Frequently Asked Questions

20 Invaluable Vacation Rental Advocacy Tips from Industry Experts

We have created a 'how to' video playbook featuring the industry's leading advocacy experts. Featuring top advocacy leaders in North America, the video playbook is now freely and easily accessible to all: www.vacationrentaladvocacy.com.

We selected 20 of our favorite tips below. Of course, they are not "our" tips but the tips from other experts. If you enjoy any of the videos, the single best thing you can do is share the playbook with others on social media. We thank you for that!

*Denotes a participating sponsor of the event. We could not have done it without them.

Advocacy is one of those issues that we tend to overlook until it's too late. If your region is not currently dealing with an advocacy challenge, it will be soon. Now is the time to address this threat. And the playbook is a fantastic place to start.  

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Community Engagement and Activism

Give back through a neighbor summit to build community alliances and boost involvement legally.

Community Engagement and Activism
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Research and Data Analysis

Counter overtourism and housing concerns with data-driven whitepapers and economic impact studies.

Research and Data Analysis
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Marketing and Awareness

Rally support wearing bright shirts, with sandwich boards, exposing hotel execs, and following the money locally.

Marketing and Awareness
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Networking and Collaboration

Build confidential local alliances to strengthen the community.

Networking and Collaboration
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Legal and Regulatory

Pursue legal advice to ensure community actions are aboveboard.

Legal and Regulatory

Community Engagement and Activism

Get People to Show Up

Megan McCrea of Nashville Short Term Rental Association (NASTRA) explains how she gets local owners and managers to actually show-up to meetings and support the cause. 

Give Back to the Community

Jennifer Frankenstein of Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association (FVRMA) explains how proactively making the community better (not just taking away) gives us better positioning and more clout.

Organize A Good Neighbor Summit*

David Krauss of Rent Responsibly and NoiseAware explains the power of putting together a local event that unites other owners and managers in person. 

Create a Local Alliance*

Philip Minardi of Expedia Group shares how to create your local alliance through "LIFT" -- Leadership, Impacted Partners, Friends, Trust. (Philip also reveals the power of inviting a local council member to coffee in the "A Seat at the Table" section of the Vacation Rental Advocacy Playbook.)

Seek Legal Clarification*

Rob Stephens of Avalara MyLodgeTax helps us non-lawyers see the value of getting proper legal help.

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Research and Data Analysis

Present Fact-Based Studies

Eric Bay of The Alliance for Neighborhood Prosperity in New Orleans explains why theoretical arguments are nothing compared to data and statistic-driven studies.

Create Economic Impact Studies

Steve Milo of VTrips says that economic impact studies have the highest ROI on your time and money. Steve also emphasizes the importance of building "The Warchest" in the Follow the Money section of the Vacation Rental Advocacy Playbook.

Write a Policy Whitepaper

Greg Holcomb of VRMA explains how we can't just hope that legislators invent good policy, we need to present them with material to build on.

Approach "Overtourism" Argument with Data*

Flo Stitch of AirDNA addresses the common "Overtourism" claim and how to address it using data.

Address the Affordable Housing Argument

The Advocacy Playbook also includes "discussion questions" like this:

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Marketing and Awareness

Make Bright Green T-Shirts

Darik Eaton of Seattle Short Term Rental Alliance (SSTRA) and Seattle Oasis explains how his bright green t-shirts (as seen in the video) "unifies the room" and communicates your cause visually.

Build A Sandwich Board

Ben Edwards of Weatherby Consulting explains the power of a simple old-fashioned marketing tool.

Build A List Of Local Businesses

Cliff Johnson of Rented.com shares the importance of getting connected with businesses that appreciate and benefit from short term rentals. (Cliff also explains his big discovery on sharing ordinances in the "A Seat at the Table" section of the Vacation Rental Advocacy Playbook.)l.

Create A Decision Matrix

Matt Curtis of SmartCity Policy Group does advocacy for a living. He explains one of his favorite and most primordial tasks. 

Follow The Money*

Scott Shatford of AirDNA explains how following the money leads to the important decision makers (and how they are influenced). 

Expose Statements by Big Hotel Execs

Steve DelBianco of NetChoice shares how hotel executives openly admit (to their investors) that short term rentals are threats and how we can use this to our favor.

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Networking and Collaboration

Form A Confidential Member Group

Alexa Nota of Chapel Hill Short-Term Rental Alliance provides a simple virtual place to connect and communicate with your local stakeholders that is out of the public view. (Alexa also explains the best way to work with local journalists in the "How We Present Ourselves" section of the Vacation Rental Advocacy Playbook.)

Create A Local Alliance*

Philip Minardi of Expedia Group shares how to create your local alliance through "LIFT" -- Leadership, Impacted Partners, Friends, Trust. (Philip also reveals the power of inviting a local council member to coffee in the "A Seat at the Table" section of the Vacation Rental Advocacy Playbook.)

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Legal and Regulatory

Seek Legal Clarification*

Rob Stephens of Avalara MyLodgeTax helps us non-lawyers see the value of getting proper legal help.

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