One week before Austin City Council will consider a vote on
new short-term rental regulations, Austin-based HomeAway vacation rental listing company revealed a new initiative aimed at keeping STRs in compliance.
The Stay Neighborly pilot program will launch in Austin and will eventually expand to HomeAway's global market, according to HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples.
At a Feb. 17 news conference Sharples said his company has contributed to Austin and its economy in many ways and wants to ensure its short-term property owners and renters follow city code and are respectful to nearby neighbors.
"We are part of this community and we love this community," Sharples said. "We know people like to come from other places to be in this community so we want to make sure the business functions really well here, and if this program is as successful as we hope it to be we intend to roll it out all over the world."
According to the company, the Stay Neighborly program will include:
- An online educational resource center for short-term rental property owners
- A new field on HomeAway listing sites where short-term rental property owners can display their license information
- A more-apparent no-tolerance policy toward owners and travelers who abuse the right to rent properties as short-term rentals
- An online communication portal between HomeAway and municipalities to verify and enforce action against problem properties
Austin City Council is scheduled to discuss short-term rental regulations Feb. 23.
