Advocacy Toolkits
Always-free templates, checklists, guides, downloads, and more to help you advocate for your short-term rental, start or grow an advocacy group, and protect your right to rent responsibly.
How to Do Everything
(OK MAYBE NOT EVERYTHING, BUT A LOT.)
The Ultimate Guide:
Building a Self-Sustainable Short-Term Rental Alliance
INSIDE:
- The Tools to Make Your Vision a Reality
- Recruiting Members, Building a Leadership Team, and Creating Partnerships
- Knowing Your Decision-Makers and How to Make Sure They Hear You
- Building Community & Keeping Members Engaged
The Event-in-a-Box Toolkit:
Hosting Great Short-Term Rental Alliance Events
INSIDE:
- Key considerations and foundational to-dos before the event train leaves the station
- Customizable timelines for in-person and virtual event planning
- Strategies for driving event attendance
- Downloadable checklists, templates and SOPs
The 501 (c) (6) How-To:
Becoming an Incorporated Nonprofit Trade Association
INSIDE:
- The fundamentals of what it means to be a 501(c)(6) organization
- Pre-filing preparations and things to consider
- 10 Steps to Become a 501(c)(6)
- Why file for 501(c)(6)
- How to maintain your 501(c)(6) status
Fundraising Strategies
How to Raise Money for Your Short-Term Rental Alliance
Make Your Voice Heard
Public Comment 101: Effective Written and Spoken Testimonies
Advocate Toolkits + Resources
FOR ADVOCATES:
⭐ Indicates premium resources available for free in the RR Network, our private community designed exclusively for hosts and advocates!
Navigating Governments
- Regulations 101: A primer on how short-term rental rules are made
- Public Records: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Sunshine Law Requests for Short-Term Rental Advocacy
- Glossary: Important Short-Term Rental, Government, and Legal Terms
- Conflicting Regulations: Navigating overlap in state, county, local, and neighborhood rules ⭐
Advocacy Guides
- Replay: Political Action, Lobbying, and Fundraising for Vacation Rental Property Managers
- Public Comment 101: Effective Written and Spoken Testimonies
- Data: Short-Term Rental Data for Advocacy and Where to Get It
- Media 101: Talking to Reporters about Short-Term Rentals
- How-to: 5 Tips for Getting Your Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed Published
- Storytelling: Using the Inverted Pyramid in Advocacy Messaging ⭐
FOR ALLIANCE AND ASSOCIATION LEADERS:
⭐ Indicates premium resources available for free in the RR Network, our private community designed exclusively for hosts and advocates!
Advocacy Essentials
- Popular: Top 10 short-term rental advocacy resources and how to use them
- Playbook: Public Records: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Sunshine Law Requests for Short-Term Rental Advocacy
- Playbook: Short-Term Rental Data for Advocacy and Where to Get It
- Playbook: Media 101: Talking to Reporters about Short-Term Rentals
- Playbook: 5 Tips for Getting Your Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed Published
- Storytelling: Using the Inverted Pyramid in Advocacy Messaging ⭐
Advocacy Strategy
Case Studies
- Case Studies: Affordable housing vs. STRs: What does the data say?
- The Power of Language: Vacation rental semantics and why they matter
- Case Study: How 1999’s NC Vacation Rental Act is a Model for Today’s Regulations
- Case Study: Effecting positive change in vacation rental ordinances in Fort Pierce, Florida
- Case Study: Defeating Colorado Senate Bill 33 STR Property Tax Bill
- Case Study: How Portland short-term rental hosts earned a seat on the city’s DMO board
Engagement + Marketing
FOR ALLIANCE AND ASSOCIATION LEADERS:
⭐ Indicates premium resources available for free in the RR Network, our private community designed exclusively for hosts and advocates!
Growing Your Organization
- Leader Seminar Recap: Building Irresistible Member Benefits ⭐
- Playbook: How to run a #GivingTuesday campaign for your short-term rental organization
- Leader Seminar Recap: Membership Sales
- Playbook: How to raise money for your short-term rental alliance
- Replay: Nonprofit 101: Level up to 501(c)(6) Status
Member Engagement
Strengthening Your Board
- Replay: Inspire & Ignite: Stoke Your Team’s Fire and Avoid Burnout
- Playbook: Board Strategy Meeting Guide ⭐
- Must-read: 6 must-read books for alliance leaders ⭐
- Playbook: Guide to a Successful Alliance Board
FEATURED
State of the STR Industry Report 2024
The latest data and trends on STR hosts and managers, tech, operations, regulations, and more – plus the take of more than 2,000 local policymakers on STRs in their communities.
Housing & Economic Impact Studies
National Reports
The Real Drivers of Housing Affordability: An assessment of the role of vacation rentals (2024)
Barron, Kung, & Proserpio: The Effect of Home-Sharing on House Prices and Rents: Evidence from Airbnb (2020)
The Drivers of Housing Affordability: An assessment of the role of short-term rentals (2019)
Local Reports & Case Studies
HR&A: Colorado Short Term Rental Impact Study (2022)
Western Mountain Resort Alliance: Economic and Workforce Housing Impacts of STRs (2024)
Summit Alliance Vacation Rental Managers: State of Vacation Rental Industry Report (2024)
Regulatory News
Florida lawmakers want to axe tourist development councils
In a move that could reshape Florida’s vibrant tourism industry, lawmakers have proposed dissolving the state’s local Tourist Development Councils by the end of 2025.
Revenue from the state Tourist Development Tax–a bed tax collected from guests staying in hotels, motels, and short-term rentals–currently funds local tourism marketing efforts through county Tourist Development Councils (TDCs).
Alaska considers offering Governor’s mansion as a short-term rental
A state lawmaker has proposed groundbreaking legislation that could make Alaska the first state to offer its Governor's mansion as a short-term rental when not in official use. "This bill would look at the governor's mansion as an asset that we try to fund and try to...
Houston adopts first-ever short-term rental regulations
Houston, America's fourth-largest city, has adopted its first short-term rental ordinance after months of deliberation, stakeholder feedback, and a slate of amendments. The new rules, which were unanimously passed by the Houston City Council on April 15, 2025, aim to...
Poconos HOA court case sets statewide precedent for vacation rental owners
In a far-reaching win for property rights, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently rejected an application for appeal from a homeowners association that had sought to restrict short-term rentals in a Poconos planned development in violation of its governing documents....
Judge strikes down Measure T in South Lake Tahoe
After a prolonged legal battle, an El Dorado County Superior Court judge on March 13, 2025, struck down Measure T, a voter-approved initiative to ban most short-term rentals in residential zones of South Lake Tahoe. Voters approved Measure T by a margin of just 58...
What New York State’s new STR registry means for hosts, platforms, and local governments
New York State's landmark short-term rental registry law allows counties to opt into a program to track and regulate vacation rentals and requires STR operators to remit sales tax on their bookings. Gov. Kathy Hochul approved S.885C/A.4130C on Dec. 21. Effective in...