Nestled amid the picturesque Finger Lakes region, Lindsay Bolton found her calling not just in the breathtaking landscapes but in advocating for its vibrant tourism industry. Born and raised in this idyllic corner of Upstate New York, Lindsay’s passion for the area runs deep, anchored by childhood memories of swimming in shimmering lakes, hiking by gushing waterfalls, and other outdoor adventures.
“It’s such a gorgeous area and has wonderful communities,” Lindsay said, reflecting on her upbringing a block away from the shores of one of the lakes.
After exploring other parts of the country with her husband, including stints in Alaska and Tennessee, Lindsay’s heart led them back home to the Finger Lakes.
“We came home for a friend’s wedding, and we were like, it’s time to come back here. We’re ready,” she recalled.
A tourism calling
Her professional journey intertwined beautifully with her love for tourism. From guiding duck tours in Alaska to marketing a dinner theater in Tennessee, she honed her marketing skills before returning to the Finger Lakes to promote its flourishing vineyard scene.
As the marketing coordinator for a local vineyard, she showcased the region’s cold-climate viniculture delights, capitalizing on its status as the most prolific wine producer in New York State.
Then, in 2016, she saw a marketing manager job with Finger Lakes Premier Properties as an opportunity to build on her other experiences in tourism and grow as a marketing director learning about and promoting a new and thrilling topic. The transition to promoting vacation rentals was a welcome but unexpected progression for Lindsay.
“I had never even stayed in a vacation rental when I took this position,” she said. “It was all new territory. To me, I just knew that it was within the tourism realm in the Finger Lakes. And it seemed exciting.”
Joining the vacation rental industry
Lindsay embarked on her new career path with curiosity and enthusiasm, embracing the opportunity to attend vacation rental conferences and learn about the industry.
Attending the Vacation Rental Management Association conference for the first time was eye-opening for Lindsay, exposing her to technological, professional, and advocacy resources she could bring back to Finger Lakes Premier Properties.
“I had no idea of the magnitude of the vacation rental industry before then,” she said. The experience helped her to forge priceless connections and broaden her horizons for what was possible for the industry back home.
STR advocacy challenges
Amidst this professional growth, she also encountered significant challenges, particularly in keeping up with the labyrinth of STR regulations sprouting up over a hundred tiny townships across the 11 counties of the Finger Lakes.
In February of 2020, Lindsay sought help from Alexa Nota, Co-Founder and COO at Rent Responsibly, to try to come up with a proactive strategy to keep up with the regulations and become a vocal advocate for vacation rental owners in shaping the regulations.
“We were always being proactive and watching what was happening,” Lindsay said. “Through the pandemic, we continued to monitor the regulations, not just here in the Finger Lakes but also what was happening nationwide. And when we saw some of the regulations, the bans happening in other areas, we were like, wow, this could really affect us. It could affect our company, but more so it could affect our owners.”
As part of their proactive strategy, Lindsay and her marketing team officially co-founded the Finger Lakes Vacation Rental Alliance (FLXVRA) in early 2023 to provide a unified voice in advocating for responsible renting practices and fair and collaborative STR regulations. Before that, her marketing team put together a Facebook page for Finger Lakes STR operators and managers in July 2021, and at end of 2022, the team launched the group’s first website.
From providing STR data to town councils to collaborating with destination marketing organizations (DMOs), FLXVRA’s mission is to balance between promoting responsible renting practices and advocating for fair and mutually beneficial STR regulations.
“This week alone, I’ve been to two different town board meetings talking about regulations,” Lindsay said on Feb. 22. “We have seen everything from moratoriums to a simple application process.”
Town and city limits on occupancy have had the biggest impact on STR operators, she said.
“A lot of townships have new rules on how many people you can allow in a home, and it is usually based on the number of bedrooms, but sometimes it’s also based on the number of parking spots. Sometimes, it’s based on the capacity of the septic system,” she said.
“The occupancy limits are affecting the revenues that our homeowners can get. This is unfortunate because, in some circumstances, they have to rent out their home more to get the same revenue as they did in years past. And in some instances, it’s so that they can afford to pay the taxes on the home.”
Educating hosts, real estate agents, and town councils
Leveraging her expertise (now as the Director of Marketing and Sales for the company) and the resources of her property management company, Lindsay and her team at Finger Lakes Premier Properties have also spearheaded educational initiatives, monthly webinars for town boards and owners, downloads, and outreach efforts to township boards.
For instance, one of the downloads provides responsible renting strategies for fostering and nurturing good relationships with neighbors.
The property management company also offers data resources to STR owners who are advocating at their local town boards.
“I’ve listened to the stories of the owners, and they have such phenomenal stories, you know, the reasons why they rent,” Lindsay said. “Connecting with them and being a resource for them has been really rewarding.”
Highlighting Humans in Hospitality
“There’s a misconception that investors are just buying up all of these properties and renting them out, and it’s not the reality,” Lindsay said. Many of the Finger Lakes vacation rental owners are families preserving properties that have been passed down generations, she said.
Without vacation rentals, the local economy would face a drastic loss of income because the region doesn’t have enough hotels to host the [number of] visitors who come each year, Lindsay said.
So, together with Destination Innovate, she created the Humans in Hospitality campaign to debunk misconceptions surrounding vacation rentals and highlight stories behind the hosts. She highlights these stories on a new podcast, Humans in Hospitality podcast, launched in February 2024.
Alexa was the podcast’s first guest. “It was such an honor to be included in this series,” Alexa said. “Since we first met Lindsay nearly four years ago to the day of the podcast, she has been an exemplary advocate in her proactivity and creativity – she inspires me and the work we do at Rent Responsibly on a regular basis.”
FLXVRA’s vision is to expand its membership to each tiny town in the Finger Lakes and have at least one local host or manager monitoring regulations in their respective town, Lindsay said.
By staying on top of the complex advocacy landscape and encouraging responsible hosts, she said she hopes to preserve the Finger Lake’s flourishing tourism scene and continue sharing this spectacular region with generations to come.
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