OwnerRez Integrates With Right to Rent Collaborative, NYC Tenants Protest Intro 1107 Bill, and Pass the Keys Adopts AI Messaging

OwnerRez Partners With Right to Rent for Hands-Free Advocacy 

• OwnerRez has partnered with the Right to Rent Collaborative, a national advocacy fund dedicated to protecting the future of vacation rentals. 
• Through the integration, managers can opt to donate $2 per reservation, via a simple sign-up within OwnerRez. 
• Contributions are collected monthly and sent in full to the Right to Rent Program.
• The funds are used to support vacation rental association advocacy work at the local, state, and national levels. 
• The process is hands-free, and managers can choose to roll the fee into existing charges or list it separately (for example, as a “VR Stewardship Fund”).
• With regulations tightening in cities across the U.S., the partnership aims to provide property managers with a way to contribute to advocacy efforts automatically, every time they receive a booking.

About Right to Rent Collaborative:

The Right to Rent Collaborative (R2RC) is a nonprofit advocacy fund launched in May 2025 to strengthen short-term rental representation across the U.S. Backed by $188,000 from industry leaders like Airbnb, Vrbo, and PriceLabs provides grants to state-level STR alliances so they can hire staff, retain legal counsel, and run effective campaigns for fair regulations.

About OwnerRez:

OwnerRez provides a comprehensive software solution specifically for vacation rental owners and managers. The platform includes features such as channel management, customer relationship management (CRM), property management, accounting, messaging, and website creation.

Snigdha’s Views

• For smaller operators who often lack the time or resources to get directly involved in advocacy, automating contributions is a low-effort but high-impact way to participate.
• Because it’s integrated into the booking process, there’s no extra admin burden, and importantly, participation is optional rather than applying the fee across the board.
• With U.S. markets facing growing regulations from Beverly Hills to Vermont to Maui, fragmented or underfunded advocacy efforts can struggle to respond quickly.
• Partnerships like this can help pool much-needed resources for advocacy, giving local and state-level associations the funding they need to mount coordinated, professional responses..
• The stronger and better-resourced these groups are, the more effectively they can push back against overly restrictive rules and secure long-term protections for operators.

NYC Tenants Rally Against Airbnb-Backed Intro 1107 Bill, Warning of Housing Risks

• Over 300 tenants and housing advocates rallied outside New York City Hall last week, protesting Intro 1107, a bill backed by Airbnb that would roll back key provisions of the city’s strict STR, Local Law 18.
• Organized by the Tenants Not Tourists coalition,  and supported by 43 tenant rights organizations, the protest drew several City Council members and local assembly members 
• The supporters assert that the bill would open loopholes for landlords, worsen the city’s housing shortage, and undo gains made since stricter enforcement began in 2023.
• Intro 1107 proposes to allow primary homeowners to rent out their homes when away, raise guest occupancy limits, and remove certain internal access requirements.
• Airbnb argues that these changes only affect a small share of New Yorkers, fix an “overly restrictive” law that has failed to lower rents, and address rising hotel prices.
• The company also claims Tenants Not Tourists is backed by hotel interests seeking to protect high room rates.

Snigdha’s Views

• Intro 1107 doesn’t dismantle New York’s short-term rental rules. It keeps the core restrictions but seeks to ease some of the most burdensome requirements of  LL18 while preserving safeguards for tenants and communities.
• Airbnb has maintained its position that Local Law 18 has done little to improve affordability while dampening tourism, pointing to hotels as the main beneficiaries through higher nightly rates.
• This echoes the narrative we covered when, in May 2025, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Dominican American Chamber of Commerce, and the New York Urban League joined the call for change, citing lost jobs, small business revenue, and tourism spending.
• For operators, this moment calls for constructive engagement, which works better than confrontation. 
• Show policymakers and community members that responsible STRs can support, not undermine, housing stability by participating in hearings, presenting balanced data, and building coalitions that address multiple causes of affordability challenges.

Pass the Keys Adopts Conduit’s AI to Streamline Guest Messaging Across Its Franchise Locations

• Franchise holiday rental operator Pass the Keys, with over 1,700 properties in the UK and Spain, has partnered with Conduit, an AI-powered guest messaging platform, to automate and streamline communications across its 65+ franchise locations.
• The integration links Pass the Keys Connect, its proprietary PMS, directly with Conduit’s AI messaging platform. 
• It consolidates multiple systems, including OTA inboxes on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com; third-party ticketing tools; and calling/VOIP solutions, into a single interface for communications with guests, hosts, and service providers.
• Messages are customized to each property and guest, mimicking the style of the local manager while handling routine queries such as check-in details, amenities, and booking confirmations.
• Franchise partners can choose to automate large portions of messaging, freeing up time for higher-value work like portfolio growth and more personalised service.

About Pass the Keys:

Founded in 2015, Pass the Keys is a UK-based franchise holiday let management company that provides a full-service solution for short-term rental homeowners and landlords. Operating across more than 65 towns and cities in the UK and Spain, the company manages over 1,700 properties through its network of local franchise partners. 

About Conduit:

Conduit is an AI-powered communication platform designed for short-term and vacation rental operators. It automates guest messaging, booking inquiries, maintenance coordination, and owner updates across multiple channels, including phone, SMS, email, WhatsApp, and OTA messaging systems.

Snigdha’s Views

• AI guest communication tools are no longer a curiosity; they’re becoming standard operational gear. 
• Recently, we’ve seen Hospitable partner with Touch Stay to pull guidebook content directly into its AI-powered messaging, and Hostaway roll out AI Auto Reply, using generative AI to draft personalized responses to common guest questions, to name a few.
• Pass the Keys, joining forces with Condui, is another sign of this shift. For a franchise network spread across multiple markets, consolidating communications under one AI-powered system cannot only improve speed and consistency but also help operators focus on growth without sacrificing guest experience. 
• Amidst the growing adoption of automated guest messaging tools, the real differentiator now won’t be if you use AI, it’s how you implement it so it feels authentic, earns trust, and frees teams to focus on scaling.