Holiday Shacks and three other concerned short stay accommodation business operators have recently formed the Victorian Holiday and Short Stay Industry Group - http://www.vicshortstay.com.au/

We would encourage you to become a member of this group if you are a Victorian property manager and / or short stay accommodation provider. Please read the below information disseminated to Property Owners and Managers in Victoria today.

Short Stay Accommodation in Victoria is under threat, 17 November 2011

The City of Melbourne is discussing the idea of shutting down the short stay accommodation industry.

As a result, four concerned Victorian short-stay accommodation providers have formed the VicShortStay Industry Group with the hopes of creating a group large enough to self-regulate itself. You can join the group at www.vicshortstay.com.au

The Industry Group believes that, when property managers are not managing their guests properly, local councils have nowhere to refer complaints to, and, in frustration, are turning to legal channels to try and shut down the entire industry.

The Industry Group believes that rather than shutting down the industry, the industry should promote responsible self-regulation to ensure short stay accommodation is provided in accordance with community accepted standards.

The Industry Group's objectives are:
-    To encourage the adoption of a Code of Conduct for short stay property managers
-    To provide networking opportunities for members wanting to collaborate and share costs on key issues such as legal challenges, enabling representation by a consistent expert panel of professionals bringing consistency of message to all stakeholders
-    To promote the Industry Group to PR/Media to ensure we have a voice
-    To give local council, building managers and concerned long term residents a channel for reporting complaints
-    To tackle rogue operators to ensure the ongoing viability of the short stay accommodation sector

For more information go to www.vicshortstay.com.au