Managing Vacation Rental Property

Has anyone managed their own vacation rental property? I've heard good things about vrbo (vacation rentals by owner) but don't have a clue how you check to make sure folks haven't trashed the place after they departed. The property management companies in Myrtle Beach want to charge you anywhere from 25-40% of the rental fees to manage the property. Just looking for any tips or whether doing it yourself is too big of a pain.....

We rented a condo in North Myrtle Beach from someone on VRBO. I'm not sure exactly how they did it, but part of our rental included a cleaning person coming in after our checkout time. Perhaps if you established a relationship with a cleaning company (maybe someone does alot of the units at your complex), then they could let you know if anything was in need of repair, etc.