The Vacation Rental Show, Hosted by Lynell Gordon
How One Property Manager Took on Airbnb and Won with Ginger Harrelson of Beachball Properties
April 14, 2026
When an Airbnb-backed bill moved quietly through the Alabama legislature, most property managers never saw it coming. Ginger Harrelson did. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon welcomes Ginger, co-owner and chief legal officer of Beachball Properties and elected city councilwoman for Orange Beach, Alabama, for a conversation that is equal parts legal education and advocacy blueprint. Ginger walks through what merchant of record law actually means, why Airbnb's model puts licensed property managers in a legally and financially precarious position, and how two real refund incidents cost her company thousands of dollars without a single phone call from the platform. She then shares how a coalition of over 20 property managers and tourism stakeholders stopped the Airbnb-backed bill from passing the Alabama Senate, and what property managers in every state can do to protect their businesses, their owners, and their fiduciary responsibilities. This episode is sponsored by RevMax.

Ginger Harrelson, co-owner and chief legal officer of Beachball Properties, joins host Lynell Gordon for a conversation that starts with a $5,000 refund issued without a phone call and ends with a state senate bill stopped in its tracks. This episode traces one complete arc: how an Airbnb-backed bill was discovered moving through the Alabama legislature, what merchant of record law means and why Airbnb is not complying with it, and how collective action by a coalition of professional property managers made all the difference.


What You'll Learn:


Ginger Harrelson is the co-owner and chief legal officer of Beachball Properties, a Gulf Shores-based vacation rental management company that has grown from 14 properties to over 350 in ten years. She is a licensed attorney in Alabama and a newly elected city councilwoman for Orange Beach. Ginger is also a member of GUMBO, the Gulf United Metro Business Organization, and one of the most active advocacy voices in the short-term rental industry.


This episode is sponsored by RevMax.

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Previous guests include: Jim DeVos of Best Beach Getaways, Stacy Wesson of Cascara Vacation Rentals, Michael Friedman of The Simple Life Hospitality, Steve Caron of Inhabit, John An of TechTape, Jessica Gillingham of Abode Worldwide, Justin Ford of Breezeway, Mahwussh Alam of One Perfect Stay, Sofia Rossato of Inhabit, and many more.

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