Updated on March 24, 2021
Alone, we can do so little. Together we can do so much.
– Helen Keller
We have yet to meet someone who, as a kid, said they wanted to be a short-term rental owner, host or manager when they grew up. In some ways, this is our most common characteristic as a community: that we all ended up in the roles that we play by happenstance. Sometimes we came into the industry by necessity, sometimes we inherited a family home, sometimes we just thought it might be fun to try.
No matter how you got here, you’ve become a part of something bigger: a community of hosts and managers, an ecosystem of local businesses and jobs that rely on your property and the guests you welcome, and seismic global shifts in the way people live, work, travel, and use properties flexibly.
In the Winter 2021 issue of VRM Intel Magazine, we took a tour through early automotive history, a shockingly similar period of time to short-term rentals today. One of the most captivating parallels is the role of the Detroit Motor Club. In 1919, rapid automobile adoption in Detroit outpaced the city’s ability to keep up with them. To help solve the problem, the Mayor worked together with the Detroit Motor Club, a group of auto enthusiasts created to “fulfill the purpose of a gathering place for all motorists, primarily for the owners of cars, but including as well the retail and manufacturing departments of the trade… It is the intention of the organizers of the new club to make it one that does things.”
As we wrote in VRM Intel:
Perhaps one of the most critical “things” the club produced was their drivers’ “Code of Manners”. It reminded drivers that regulations protect them, too, and laid out basic rules of common courtesy and self-policing for drivers, ending with a poignant suggestion: “Don’t, therefore, be an obstacle in the path of the progress of automobile good driving.” This good faith statement shifted focus to preventing problematic drivers and not eliminating the automobile itself.
It was those who loved the automobile and wanted to protect its future that took ownership of the standards for responsible driving.
This pivotal moment brought us right back to the present: Rent Responsibly’s 2021 theme of #AdvocacyThroughCommunity.
We are not single drivers on an empty road. To protect our shared future in this interconnected world, we must take responsibility for it as a community. We must take ownership of the things we must improve and protect those around us near and far. We must think of our neighbors (including the ones who do not like STR activity); our contractors, employees and vendors; and our fellow owners, hosts, and managers as part of one ever-growing community, one that is independent but also interdependent.
So, this month we encourage you to find your community. Find a local alliance, connect with other hosts and managers, and set your own “Code of Manners,” even if it’s just for your property to start.
By working together, we can pave the road to a sustainable future for all.
See you on the road,
David Krauss & Alexa Nota
Co-Founders, Rent Responsibly
News You Can Use
PARALLEL LINES
The Rear-View Mirror Shows Us the Road Ahead
Today, we don’t question the need for a driver’s license. We don’t think twice about putting on our seatbelts, staying in our lanes, and stopping at stop signs. We expect our cars to come with turn signals and brake lights and rear-view mirrors. But it might surprise you to know the road to took to get here. There were no rules of the road for early cars and their skyrocketing popularity, which caused a ruckus in city streets, public vitriol, and knee-jerk government reactions. But thanks to forward-thinking auto enthusiasts, public education, technological solutions, and smart regulations, cars are now as American as apple pie.
Rent Responsibly took a trip down memory lane in the Winter 2021 issue of VRM Intel Magazine and discovered a priceless gift to short-term rentals in the lessons learned in auto history: a roadmap to a sustainable future.
BALANCING ACT
Security vs. guest experience: How to strike the right balance
From Autohost.ai: How do you reconcile security with guest experience? While the two don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand, they don’t have to be at war, either. It is possible to implement protective measures without deterring your guests. But to be successful, you need to strike the right balance—too much security and you scare away guests; not enough and you leave your properties vulnerable. With the right process in place, you can weave the two together.
IN THE HOT SEAT
2021 legislative sessions heating up quickly
Just a few weeks into the 2021 legislative session, short-term rental bills are coming in hot. In Florida, the vacation rental community is pushing forward House Bill 219 and its companion bill in the senate, which would shore up the state’s existing preemption law. In Arizona, dueling bills in the House and Senate seek to repeal or modify its current preemption law, respectively (AZ hosts: join Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Recovery!) And in cities across the country, short-term rentals are popping up on council agendas.
If your community hasn’t considered short-term rental regulations yet, it’s a matter of when, not if. Two five-minute things you can do start getting prepared today:
- Set alerts: Sign up for updates from your city government’s website for meeting alerts and agendas, and set up Google Alerts for “short-term rentals + [your city]” and “Airbnb + [your city].”
- Find or start a short-term rental group: Search Rent Responsibly’s directory, Facebook groups, or MeetUp.com for a local short-term rental alliance in your area. If there aren’t any, consider starting one!
