Skift Take
The VRMA is known for its conferences and networking. Kimberly Miles is trying to broaden its partnerships and make it more relevant.
Kimberly Miles, the executive director of the Vacation Rental Management Association, acknowledges that there is a "new normal" for the sector this year as demand softens or over-supply takes hold in certain markets, but there is also a reset for the association in terms of unlikely allies and members.
Miles, who marks her second anniversary leading the property manager-oriented VRMA this month, noted in an interview last week that she previously worked for 19 years for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and departed in 2020 as its senior vice president of operations.
That's the same hotel association that praised then-Hawaii Governor David Ige in 2019 for vetoing vacation rental legislation that might have eased the path for hosts and property managers without permits to rent to vacationers in residential areas, and targeted "commercial investors who use online platforms like Airbnb, resulting in depletion of housing options, fracturing of communities and threatening thousands of tourism jobs that support Hawaii’s economy."
Vacation Rental Group Starts Working With Hotel IndustryBut today, Miles said, the two associations, one representing vacation rentals and the other hotels – some of which like Marriott now offer vacation rentals – have worked together on lobbying efforts.
Kimberly Miles. Source: Tori Soper/VRMA"And I