, resort district and state registration, and a monthly statement showing every reservation and your net. We charge a percentage of the nightly rate. Cleaning is charged to the guest. Consumables are billed at cost with no markup. Owners are paid by the 10th of every month.

There is no long term commitment. The agreement runs month to month rather than on a fixed one or two year term, and either side can end it with 90 days written notice. That window exists so guests who already hold a reservation are not disrupted, and so your listings, calendar and reviews hand back in good order.

Talk to us

Call or text (406) 570-1155 or email Info@BozemanBnB.com. BozemanBnB, 2078 Stadium Dr Suite 102, Bozeman, MT 59715.

Regulations on this page were verified against Gallatin County, Madison County, the Big Sky Resort Area District and the Montana Department of Revenue on September 3, 2026. The Gallatin Canyon and Big Sky zoning regulation was reissued in November 2025 and the resort district ordinance in December 2025, so confirm current requirements before you rely on this.