This is one of the most important questions a condotel board can ask — and one of the most frequently left unasked until the conflict is already affecting how the property is governed.
The answer is clear: the association management company is hired by and accountable to the board. The board represents all unit owners, and the management company’s obligation is to serve that interest. That accountability is non-negotiable.
But there is a harder truth that follows immediately from that answer. In a condotel, the onsite rental company is not simply a vendor. It is a major stakeholder — often holding significant unit inventory, carrying board representation, and having a direct financial interest in every operational decision the association makes. A management company that simply declares its loyalty to the board and ignores the working relationship with the rental company will find that the property suffers, decisions stall, and unit owners on both sides of the table lose confidence in how the association is being governed.
The real question isn’t who the management company represents. It’s whether the management company is skilled enough to represent the board fully while maintaining the professional working relationship with the rental company that makes effective governance possible. That is a genuinely difficult balance — and it is one that Tradd has developed a structured approach to achieving.
What conflict between the board and rental company actually looks like
When the board and rental company relationship breaks down, the effects are felt everywhere. Opposition emerges on every action that tries to be taken. Decisions that should be straightforward become contentious. Meetings become adversarial. The management company is caught in the middle, unable to execute effectively for the board because every initiative is met with resistance from a stakeholder that has board representation and significant influence.
Unit owners feel the dysfunction even when they don’t fully understand it. The property suffers operationally because the two entities responsible for running it are working against each other. And the board — which is ultimately accountable to all unit owners — loses credibility because it cannot get things done.
This situation is more common than most condotel boards realize. And it is almost always resolvable with the right process.
How Tradd resolves board and rental company conflict
Tradd has stepped into condotel associations where the conflict between the board and rental company had created a complete breakdown in governance — where opposition to every proposed action had made the association effectively ungovernable. In each case, the resolution followed a structured process that Tradd has developed and refined across multiple resort properties.
Step 1: Define the identity and desired image of the property
Before any process or structure can be built, the board and rental company must find their common ground. That starts with a shared vision for the property — what it is, what it should be, and what kind of experience it should deliver to owners, guests, and the broader community. When both parties can agree on the desired identity of the property, that shared vision becomes the foundation for every decision that follows. It transforms “us versus them” into a common purpose that both parties have a stake in achieving.
Step 2: Tradd’s Trust Builder process
Trust is the foundation of any functional relationship — and it is the first thing that erodes when conflict develops between a board and rental company. Tradd utilizes a structured Trust Builder process specifically designed to identify where trust has broken down, address the underlying causes directly, and create the conditions for a working relationship built on transparency and accountability rather than assumption and suspicion. This process is central to every Tradd engagement where relationship friction exists, and it is one of the most consistently effective tools we deploy.
Step 3: Establish regular communication and structured meetings
Most board and rental company conflict is sustained by a communication vacuum. Decisions get made without adequate input. People find out about actions after the fact. Frustration builds because there is no reliable channel for concerns to be heard before they become grievances. Tradd establishes regular, structured communication between the board and rental company — creating consistent meeting opportunities where all parties can be heard prior to decisions being implemented. When people feel heard, opposition decreases. When decisions are made transparently with input from relevant stakeholders, they carry more authority and generate less resistance.
Step 4: The Executive Report process and portal transparency
Tradd’s Executive Report process provides a structured, regular summary of activities, action items, timelines, and decision points that is accessible to all parties. This is supported by a website portal that gives the board, the rental company, and relevant stakeholders real-time access to monitor activities, track approval processes, and stay current on what is happening and why. When everyone is working from the same information, the conspiracy theories and assumptions that feed conflict have nowhere to take root. Transparency is not just a value at Tradd — it is a system.
Step 5: Personality assessments
One of the most powerful — and often most enjoyable — elements of Tradd’s conflict resolution process is the personality assessment activity conducted with board members and rental company decision makers together. Different personalities lead differently, communicate differently, and process information differently. What feels like obstruction from one personality type is often simply a different decision-making style from another. When board members and rental company leaders can see those differences clearly — and understand how those differences have been driving friction — something shifts. The activity tends to be genuinely engaging, and it consistently produces a bonding effect that no amount of structured process alone can replicate. People who understand each other work together better. That understanding is the foundation Tradd builds from.
Step 6: Define shared goals and objectives
Once common ground, trust, communication, and mutual understanding are established, Tradd works with both parties to define the goals and objectives that will guide decision making going forward. The rental company needs to understand the board’s priorities and feel confident that the board’s decisions are sound and well-reasoned. The board needs to understand the operational realities and business imperatives that the rental company faces — including the fundamental nature of condotel operations, where the units are not residences but hotel rooms within the accommodations industry, and where the rental company’s operational decisions are driven by hospitality business logic, not residential community preferences. When both sides understand each other’s world, the basis for decision making becomes shared rather than contested.
The result of Tradd’s process is not just a resolved conflict. It is a board and rental company that understand each other, trust each other, and are aligned around a common vision for the property — which is exactly what unit owners deserve from the people governing their investment.
Tradd’s broader involvement in the coastal accommodations industry
One of the indirect but significant benefits Tradd brings to condotel associations is our active involvement in the organizations and governance structures that shape the environment coastal resort properties operate in.
Tradd’s leadership and affiliated members serve on local, state, and national legislative and governance committees for real estate and accommodations industry organizations — including active participation in lobbying efforts and advocacy activities that promote and protect the interests of coastal communities and the accommodations industry. Tradd’s CEO is a past Real Estate Commissioner. Members of Tradd are involved with the Chamber and serve on governance committees that influence the regulatory and business environment across the Grand Strand.
For a condotel association, this means your management company is not simply reacting to the regulatory and political environment — it is participating in shaping it. When legislation affecting short-term rentals, coastal property regulations, HOA governance, or the accommodations industry is being developed, Tradd has people in those conversations. That awareness and influence is an indirect but real benefit to every condotel association we manage.
If your board is ready to explore what a transition to Tradd would look like — including timing, contract review, and what the Tradd Advantage means for your specific community — we’d welcome that conversation.