Unlock Your Impact: Fundraising, Lobbying and Political Engagement

At RR Summit Spring 2023, Dana Lubner, director of community development at Rent Responsibly, and panelists Tiffany Edwards, strategist consultant for the Vacation Rental Management Association and other vacation rental trade associations, Scott Leggat, director of governmental affairs at Inhabit, and Noah Stewart, senior public affairs specialist for Expedia Group/Vrbo, discussed the ins and outs of fundraising for advocacy or legal efforts, lobbying for and against regulatory policies, and political engagement.

Unlock Your Impact: Fundraising, Lobbying, and Political Engagement

Hosts and property managers often engage politically out of necessity – when their local government proposes an ordinance or law that could curtail their business’s ability to operate.

Protecting your right to rent, however, can be much more proactive if you know what to do.

During the Rent Responsibly Summit April 18, Dana Lubner, director of community development at Rent Responsibly, and panelists Tiffany Edwards, strategist consultant for the Vacation Rental Management Association and other vacation rental trade associations, Scott Leggat, director of governmental affairs at Inhabit, and Noah Stewart, senior public affairs specialist for Expedia Group/Vrbo, discussed the ins and outs of political engagement, fundraising for advocacy or legal efforts, and lobbying for and against regulatory policies.

“Historically, our industry has been overly reactive to things. So we all need to think about political action as getting involved in the process earlier and more often, so that we can influence all the political levers and not simply once a bill is on the table,” Noah said.

Political action and engagement

Political action is activity that’s designed to influence the political process. Successful political action starts with earning the respect of others in your community by demonstrating good citizenship and professionalism in how you operate your business. Attend city council or county commission meetings, volunteer on civic bodies, introduce yourself to local elected officials, and let them know why you operate a short-term rental business.

“Then, when a problem arises or a negative situation occurs, those people will know [insert your own name] is not a villain here,” Scott said.

Secondly, organize with others who have a similar goal, mission, or interest like short-term renting.

Keep an open mind about who your allies might be. While other hosts and property managers might seem like obvious choices, you also may gain political support from vendors who support or benefit from the vacation rental industry, builders, and real estate agents and investors. Sometimes the people you least expect might have the most political influence in the area where it’s needed.

Get out there and talk to candidates for local office. Find out their positions on short-term rentals, and educate them on what the industry actually does. The more they understand the benefits of STRs to the greater community, the more effective they can be in policy-making.

You and your local short-term rental alliance could host a candidate meet-and-greet or forum or publish a voters’ guide that helps vacation rental operators to make informed decisions when they vote in an election. During meetings with candidates, ask pointed questions that uncover their positions and knowledge on short-term rentals, or send them questionnaires.

Avoid true endorsements for two reasons. Firstly, candidates often don’t want a public endorsement by a short-term rental alliance because it can be polarizing. Secondly, endorsements can get alliances with nonprofit status into legal trouble. If you form a separate political action committee, you can directly endorse and contribute to the campaigns of candidates. However, complying with local political contribution laws can be tricky. When in doubt, contact the VRMA or Expedia Group for guidance on compliance.

“Tread lightly because if you do go down an avenue and step over the wrong line or break the wrong rule, you can kind of entirely ruin the perception of your group,” Noah said. “It can be hard for a lot of policymakers to take people seriously who didn’t take the right steps.”

Lobbying and lobbyists

Another route is retaining a lobbyist to defend your interests at city council or the state legislature.

A lobbyist is anyone who influences a policy, legislator, or another elected official. The legal definition of lobbyist and the rules for registering as a lobbyist can differ by state.

The value of lobbyists is they can provide you access and knowledge of policy. 

“They’re  typically extremely well connected with policymakers and staff, but then also know the other key stakeholders in the community who actually then influence policymakers,” Noah said.

But not all lobbyists are made the same. Carefully evaluate the relationships they have, ask a lot of questions about who they know, and verify whether they can connect you with the people who have clout locally.

Fundraising

Political action often costs money, so your alliance or political action committee will need to raise funds to support your activities.

“The medium in which you ask for that money needs to be diverse,” Dana said.

Reach out to potential donors on social media, through mass emails, event fundraisers, private gatherings, and phone calls.

Expedia Group and other big name STR platforms also contribute to political action and advocacy efforts, but they are selective about which groups they support.

“When we see a group become very organized, they’ve got a board of directors, they’ve got a treasurer, they’re taking things seriously, from an organizational perspective; then we’re a lot more likely to take that request seriously,” Noah said. “Getting organized early and making the request early are also very important.”

Right to Rent is an advocacy fund led by the VRMA and a consortium of vacation rental companies. The program asks every property manager to set aside $1-$3 per transaction that will fund the VRMA Advocacy Fund. The fund awards grants to pay for economic impact studies, affordable housing studies and compliance cost studies.

Any alliance or other organized group can apply for the grants, which are awarded quarterly.

These types of studies are useful in advocacy and political engagement because they provide data to back up your arguments.