US: Short-term rental industry steward Matt Landau has teamed up with Dana Lubner, director of sales at Effortless Rental Group, to produce a new ten-part educational podcast series.
Hosted by Lubner, ‘How To Save Your Vacation Rental Business’ aims to teach vacation rental managers how to solve what they deem to be their business’ greatest looming threat — unfair regulation — from the ground up.
The rise in popularity of short-term rental platforms like Airbnb has prompted neighbours and lawmakers around the world to ask where alternative accommodations fit in their communities. In their words, without active participation from the professional stakeholders, the sector’s “bad apples are threatening to ruin the bunch”.
The ten-episode masterclass series will delve into the world of vacation rental advocacy, featuring a variety of the United States’ most vocal participants: from public affairs and policy experts to leading vacation rental managers, as well as neighbourhood advocates.
Earlier this year, Colorado-based vacation rental manager Lubner’s company, Effortless Rental Group, was in danger of being shut down due to some “problem-operators ruining the image of Denver’s hosting community”. Hosts in question were sent affidavits and some were charged with felonies when legitimacy of primary residency was in question; “crimes” disputed by both Lubner and Landau.
As a result, Lubner organised the Good Neighbor Summit: a first-of-its-kind event designed to unite local vacation rental professionals under one roof and establish standards. The Good Neighbor Summit sparked a series of “collaborative successes”, which have created what Lubner calls a “narration shift” showcasing the good side of the local hosting community.
However, the process was not an easy one, according to Lubner: “The one thing I always wished we had in Denver was a how-to guide on better advocacy practices. Most people have no experience in this kind of leadership, so learning what works and what doesn’t really speeds up the process.
“It can literally save a vacation rental business,” she added.
Landau said: “We’ve been thinking about ways to get more involved in this advocacy challenge. Dana has proven herself to be such a courageous leader locally in Denver, we were honoured for the chance to expedite her research and amplify her findings with the greater community.”
TRACK Hospitality Software powered by TravelNet Solutions, has also joined the initiative as a sponsor of the series.
TravelNet Solutions CEO Ryan Bailey said: “As a supporter of our vacation rental community, we think responsible participation by vendors is more important than it’s ever been. The topic of advocacy, an experienced voice in Dana, and an industry advocate in Matt is the perfect combo to drive this discussion forward.”
