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UK: ShortTermRentalz spoke with Andrew Fenner as he shares his final commentary as STAA chief executive. Fenner sets out why the industry must move beyond defensiveness and become a more confident, collective voice for tourism.
“The UK short-term rental sector is more professional, more influential and more important to the visitor economy than ever before. But with that progress comes responsibility. The sector now needs to speak with confidence, work together more effectively and act as an ambassador for the communities, jobs and local businesses it supports.
Short-term rentals are no longer on the margins of tourism policy. They are at the top table. They are part of the mainstream visitor economy and, increasingly, they are recognised as a serious, established and valuable part of the UK accommodation mix.
I write this as I prepare to leave my role as CEO of the STAA after more than three years at the helm and more than 25 years in tourism. My strongest conclusion is a simple one: none of this progress happened by accident. It happened because people across the sector put in the hard work, and because the STAA focused on substance, not noise.
A great deal of the association’s work has taken place behind the scenes. It has not been about chasing headlines, but about doing the detailed, patient work that changes the landscape in practical ways — engaging with governments, influencing policy, improving understanding and ensuring the sector is properly represented where it matters.
That has been particularly true in Scotland, where sustained and serious engagement has helped deliver real, positive change. It has not always been visible work, but it has been exactly the kind of work a professional trade association should be doing: showing up, staying engaged and getting the job done without alienating policymakers.
Just as important has been the effort to shift the narrative around short-term rental tourism.
For too long, debate around the sector has been dominated by negative assumptions and framed too narrowly around housing pressure and tensions with communities. Those issues must be taken seriously, but they are only one part of a much bigger picture. For too long, the sector’s positive contribution has not been heard nearly loudly enough.
Short-term rental tourism supports jobs and businesses in rural and coastal communities that depend on visitor spending. It brings income to places that need it. It helps sustain high streets, services and local employment. In many areas, it helps keep rural pubs, cafés and small independent businesses viable. These are not incidental benefits — they are central to the role tourism plays in local economies.
The same is true in towns and cities. Short-term rentals give visitors greater choice and flexibility, but they also help spread visitors more widely across destinations. That matters. Better distribution of visitors can reduce pressure on the most congested tourism hotspots while ensuring the economic benefits of travel are felt more broadly. That is good for visitors, good for destinations and good for communities.
This is the story the sector now needs to tell more confidently and consistently.
The STAA has worked hard to help get short-term rental tourism to the top table and ensure it is treated not as an afterthought, but as a serious and professional part of the UK tourism offer. I am proud that this work has also been recognised internationally. While at the STAA, I founded the Global Association Network to bring associations together, share best practice and help unify our industry.
Through that network, I have had the privilege of speaking at conferences across the world. I have represented the sector in places as varied as Cape Town, Riyadh, Bangkok and Barcelona, with the STAA increasingly used as an example of how a trade association in this sector can — and should — operate: professional, credible, constructive and focused on outcomes.
I am also proud that the work done at the STAA has been recognised more widely, including my being awarded Trade Association Leader of the Year for 2026 by the Trade Association Forum. I see that not simply as a personal honour, but as recognition of the progress the STAA has made and the growing standing of the short-term rental sector itself.
That reputation has been built by many people. It reflects the fantastic work of our professional policy team, whose expertise and persistence have been central to the STAA’s success. It reflects the support and leadership of our board. And it reflects the growing maturity of a sector that is increasingly ready to organise, engage and lead.
I am pleased to be leaving the organisation in a strong position. A new Chief Executive has already been chosen and I am excited that we will be announcing who that is very soon. The STAA conference, the Short Stay Summit, has also gone from strength to strength, more than doubling in visitor numbers over my three years. Thanks to our sponsors and the support of sector partners such as ShortTermRentalz News , it has become a key date in the calendar for short-term rental leaders.
All of that means the STAA is not simply continuing — it is growing and moving into its next phase with momentum, credibility and confidence.
But the future success of the sector will depend on more than one organisation. It will depend on whether the wider industry is prepared to act collectively.
So my final call to action is straightforward.
Work together across the sector. Speak positively and confidently about the benefits short-term rental tourism brings. Be proud of the role you play. Be ambassadors for the industry in your communities and explain clearly how your business supports local areas, local jobs and local services.
And for associations, the message is equally clear: cooperate, do not compete. There is too much still to do for fragmentation or rivalry. If organisations across the sector pull in the same direction, we will be far more effective in raising standards, shaping policy and improving public understanding.
The short-term rental sector has earned its place. It has become more professional, more respected and more influential. Now it must use that position wisely — by working together, telling its story better and making the positive case for the communities, jobs and destinations it supports.
That is how the sector moves forward. And that is the opportunity now in front of it.”
