The regulations affecting short-term rentals (STRs) have shifted rapidly. They can keep you on your toes, but sometimes they can put you on your heels instead, always in reactive mode. But what if you could help shape the rules before they’re written?

Advocacy gives you that chance. It’s about representing your business, your guests, and your owners at the table where decisions are made. Don’t think of it as lobbying so much as showing up, sharing insights, and working toward balanced solutions that reflect your best interests.

If you care about the future of STRs, it’s not enough to adapt. We all need to engage intelligently, effectively, and most importantly, together.

Why engagement matters more than ever

There are two sides to every STR regulation story:

• Homeowners and managers worrying about their livelihood
• Neighbors and cities concerned about housing and quality of life

Too often, only one side gets heard—usually those raising alarm. When that happens, rules lean restrictive. Whether it’s caps on nights, licensing fees, or zoning limits, a one-sided narrative creates imbalances that are much harder to address after the fact. And while you can’t control the narrative, you can influence it through engagement.

Your voice matters. Your knowledge about best practices, neighborly behavior, and guest vetting can shape sensible regulations that protect communities while preserving business viability. You bring real-world context policymakers lack.

The key is to share facts, stay professional, and show a genuine desire for partnership.

Start with community collaboration

Most STR regulations begin at the local level. Here’s how to step in:

Join civic groups and neighborhood associations
Find out which committees cover housing or tourism. Attend meetings and listen. Introduce yourself. Show that you’re invested in community well-being, not just short-term profit. Avoid jumping into the fray until you’ve established your credibility and dedication. Showing up only at the most relevant meeting and expressing strong opinions about these issues won’t win anybody over.

Serve on advisory committees
If your city has a citizen board or STR task force, volunteer. These groups are where draft rules and enforcement ideas often originate. Regular participation gives you context, visibility, and most importantly, influence.

Share data that matters
Don’t just say you’re a good neighbor and community steward. Show it. Provide noise complaint statistics, incident rates, or guest vetting practices so everyone knows you share the same concerns. If you’ve tracked damages, guest support metrics, or survey feedback, share those, too. Concrete evidence goes much further than anecdotes.

Frame your message around mutual benefit
Policymakers respond to balanced framing. Your needs are valid, but so are neighborhood concerns. Advocacy is most effective when it identifies shared goals such as:

• Neighborhood safety
• Housing affordability
• Tourism revenue

Then show how your practices align, whether through guest screening, neighborhood watch programs, minimum-night stays, or local partnerships.

Suggested talking points:

• “We support enforceable noise thresholds, not blanket bans.”
• “We’d welcome a levy if it visibly funds neighborhood improvements.”
• “We’re open to a cap on listing numbers … IF it comes with flexible licensing and renewal pathways.”

Build alliances with complementary stakeholders
STR advocacy is stronger when it’s a coalition:

• Local home-sharing associations
• Tourism bureaus
• Chamber of Commerce
• Property management peers

Partnering with other groups amplifies your voice and shows policymakers you’re part of a broader economic engine—not a niche interest group. It also ensures that you don’t speak “for” a group but on your own behalf, ideally with a united front.

Co-host events, issue joint letters, and attend stakeholder meetings together. Policy councils are more likely to consider proposals backed by a broad, representative coalition.

Engage beyond your city
Some policies start at the county or state level. Others are even national. Missing out on those conversations means risking sweeping rules that ignore local nuances.

Make space in your advocacy plan for broader engagement by:

• Tracking state legislative sessions and key committee votes
• Supporting or joining state-level associations that represent STR operators
• Visiting capital cities when major bills are voted on
• Contacting state representatives with real-world examples (both challenges and positive outcomes from your local operation)

Remember: policymaking is rarely hostile (at this level anyway). Most regulators want workable solutions, not confrontations. Approaching them as partners, not adversaries, makes it easier to find common ground.

Communicate with owners and guests (and potentially gain allies)

Your owners and guests aren’t just stakeholders today—they’re allies tomorrow. They represent your track record and credibility.

Educate owners on how policy affects property values, compliance costs, and rental risk. Provide a summary of what’s being proposed and how advocacy helps.

Invite owner participation. Even small actions like responding to a city survey or attending a meeting can help. And while owners often aren’t local, they can still be pretty influential people—the kind who know other influential people, and so on. 

With guests, share context respectfully, e.g. “We’re working with the city to ensure good neighbors get to share their homes.” That shows transparency and can foster loyalty.

Be vocal but stay factual

When it’s time to respond, whether through public comment, city hall, or media, keep these guidelines in mind:

• Use clear, non-technical, apolitical, non-blaming language
• Define acronyms
• State the issue, the impact, the ask, and a reasonable compromise

Even if opinions are strong, avoid attacking. Criticism is fine; personal attacks are not.

Demonstrate follow-through

Good advocacy doesn’t end when the vote happens. Because very few of these issues are one-and-done, it’s more like a daily practice. That means:

Monitor implementation
Are inspection protocols clear? Renewal windows sensible?

Point out unintended consequences
If rules create extra burdens on low-volume hosts or hurt first-time guests, say so.

Offer to work on updates or training programs
Collaboration builds trust and makes officials more receptive next time.

Advocacy is the kind of long game you win simply by continuing to play.

Track’s approach to regulatory resilience

One recurring theme we see with our STR operator clients is that regulations tend to reward professionalism. Programs that require permits, training, enforcement, or neighbor support are an advantage for seasoned teams. Amateur hosts more often get frustrated and drop out or run afoul of the rules.

Our goal is to help you run a policy-aware operation with the same targeting and performance we offer in marketing and guest services.

To Build Better Policy

Start small, but start today:

• Identify local stakeholders.
• Find draft rules that affect your portfolio.
• Collect performance data or owner input to share.
• Reach out to local officials—or join an existing campaign.
• Track progress on permits, hearings, or public surveys.

When you approach regulation as a chance to lead, not a threat, you transform the narrative for your team, your owners, and your guests.

Because sometimes adapting isn’t enough. You need to help shape what comes next.