Short-term rental regulation: How operators stay ahead and stay legal, with Sébastien Long

Regulation is tightening for short-term rentals, and operators who stay quiet risk not knowing how to stay compliant.In this episode of Minute by Minut, host Nils Mattisson sits down with Sebastian Long (Founder and CEO of Lodgeur, and Founding President of the Texas Short Term Rental Association) to unpack what happens when cities write rules without understanding how professional operators actually work. Sebastian shares a real story from Houston where early regulation drafts could have been an existential threat, plus what it took to mobilize, show up, and change the outcome.  They also dive into the rise of multifamily hospitality, why design directly impacts revenue, how to structure owner partnerships, and where tech and AI can genuinely help without replacing the fundamentals of hospitality.  Chapters00:00 The Houston regulation that nearly killed the business01:04 Show intro01:34 Meet Sebastian Long02:41 Sebastian’s journey from hospitality to banking to Lodgeur06:29 Why he started Lodgeur07:17 Can design really increase revenue? The data behind it10:56 B2B2C tension: designing for owners and guests11:47 The COVID pivot that changed the model15:05 Aligning incentives with revenue share and smarter leases16:33 Using Minut data to win a $25k rebate20:16 Where operators and regulators clash most23:59 Managing long-term regulatory risk26:41 Tech, AI, and the reality of integrations34:32 What operators are not preparing for39:02 If he started again: what he’d do differently41:07 The wildest surprise running Lodgeur42:27 Final thoughts and wrap