Airbnb Will Start Collecting a Hotel Tax in DC

• January 30, 2015

by UrbanTurf Staff

An Airbnb rental in DC.

Airbnb will get more expensive in DC starting in mid-February.

On Friday, the fast-growing, short-term rental business announced that it would start collecting a hotel levy from its DC guests. Beginning February 15, guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in DC will pay a hotel tax that will amount to 14.5 percent of the listing price of a rental. This likely means that DC Airbnb rentals are going to become markedly more expensive.

As UrbanTurf has previously reported, Airbnb, which allows people to rent out all or part of their homes to short-term renters, has spent much of its life fending off accusations from the hotel industry that it is avoiding taxes.

“We know that our community has already contributed substantial positive economic benefits in each of our communities, and this is just one more step in helping our hosts make their neighborhoods stronger,” David Hantman, the company’s head of lobbying said.

DC is just the latest city where Airbnb has decided to start levying the tax. In April, the company started collecting a hotel tax in San Francisco and shortly before that, the tax was instituted in Portland, Oregon. UrbanTurf looked at the regulatory issues surrounding Airbnb in DC in an article back in early 2014.

The move to collect a tax is a sign that DC, where the number of Airbnb guests rose 130 percent in 2013, may be taking steps toward legitimizing the service in the city.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/airbnb_will_start_collecting_a_hotel_tax_in_dc/9473