Finance expert for the rapidly growing short-term lodging marketplace, Rob Stephens co-founded HotSpot Tax in 2002 out of his own necessity to understand and manage compliance with his rental property. In 2015, HotSpot Tax became part of the product lineup for Avalara, which publishes of cloud-based software delivering compliance solutions related to sales tax, VAT and other transactional taxes, and is in transition to the name Avalara MyLodgeTax. Today, HotSpot Tax is the leading provider of tax compliance solutions for the vacation rental industry. HotSpot Tax simplifies compliance and manages tax filings for thousands of vacation rental owners and managers across the United States. HotSpot Tax’s unique and powerful solution manages all aspects of tax compliance, including obtaining and renewing required licenses, filing tax returns, and tracking tax rate and law changes. Stephens’ passion and know-how with complicated lodging tax compliance in the vacation rental industry has presented him with regular speaking engagements at industry events. Stephens has owned and managed his own vacation rental in Vail, Colo., since 1999.