Updated on September 20, 2021
The Business of Belonging
That’s the title of the book team Rent Responsibly read leading up to our first true company retreat, photographed above, which we held in Charleston, SC just after the DARM conference.
Written by David Spinks, The Business of Belonging explores what it means to build a great community, how to do it, and how doing so contributes meaningfully to a brand’s success and scale. Its lessons apply to communities within our industry in any number of layers – members of a local STR alliance; guests of a destination, management company, or specific property; residents of a city or town; STR hosts and managers; hospitality providers.
No matter what community means to you, we highly recommend The Business of Belonging or at least this tweet thread by Spinks. Some of our favorite takeaways:
1. Communication counts.
“A good community is like a song. It has a steady beat of conversations that keeps people engaged over time. And, once in a while, a huge crescendo event that gets the entire community energized.”
David Spinks
We work primarily with local STR alliances, and the most veteran of them know this well. The crescendo is often the threat of a harmful regulatory change, but that’s not the entire song. The rest of the melody must be filled with regular updates, meetups, education and community engagement to keep members listening all year long.
For hosts and property managers, the same applies to your guests. Keep them tuned in between stays with a steady beat of help-don’t-sell communication.
▶️ GET INSPIRED: Watch the replay of our recent Leader Seminar, Inspire & Ignite: Stoke Your Team’s Fire and Avoid Burnout
2. Solve a pain point.
“The strongest communities are built around a pain or struggle that people feel shame around.”
David Spinks
This one hits us right in the feels. So often, people join the Rent Responsibly community because they can’t find an answer to a question elsewhere or don’t know what they don’t know – after all, there is no degree for short-term rental hosting (yet!) We can relate at the deepest level. That’s why so much of our community is built around education and answering the questions we had when we first started our alliances or hosted our first guests. Knowledge is power – and a pain reliever.
🌠 THE MORE YOU KNOW: Browse our entire Resource Library for event replays and takeaways, guides, checklists, case studies, and so much more.
3. Communities are built on trust.
Spinks’ tips on how to earn it:
- Help them with no expectation of return
- Give them a space to vent without judgment
- Go deep, not shallow
- Make high-quality introductions
- Always be kind
- Admit your mistakes
✅ TRUST IN ACTION: See how Debi and Rob Hertert of Host2Host earned Portland’s trust and a seat on the board of Travel Portland
New in Our Community
Please join us in welcoming Jenna Fuhrman to Team Rent Responsibly!
As our new Marketing Manager, Jenna focuses on growing our digital community and generating brand excitement. In the four years prior to joining Rent Responsibly, Jenna worked marketing for TravelNet Solutions.
Outside of work, Jenna enjoys anything involving the outdoors from weekends camping with her friend, to going to sporting events, to reading a book on her porch. You’ll always find her dog, Phoebe, by her side. You can also find Jenna enjoying the simple things in life like crafting, baking, or DIY projects in her free time.
Happy September!
Alexa Nota, Co-Founder Rent Responsibly
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