ABOUT THE ALABAMA SHORT-TERM RENTAL ALLIANCE
Alabama’s Voice for Responsible Hosting
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Our Mission
The Alabama Short Term Rental Alliance builds a unified community of hosts, property managers, and industry partners to elevate standards, strengthen local organizations, and secure a favorable regulatory environment across Alabama.
Our Vaules
- Organizing — Hosts are stronger together. We build and support local host alliances in Alabama’s key STR markets and connect them into one statewide community.
- Educating — An informed host is a responsible host. We equip our members with the knowledge to operate safely, compliantly, and at a standard that makes the whole industry proud.
- Advocating — We are the voice of Alabama’s short-term rental community, working constructively with local and state leaders toward fair, consistent, evidence-based rules that protect responsible operators and the neighborhoods they serve.
- Responsible Hosting — We hold ourselves to high standards: safe properties, honest listings, respect for neighbors, and full tax compliance.
- Community — Short-term rentals succeed when the communities around them succeed. We invest in both.
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What We Do
Community
The Alabama Short-Term Rental Alliance (ALSTRA) unites hosts, property managers, and industry partners from across the state to ensure a fair and sustainable future for short-term rentals. We give Alabama’s STR community a collective voice with policymakers, regulators, and the public.
Advocacy
Through advocacy, we work to protect the right to responsibly operate short-term rentals while promoting balanced regulations that benefit both hosts and communities. ALSTRA represents hosts at the state and local levels, helping shape policies that keep our industry strong and fair.
Education
We also focus on education and connection—offering resources, webinars, and networking opportunities that help members stay informed and engaged. By building relationships and sharing knowledge, we empower Alabama’s short-term rental community to thrive together.
Meet the board
Clint Lovette, President
Clint Lovette is the founding President of the Alabama Short Term Rental Alliance (ALSTRA), the statewide organization uniting hosts, property managers, and industry partners to elevate standards and secure a stable, favorable regulatory environment for short-term rentals across Alabama.
Clint’s path to the STR industry began in 2005, when he entered the real estate and construction industry, building a career grounded in property development, ownership, and operations. Over the two decades since, he has started and run multiple companies, developing the entrepreneurial instincts and operational depth that now shape his work at ALSTRA.
Clint saw early that Alabama’s short-term rental industry needed a unified voice, one capable of organizing hosts and managers, educating the public and policymakers, and advocating for common-sense regulation that protects communities and property owners alike. ALSTRA is building that voice, growing membership across the state’s priority markets, forging relationships with legislators, and laying the groundwork for a statewide framework that secures the industry’s future.
His commitment to industry leadership isn’t new. Clint served eight years on the board of the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders, including a term as the association’s 2017 President, experience that shaped his belief in the power of organized industry advocacy.
Today, Clint is focused on establishing ALSTRA as the recognized authority on Alabama STR policy, helping hosts and property managers operate with confidence in a growing, well-regulated industry.
Caroline Madison, Secretary
Caroline Madison is the owner of CoHost B’Ham, where she partners with short-term rental owners to elevate guest experiences and maximize property performance. With five years of experience in Alabama’s short-term rental industry, including serving as Operations Manager for PorchLit Properties, Caroline brings expertise in operations, hospitality, and property management. Originally from Montgomery and now based in Birmingham, she is passionate about supporting Alabama’s growing short-term rental community through collaboration, innovation, and exceptional hospitality.
Holly Scott, Treasurer
Holly Scott has served as a partner with Wake Up Stays since 2023, bringing a strong financial and operational foundation to the short-term rental business. Prior to that, she spent decades in corporate accounting and finance leadership, including as Controller for Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, and in senior roles at EBSCO Industries, Plastech, Barber Dairies, and Noland Health Services, where she managed financial reporting, budgeting, audits, and staff oversight. Holly holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Samford University and also attended the University of Alabama. She brings that depth of financial expertise to her role as Treasurer of the Alabama Short Term Rental Alliance.
Delaine Crim, Board Member
Delaine Crim is the co-owner of Concentric Management, a Birmingham-based hospitality company that owns and operates a portfolio of short-term rental properties throughout Alabama. Alongside her husband and business partner, Travis Crim, she has built the company around creating memorable guest experiences through thoughtfully designed and professionally operated vacation rentals. As both an owner and operator, Delaine brings firsthand knowledge of the opportunities and challenges facing Alabama’s short-term rental industry.
In addition to her work in the vacation rental industry, Delaine is the owner of Fox & Vale, a luxury wedding venue and countryside retreat in Vincent, Alabama. Her experience developing and operating hospitality-focused businesses has given her a unique perspective on guest service, business development, marketing, operations, and the evolving regulatory landscape affecting tourism and short-term rentals.
Delaine is also a licensed Alabama real estate agent, providing additional insight into property investment, market trends, and the growing role of short-term rentals within local communities. Through both Concentric Management and Fox & Vale, she is passionate about elevating Alabama’s hospitality industry while creating exceptional experiences for guests and visitors.
As a founding board member of the Alabama Short-Term Rental Association (ALSTRA), Delaine is committed to advocating for responsible short-term rental ownership, protecting property rights, and fostering collaboration between hosts, communities, and policymakers. She is passionate about helping strengthen Alabama’s vacation rental industry while promoting professionalism, responsible hospitality, and sustainable growth across the state.
