Empowering Hosts: The Significance of Short-Term Rental Advocacy
Discover R2RC’s novel approach to STR advocacy and how you can participate to protect the future of the industry.
In this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we are joined by Julie Marks, President of Right to Rent Collaborative (R2RC), an independent 501(c)(6)-pending organization that empowers short-term rental associations with funding to advocate for the industry. Julie is also a founder and executive director of the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance.
In this episode, Julie discusses what the Right to Rent Collaborative is doing to transform how STR industry advocacy is funded and sustained, and how STR operators can get involved in advocacy to help ensure more balanced and fair regulations.
Press Play now to learn about R2RC’s novel approach to STR advocacy and how you can participate to protect the future of the industry.
Do you prefer to read the highlights? We’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.
What Is the Right to Rent Collaborative?
The Right to Rent Collaborative is a new organization officially launched in May 2025. “It is solely dedicated to providing funding for associations that are advocating for the short-term rental industry,” Julie says.
Speaking about the reasons for creating R2RC, Julie points out that STR operators in many communities across the country and around the world face restrictive policies and regulations forcing them out of business. “The truth of our situation right now as an industry is that we're not organized. We are decades behind having local and state representation in these policy discussions,” Julie says.
“The driving force behind the Right to Rent Collaborative was recognizing that we need to play catch-up, and we need to get organized and start forming associations at every single level, local, state, and national, so that no matter where we are, we have a voice. And the biggest barrier to getting going is startup funding. It’s a full-time job to start and run an association. And we've been heavily relying on just the volunteer time of a couple of engaged property managers or homeowners here and there, and they burn out.”
The Right to Rent Collaborative is run by a volunteer board of 4 directors, including Julie, who is currently serving as the president of the board. They have recruited a volunteer advisory committee to assist with the grant creation and approval process and have hired Rent Responsibly for association management services.
The R2RC Grant Opportunities
Julie underlines that awarding funds for STR associations on a grant basis is the R2RC’s main purpose.” This is really the sole initiative that this organization was created to do—provide funding for associations that are doing the work on the ground to protect the industry.”
She explains that they have created several grant opportunities that focus on different stages of STR association development:
Seed grants are for new groups that need funding to get started.
Growth grants are for associations that have already taken the first steps to help them cover early-stage growth costs.
Sustainability grants are for well-established associations seeking longer-term capacity-building.
“We're not in the business of telling associations how to use the money. We recognize that every association, every community, is unique in what it needs. And a real barrier in a lot of other grant programs is that funding's not available for essential costs like operations, admin, and salaries,” Julie points out.
“These are the critical funding needs for an association to be successful. You cannot rely on people doing this for free for very long. They need to get paid. It’s a job, and really, we're trying to create easy, quick, and efficient resources for folks so they can spend less time fundraising and more time advocating.”
How STR Hosts Can Get Involved
R2RC accepts donations from individuals and companies that support STR advocacy. Since the Right to Rent Collaborative integrates with Hospitable, hosts and property managers can directly support the R2RC mission by donating $2 per reservation.
This amount will be automatically collected from your payment method once you’ve connected your Hospitable account to the Right to Rent Collaborative and enrolled in the program. If you want to opt in, check our help article for step-by-step instructions.
“Another way to get involved, if anybody is interested in taking on a leadership role, we are going to be holding cycles of elections for new board seats, for positions on the advisory committee spots,” Julie says. “And then also as a nonprofit ourselves, we are always looking for donations to help us reduce our costs, our administrative costs as well.”
Hosts can also get involved in advocacy by joining an association running in their area or by volunteering. “If you don’t find an association that’s representing your area, then come to us,” Julie underlines. “We would love to help you get going to start one. Again, our big vision, our long-term vision is to have 50 statewide associations that are connected, collaborating, and well-funded through sustainable revenue streams such as the Right to Rent program.”
Long-Term Goals
Julie says that their big vision is to have a presence in every state, in every region, in every market. “As an association in Vermont, we really do three core things. We lobby and advocate, so we’re there as a trusted resource for governments, for the media, and for the general public. But we're also educating our community on best practices, on evolving technologies, on regulatory and safety changes. And we're building a community and bringing people together so that they're not doing this alone.”
She emphasizes that, in the long term, they aim for the short-term rental industry to be respected and included in every policy-making discussion. “But more so, it’s also about creating a global network for everybody in this industry. You know it crosses boundaries, whether you’re in the seat of providing a place, a vacation rental, or staying in a vacation rental. It's just a part of travel and hospitality that we all love, and it's about really creating a home for everybody in this industry.”
Listen to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to learn why STR advocacy matters and how you can get involved to protect your right to rent.
