How Right to Rent Is Building STR Defense Networks with Scott Leggat of Inhabit

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon sits down with Scott Leggat, Director of Government Advocacy and Affairs at Inhabit, to discuss the critical advocacy battles shaping the vacation rental industry's future. With decades of experience from property management to leading tech company LSI, Scott reveals how the Right to Rent initiative raised $200,000 in just two weeks, why OTAs are capturing 50% of property manager revenue through merchant of record control, and the federal regulations that took effect May 12th. Whether you're managing properties in Hawaii's complex regulatory environment or Florida's preemption battles, Scott's insights on building proactive defense networks will protect your business from the regulatory threats ahead. This episode is sponsored by Streamline.

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Scott Leggat, Director of Government Advocacy and Affairs at Inhabit, about the revolutionary advocacy strategies protecting vacation rental businesses from increasing regulatory threats while maximizing revenue streams that OTAs are systematically capturing.

What you'll learn:

How merchant of record laws determine whether you keep or lose 25-40% commission revenue from ancillary services
Why Alabama's groundbreaking legislation is spreading to South Carolina and North Carolina—and how to support similar efforts
The federal "junk fee" transparency regulations that took effect May 12, 2025, and compliance requirements How Right to Rent's restructure into a 501(c)(6) nonprofit raised $200K in two weeks through seamless PMS integration
Why 95% of STR communities lack local advocacy alliances and how this vulnerability threatens your business
The strategic timing differences between proactive alliance building and reactive crisis management
How to navigate complex state-by-state battlegrounds from Hawaii's island-specific rules to Florida's preemption wars
Why building transparent pricing practices protects against future regulatory criticism
The "black swan" events affecting 2025 booking trends and revenue forecasting
How hotel lobbies influence state government decisions and strategies to counter their impact

Scott Leggat is the Director of Government Advocacy and Affairs at Inhabit, where he leads industry-wide advocacy efforts protecting short-term rental businesses from regulatory threats. With extensive experience as former CEO of vacation rental tech company LSI and years in property management, Scott brings a unique perspective to advocacy strategy development. He conceived the original Right to Rent funding model and has spearheaded critical legislative victories including Alabama's merchant of record law. His advocacy work spans merchant of record battles, state preemption defense, federal compliance navigation, and local alliance development. Scott's expertise in combining data-driven advocacy approaches with grassroots coalition building has established best practices for vacation rental industry defense, making him an essential voice for property managers facing regulatory challenges.

This episode is sponsored by Streamline.

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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, Lisa Stinnett of Inhabit, and many more.

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