ARL appoints short-stay special advisor

Rental sector membership body the Association for Rental Living has appointed Merilee Karr as short stay rental special advisor.

Merilee is founder and chief executive of UnderTheDoormat Group and brings more than a decade of experience in the short-term rental sector.

She founded UnderTheDoormat in 2014, before merging with Veeve in 2023 and acquiring a portfolio of London and Paris properties from onefinestay this year.

Merilee previously founded the UK Short Term Accommodation Association in 2017 and chaired the organisation for seven years, working with UK and EU governments on policy, standards and regulation.

Before entering the rental sector, Merilee spent 13 years at Shell, including overseeing maintenance across around 12,000 sites in 43 countries.

She said: “I am delighted to take up this role having worked closely with the Association for Rental Living through the TrustedStays partnership for many years. 

“Many aspects of the short stay and long-term rental living sector are shared, including the policy agenda, and I look forward to working together for the future growth of both.” 

Merilee’s appointment will see professionally managed short-stay and serviced accommodation formally represented within the Association for Rental Living.

The organisation represents institutionally backed, professionally managed purpose-built rental living sectors and is seeking to help operators capitalise on growing demand for flexible accommodation.

Brendan Geraghty, chief executive of the Association for Rental Living, added: “Merilee’s appointment reinforces our commitment to building a thriving rental living ecosystem, where all parts can work together for mutual benefit and we welcome her contribution as special advisor to the Association for Rental Living.”

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.