US, MARCH 11, 2026 – Consistent funding from the Right to Rent Collaborative (R2RC) is helping short-term rental associations across the United States bolster advocacy, promote responsible renting, and keep hosts informed about local and state policy issues, according to a new report released by the organization.
The 2025 Annual Impact Report shows how R2RC’s first round of grants helped short-term rental associations launch new organizations, hire staff, host educational events, grow membership, and mobilize grassroots engagement around issues affecting the vacation rental industry.
In its inaugural year, R2RC distributed $99,000 in grants across eight associations, supporting organizations that collectively represent nearly 57,700 listings nationwide.
Demand for advocacy support outpaced supply. The report notes that 21 associations applied for funding in 2025, requesting a combined $649,187, more than six times the organization’s available grant funding.
“Across the country, short-term rental policy is being debated at the local and state level, but many host communities don’t have the resources to organize effectively,” said Julie Marks, Executive Director of the Right to Rent Collaborative. “Our goal is to make sure those communities have the financial support they need to participate constructively and share their perspective.”
Notable outcomes from the first year of grant funding include:
- 18 state and local STR associations qualified for participation in 2025, representing nearly 4,000 members nationwide.
- Nine grants were awarded across eight associations, supporting staffing, operations, and membership growth.
- Four new statewide STR associations formed.
- Six executive director positions were created at associations.
The Right to Rent Collaborative was founded to address a common challenge facing local short-term rental associations: many groups want to engage with policymakers but lack the financial and organizational resources needed to sustain advocacy efforts. Rather than lobbying directly, R2RC focuses on strengthening the organizations that advocate at the state and local level.
“When local associations have the resources to organize and represent their communities, the entire industry benefits,” said Jonathan Wicks, President of the Right to Rent Collaborative Board. “Short-term rental policy is ultimately shaped at the local and state level, and strong local associations help ensure policymakers hear from the people who live and work in the communities affected by these decisions.”
In addition to grant funding, the report outlines the development of the Right to Rent Program(R2RP), a new giving model designed to sustain advocacy organizations’ funding. The program allows property managers to contribute $2 per reservation, which is automatically directed toward advocacy. Several property management systems have already launched the program, including Hostfully, OwnerRez, and Hospitable. Managers using these PMSs can enroll here.
With the onboarding and donation systems now in place, the program is expected to expand nationally as property managers enroll and integrate their property management software. Guesty, Track, and Escapia are currently integrating the program into their software through spring 2026.
R2RC reported $193,124 in total financial support in 2025, from more than 17 donors across the vacation rental industry, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Avalara, Inhabit, Proper Insurance, Breezeway, Maui Paradise Property Management, TechTape, Truvi, Price Labs, Raincatcher, Evolve, C2G Advisors, Beyond, CanMonkey, Boostly, HostGPO, Neolle Debruhl, Laurel Hess, and Staci Lamb.
Moving forward, the organization expects a growing share of grant funding to come from $2-per-reservation contributions from local and national property management firms participating in the Right to Rent Program.
The full report can be downloaded here.
About the Right to Rent Collaborative
Founded in October 2024 as an independent 501(c)(6)-pending organization, the Right to Rent Collaborative is dedicated to broadening the impact of advocacy within the short-term rental industry. The founding board included Julie Marks, R2RC President and Executive Director of the Vermont STRA; Margot Schmorak, R2RC Secretary and CEO and Co-Founder, Hostfully; Amber Knight, R2RC Treasurer and General Manager of BookingsCloud; and Scott Leggat, R2RC Board Member At Large and Director of Government Relations at Inhabit.
R2RC’s mission is to provide associations with the capital they need to advocate for policy solutions that strengthen the industry, driving towards a vision of 50 fully staffed, always-active state STR associations, 50 connected and coordinated association leaders, and a robust, accessible, and powerful grassroots local membership network. Starting Summer 2025, the organization will begin awarding funds on a grant basis, and in 2026, it will launch a mechanism for ongoing monthly support of alliances.
Learn more at R2RCollaborative.org.
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