Is the City of San Antonio Able to Reach You?

When was the last time you checked the contact information in your City of San Antonio short-term rental permit?

It may seem like a small detail, but keeping your records current in BuildSA can save you from missed notices, compliance problems, and unnecessary headaches.

The City relies on the information in your BuildSA account to contact you about important matters, including:

• Permit renewals

• Code compliance issues

• Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) questions or refunds

• Your required 24-hour emergency contact

Lately, STRASA has been hearing from both STR operators and City staff that communication isn't always reaching the right person. Letters are mailed to old addresses. Emails bounce back. Phone numbers are no longer valid. In many cases, the problem isn't that the City didn't try to make contact—it's that the information on file is out of date.

Changed Operators or Property Managers?

If you've hired a new property manager, switched operators, or changed your emergency contact, don't forget to update your BuildSA record.

The City can issue a replacement STR permit at no charge showing the correct operator and contact information. Under the San Antonio Short-Term Rental Ordinance, the permit must be displayed inside the short-term rental. That means the information on the permit is often the first place guests, neighbors, emergency responders, or City staff look when they need assistance. If the permit isn't current, the wrong person may receive that late-night phone call—or an important compliance notice.

A Real-World Example

Recently, a San Antonio STR owner received an unexpected phone call from a guest—at 2:00 a.m.

The guest had found the owner's name and phone number on the permit posted inside the property. The problem? The owner was no longer managing the rental.

When the permit was originally issued, the homeowner had not yet hired a professional property manager, so the permit still listed the owner's contact information. Although the management company had taken over operations, the permit had never been updated.

Needless to say, the owner wasn't happy about the middle-of-the-night wake-up call.

The management company immediately sent its staff to every property it managed to verify that each posted permit listed the correct operator and 24-hour emergency contact.

Take Five Minutes Today

It's worth taking a few minutes to verify that your BuildSA account is current and that the permit posted in your STR matches your current operation.

Ask yourself:

• Is the mailing address still correct?

• Does the email address still work?

• Is the phone number current?

• Is the correct operator listed?

• Is the required 24-hour emergency contact accurate?

• Does the permit displayed inside your STR match the information in your BuildSA account?

Keeping your records current helps the City reach the right person, helps guests know who to contact, and helps ensure the person listed on the posted permit is the one who should receive that 2:00 a.m. phone call.

It's one of the easiest pieces of STR compliance—and one of the most overlooked.