Judson Young, Board Member
Judson Young is a Birmingham-based entrepreneur and short-term rental advocate with a professional background in urban planning, community development, and public-policy engagement. Through It’s A Trip LLC, he works at the intersection of hospitality, neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and responsible property management.
Judson has spent several years engaging municipal leaders, property owners, and community stakeholders on policies affecting short-term rentals in Birmingham. His advocacy emphasizes education-first regulation, neighborhood accountability, local economic participation, and practical standards that allow responsible operators to succeed while protecting residential communities.
Drawing on his urban-planning perspective, Judson views short-term rentals as more than lodging. He sees them as part of a broader ecosystem that includes tourism, housing, workforce development, small-business growth, and the productive reuse of underutilized properties. His work focuses on building collaborative solutions that balance the interests of hosts, guests, neighborhoods, and local governments.
Jennifer Ely, Board Member
Jenny serves as the CEO of Southern Hospitality Luxury Rentals, where she leads day-to-day operations, guest relations, housekeeping oversight, strategic planning, and company growth initiatives. With more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Jenny built her career fundraising for causes close to her heart, generating millions of dollars through events such as Bike MS, BourbonHam, and other major campaigns. Passionate, driven, and results-oriented, Jenny is a leader with a clear vision and a history of meaningful impact. Jenny lives in Birmingham with her husband, their two precious children and they wild Golden Doodle, Holly.
FAQs
What is ALSTRA, and who can join?
ALSTRA is Alabama’s statewide trade association for the short-term rental industry, organized as a nonprofit 501(c)(6) business league. Membership has three classes: Host/Operator members (owners and operators of Alabama STRs — voting), Property Manager members (companies managing STRs for others — voting), and Vendor/Affiliate members (cleaners, photographers, software, insurance, lenders, and other industry service providers — non-voting). If short-term rentals are part of your business, there’s a seat for you.
How can I best support the mission of ALSTRA?
Become a member! Your dues help support our work to advocate, educate, and connect the Alabama short-term rental community. Together, we’re stronger and more effective in protecting fair, responsible hosting across the state.
Do I need a license to operate a short-term rental in Alabama?
There is no statewide STR license, but many cities require one. Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley, Dauphin Island, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Huntsville, Guntersville, and Fort Payne all have licensing or permitting requirements, and rules vary widely — from a $20 annual permit in Guntersville to license caps and special-exception hearings in Tuscaloosa. Always check with your city before listing. Properties in unincorporated areas of most counties (like Fort Morgan) currently need no local permit.
What taxes do I have to collect and pay?
Every Alabama short-term rental stay under 180 days owes the state lodging tax (4% in most of the state, 5% in the Mountain Lakes counties of North Alabama), plus any county and city lodging taxes. Combined rates range from 6% at Fort Morgan to 16% in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Taxes apply to the full amount charged, including cleaning fees.
Doesn’t Airbnb or Vrbo handle my taxes for me?
Only partly. Since January 1, 2025, Alabama law requires booking platforms to collect and remit state lodging taxes on the bookings they process, and Airbnb also collects many state-administered local taxes. But platforms do not collect every locally administered tax — cities like Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Foley administer their own lodging taxes, and several lake-area taxes are remitted through Avenu. If you take direct bookings, you are responsible for all taxes on those stays. When in doubt, register through My Alabama Taxes and confirm what your platform actually covers.
Can my city really restrict or ban short-term rentals?
Yes. In Dixon v. City of Auburn (2023), the Alabama Supreme Court upheld municipalities’ authority to regulate short-term rentals through zoning. Alabama has no state law preempting local STR rules, which is why local advocacy matters so much — and why ALSTRA exists. Cities across the state are actively writing and revising STR ordinances right now.
My property is in an unincorporated area. Do any rules apply to me?
Most Alabama counties have no zoning and no STR permit requirements, so your obligations are typically tax registration (state plus any county lodging tax) and any applicable covenants or HOA rules. Watch for police-jurisdiction taxes if you are near a city’s limits, and note that county-level rules can change — Baldwin and Jefferson counties do exercise zoning in some areas.
What insurance do I need?
Several Alabama cities (including Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Guntersville) require proof of $1 million in liability coverage — either a commercial policy or a homeowner’s rider that expressly covers short-term renting. Even where not required, standard homeowner’s policies often exclude STR activity, so dedicated STR coverage is a best practice everywhere.
What does it mean to be a responsible host?
Beyond legal compliance: accurate listings, working smoke and CO detectors and extinguishers, posted emergency information, clear house rules on noise, trash, and parking, a local contact who can respond quickly, and respect for neighbors and community standards like coastal Alabama’s Leave Only Footprints beach rules and Share the Beach sea-turtle guidelines. Responsible hosting is the foundation of ALSTRA’s advocacy — it is much easier to argue for fair rules when our members are model operators.
How do I stay on top of regulatory changes?
Join ALSTRA. Cities are actively revising STR rules — Birmingham is debating its first STR ordinance now, Gulf Shores has paused new licenses in some districts, and tax administration changes regularly. We monitor state and local developments, alert members when something affects them, and organize hosts to show up when it counts.