While there are only a handful of homes in Stafford County that are listed for rent on the popular property-sharing website AirBNB, there are lots of individual rooms for rent.
On Airbnb, customers can use a website to reserve a property in the same manner as a hotel. Customers are, however, snagging a room at someone’s home rather than an established hotel.
Stafford County charges those established inns s standard 5% tax, called the transient occupancy tax, or hotel tax for short. Every guest pays it when the book a room.
The county for years has been in talks to charge similar taxes on Airbnb stays, and it appears it has struck a deal with the firm to make it happen.
“I feel it is important for us to move forward and start collecting tax revenue now and not wait for a resolution to that reporting problem. We hope to enter into an agreement with AirB&B this spring and being collecting taxes immediately thereafter,” Stafford County Commissioner of the Revenue Scott Mayausky told Potomac Local News.
That reporting problem he mentioned: Airbnb already offers to collect taxes on behalf of the county, but it won’t turn over a listing of properties in the county that are available on its website to rent.
Unlike county hotels which are normally packed, said Mayausky, AirBNBs in Stafford County see high vacancy rates and generate only sporadic revenue for property owners.
That’s why, if the county starts collecting taxes off AirBNB rentals, it won’t be much.
“I am estimating it will only generate around $2,000 of additional revenue,” said Mayausky.
Stafford County Rock Hill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch brought up the AirBNB topic at a recent county supervisors meeting. She suggested that, if people knew taxes were being collected to benefit the community, more people might choose to stay in AirBNBs.
Hotel owners have encouraged the county to collect the taxes on Airbnb rentals. “We’ve had several members of the hotel community tell us it is a matter of fairness,” added Mayausky.
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