Inaugural regulations conference to be held in Texas

US: Smart City Policy Group will host its inaugural short-term rental regulations conference – Smart City Policy Summit – on 16 August, in Austin, Texas.

The conference will feature attendees from all sides of the short-term rental (STR) industry, including city regulators, the travel industry and vacation rental managers.

Smart City Policy Group CEO Matt Curtis said: “This has been a budget-crushing concern for cities around the world. No city has achieved a reasonable level of compliance.

“Neighbours are screaming, travel leaders want obligated taxes, and rental operators are trying to understand confusing rules. We will bring all sides together to understand the evolving industry, traveller trends and solutions for compliance,” he added.

In the past decade, more than one thousand cities in the United States have discussed and implemented regulations for short-term rentals, like those listed through Airbnb. The concerns expressed vary from city to city but the core complaints focus on tax remittance, housing and zoning impacts and noise from parties.

Led by Curtis, the summit will feature speakers who have worked on short-term rental rulemaking such as city government leaders, travel industry professionals and vacation rental managers. Attendees will get the opportunity to learn about solutions for tax compliance, nuisance controls, quality of life and safety solutions.

Summit speaker and travel industry consultant, Daniel Dozier, said: “The summit will be the first and best opportunity for all sides to get together and learn from one another. There are travel, city and short-term rental professionals who will work together to find real solutions to this problem.”

Curtis founded Smart City Policy Group and has built up a lot of experience in the space throughout his career. He was formerly a right-hand man to several Austin mayors and more recently, the head of global affairs and public policy for HomeAway and Expedia.

Prior to the U.S. Travel Association’s educational seminar for tourism organisations, the summit will be held in the Austin Central Library, which was named by Time Magazine as one of the “World’s 100 Greatest Places” in 2018.

For more information on how to register for the summit, visit the website here.