Updated on April 23, 2026
Two months into her new job, Danielle Dixon was on high alert as the Washington State Legislature convened and momentum quickly built around a proposed excise tax of up to 4% on short-term rentals.
It was an early test of her new role as Executive Director of the Washington Hosts Collaborative Alliance (WHCA).
“We expected [House Bill 2559] to come up later, but instead, the hearing was scheduled within the first two weeks [of the legislative session],” Danielle said. “We had to move quickly — sharing information with the WHCA community and organizing testimony from board members. It came together beautifully, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the board step up in a high-stakes, fast-moving situation.”
More than 250 people spoke out at the hearing, “with the majority of testimony coming from opponents,” Danielle later reported to the WHCA membership in an emailed newsletter.
“Host participation helped ensure policymakers better understood how targeted taxes could affect small operators and local communities,” she wrote. The bill never received a vote on the House floor and ultimately expired upon the Legislature’s adjournment on March 12, 2026.
Building a connected network of Washington hosts
From that experience, it became clear that her role “sits at the intersection of strategy and execution,” such as translating fast-moving policy developments into digestible updates and coordinating action for more than 1,500 hosts across the state.
She manages the alliance’s communications, including emails, blog content, member resources, and social media posts, while working with the board to set priorities and coordinate with partners.
WHCA’s central inbox, hello@washingtonhosts.org, receives questions about local regulations, updates on different markets, and personal accounts, creating an informal intelligence network that strengthens the alliance’s effectiveness.
That network also helps address one of the biggest challenges of the role: staying on top of everything happening at both the state and local levels that could impact the short-term rental industry.
“That’s why I’m excited about the growth of the WHCA community — it creates a space where information can be shared more quickly, and issues can be surfaced and addressed collectively,” she said.
Since November 2025, the alliance has grown by more than 160 hosts and now includes over 1,500 members.
“It’s been encouraging to see members actively engaging — sharing success stories, raising local challenges, and participating in our content and webinars,” she added.
A traveler’s perspective
Danielle was drawn to vacation rentals long before she became an STR advocate.
“I’ve long been a proponent of vacation rentals as a way to travel more like a local than a tourist,” she said.
She’s stayed in short-term rentals around the world, using them to explore the areas where she was living, from Joshua Tree and Baja while based in San Diego to destinations across the Pacific Northwest after moving to Seattle.
One experience, in particular, stayed with her. After months of budget travel across South America — camping, staying in dorms, and putting her Spanish language degree from the College of Charleston to use, she arrived at a short-term rental in Santiago, Chile.
“Being able to take a bath, cook a meal, do laundry, and relax on a couch felt like pure luxury at the time,” she recounted.
That sense of connection and grounding inspires how she thinks of vacation rentals as a way for people to experience places more deeply.
“You get local recommendations and feel more embedded in a place than you would in a traditional hotel,” she said.
From strategy to execution of STR advocacy leadership
Before joining Rent Responsibly in November 2025, she worked in strategy and operations for a financial services company. In June 2025, she joined the board of Etta Projects, a small international nonprofit, and began doing independent consulting, helping nonprofits and small businesses strengthen their financial and operational foundations through advisory and fractional CFO support.
While doing market research for a consulting client, she came across Rent Responsibly, which facilitated hiring for the WHCA Executive Director position.
“I was drawn to the team and the culture and excited by the opportunity to get involved early and help shape WHCA’s strategic growth,” Danielle said. “The role allows me to leverage my background in strategy while also building new skills in a space I’ve long supported as a traveler.”
That combination of strategic thinking and community-building has informed her leadership style.
“From the very beginning, Danielle stepped into the role with confidence and heart, and quickly made it her own,” said Abbi Booth, Rent Responsibly Director of Alliance Operations. “She’s brought a thoughtful, genuine voice to WHCA’s communications and has such a natural talent for creating engaging, welcoming events and webinars. What really stands out is her commitment to listening to members, and the energy and excitement she’s brought to leadership has been incredible to watch.”
Like the rest of the Rent Responsibly team and other alliance executive directors, Danielle works from home, accompanied by her two cats, Willow and Lupine, and her partner, Danny.
She described Rent Responsibly’s culture as encouraging, supportive, and appreciative.
“One of my favorite early moments was that our first team meeting started with a five-minute meditation,” she said. “It set the tone for a thoughtful and people-centered culture.”
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