Mad River Valley Short-Term Rental Collaborative

Short-Term Rentals Are Here to Stay — Help Shape Their Role in the Valley

Join the MRV Chamber’s new Short-Term Rental Collaborative to connect with fellow hosts and related businesses share perspectives, and help guide the Valley’s tourism future.

When: Wednesday, April 22
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Where: MRV Chamber Welcome Center
(In-person with remote option available)

An Initial Informational Gathering

Over the past decade, the lodging landscape in the Mad River Valley has changed dramatically. Traditional inns, hotels, and lodges have gradually declined, while short-term rentals (STRs) now make up a significant portion of the Valley’s visitor bed base.

At the same time, municipalities across Vermont and the nation are actively discussing housing pressures, STR regulations, and how best to balance tourism with community needs. These shifts have created both opportunities and tensions, and they make it more important than ever that the STR sector engages constructively in shaping the Valley’s visitor economy.

The Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce is convening an initial gathering to begin building a collaborative table for dialogue and action.

Why This Conversation Matters

For decades, traditional lodging properties carried much of the responsibility for promoting the Valley as a visitor destination and supporting the organizations that market it. Short-term rentals are now an established and growing part of that lodging mix — a fact of life in today’s tourism economy.

As STRs continue to grow, there is an opportunity for this sector to join the broader business community in promoting the Mad River Valley as a destination, helping share the responsibility for sustaining the visitor economy and supporting the many businesses that rely on visitors.

The Chamber hopes to foster an ethos of shared responsibility, where STR owners see themselves not only as hosts, but also as active partners in promoting and strengthening the Valley as a place people want to visit.

The Opportunity to Work Together

The Chamber’s madrivervalley.com website is one of the region’s most important visitor resources. Listings on the site provide valuable visibility to travelers researching their trips and looking for places to stay, eat, shop, and explore.

Through the STR Collaborative, there may be opportunities to:

Increase STR visibility on madrivervalley.com
Maintain a high level of quality and reliability visitors can expect when booking lodging in the Valley
Encourage STR owners to connect guests with the many local businesses and experiences that make the Mad River Valley special

One particularly valuable tool is the Chamber website’s Itinerary Builder, which allows visitors to plan their MRV adventure by saving lodging, restaurants, activities, shops, and events into a personalized itinerary with shareable links to directions and the best information.

STR hosts can use this tool to help their guests discover:

Restaurants and cafés
Outdoor recreation
Arts and cultural experiences
Local shops and galleries
Events and seasonal activities

By connecting guests with these experiences, STR hosts help strengthen the entire visitor economy.

Our Vision for the Collaborative

The MRV STR Collaborative is intended to grow into one of the Chamber’s sector groups, similar to our existing business networks such as our Retail, Restaurant and Lodging Councils that bring together organizations with shared interests.

The vision is for the Collaborative to be STR-owner driven, operating under the Chamber’s umbrella but guided by the ideas and priorities of the STR community itself.

The Chamber will help facilitate and support the effort, but the direction of the group will be shaped by those who participate.

What the Collaborative Could Do

As the group develops, possible areas of focus may include:

Communication & Community Dialogue

Creating a forum where STR owners and related businesses can se perspectives and engage constructively with local communities and municipalities.

Destination Promotion

Encouraging STR participation in promoting the Mad River Valley and connecting visitors to the many experiences the region offers.

Best Practices for Hosting

Sharing ideas and experiences among local STR owners to help raise the bar for guest experience, responsible hosting, and community relations.

Networking & Support

Providing opportunities for STR owners, property managers, and businesses connected to STRs to build relationships and share knowledge.

Staying Informed

Helping participants stay aware of local discussions, policy developments, and tourism initiatives affecting STRs.

Who Should Participate

We welcome participation from anyone whose work intersects with or benefits from short-term rentals, including:

STR owners and hosts
Property managers
Cleaning and maintenance services
Guest service providers
Restaurants and cafés
Retailers and galleries
Recreation providers and guides
Other businesses that rely on visitor stays

The goal is to build a broad and collaborative network that reflects the many businesses connected to the Valley’s visitor economy.

How the Collaborative May Develop

One of the goals of the initial gathering is to begin shaping how the group will operate moving forward.

Topics for discussion may include:

How often the group should meet
Whether meetings are in-person, virtual, or hybrid
Creating a shared email communication list
Identifying volunteer leaders within the group
Establishing priorities for the coming year
Determining how the group interacts with the Chamber and the broader community

The intent is for the Collaborative to be participant-driven, with STR owners and related businesses helping determine the structure, priorities, and activities of the group.

Learn More About STRs in the MRV and Around VT

The Mad River Valley Planning District with support from the MRV Chamber has been studying the role of STRs in the local lodging mix and its overall impact on the various aspects the MRV community. See their reports: