Most of what we write about is the guest: how they search, what they compare, why they book. This post is about something that comes before all of that. Can a property manager rent the home at all?
That question gets answered in local rules. In September 2026, CraftedStays joined the Right to Rent Collaborative, a group that funds the people who show up when those rules get written. Here’s what it is, how its program works, and why we joined.
What is the Right to Rent Collaborative?
The Right to Rent Collaborative is a nonprofit industry fund. It raises money from businesses that depend on short-term rentals. Then it gives that money to state and local short-term rental associations as grants.
Those associations do the local work. They go to council meetings. They bring data on what rentals mean for their town. They work with officials on rules that let responsible operators keep renting.
You will often see the name Rent Responsibly next to it. Rent Responsibly is a separate group that runs the Collaborative day to day. The Collaborative is the fund.
Why local rules matter to a direct booking business
A direct booking website is a long bet. You build your own brand, your own guest list and your own pages. That only pays off if you can keep renting the homes behind it.
The rules that decide this are local. A city can cap permits, limit the number of nights a home can be rented, or change zoning. These decisions often happen at a weeknight meeting. The people running the homes are usually too busy to be there.
Associations fill that gap. Most of them run on very little money, and that’s the problem the Collaborative was set up to fix.
How the $2 per reservation program works
The Collaborative’s main tool for property managers is the Right to Rent Program. It’s simple:
- Opt in. A property manager enrolls on the Collaborative’s site.
- $2 per reservation. Each booking contributes $2. With participating software, it’s collected and donated each month without extra work.
- The money goes local. The Collaborative grants it to associations working on rules in their own markets.
What we like about it is the “set it once” part. You decide at the company level and it runs with every booking. Nobody has to renegotiate it with every owner.
Why CraftedStays joined
We build direct booking websites. Every site we launch depends on a property manager who is allowed to keep renting in their town. If those rules go the wrong way, the website stops mattering.
So funding the people who make the case for responsible rentals is part of our work. The Collaborative is the most direct way we’ve found to do it. It also brings together companies that compete with each other everywhere else, which is how it should be on this one.
We’re a member company. We don’t collect the $2 and we don’t run the program. Enrollment goes through the Collaborative.
How to get involved
- Enroll in the Right to Rent Program. Sign up directly at r2rcollaborative.org/enroll.
- Find your local association. Most states and many cities have one. The Collaborative can point you to the one in your market.
- Show up once. Even one council meeting a year helps. Associations are stronger when the people they speak for are in the room.
Common questions
Where does the money go?
To state and local short-term rental associations, as grants. Each association decides how to use it in its own market.
Does CraftedStays collect the $2 per reservation?
No. Enrollment and contributions run through the Collaborative and its software partners. CraftedStays supports it as a member company.
Do I need to be a CraftedStays customer to take part?
No. Any property manager can enroll in the Right to Rent Program, whatever website or software they use.
We put together a page with more detail, including how the program works and where to enroll. You can read it at craftedstays.co/right-to-rent-collaborative. To sign up, start at the Collaborative’s enroll page.
