Starting Aug. 1, Blacksburg will collect a seven percent transient lodging tax on Airbnb bookings.
Blacksburg follows Alexandria as the second Virginia locality to tax what the company calls the “world’s largest community-driven hospitality platform.”
Other localities including the District of Columbia; Maryland’s Montgomery County and several southeastern states are also receiving remittances from Airbnb.
“Under the new agreement, Airbnb will collect the taxes, reducing the burden on the town and the person leasing the property, but we have no real ability to audit Airbnb,” Blacksburg Town Manager Marc Verniel said.
The town has discussed taxing transient lodging for years developing a town ordinance in 2016 requiring people renting out houses and rooms as transient lodging to register with the town and collect the taxes.
Property owners participating with Airbnb register with the town according to an ordinance that limits the number of nights/year for a home stay.
“We could check up on individual owners, and Airbnb is sharing a limited amount of information, but we feel it’s a step in the right direction.”
Guests will be charged the tax when they book a listing on the Airbnb platform and Airbnb will then remit the taxes collected to the town.
Airbnb reports there are 260 sites in Blacksburg and 10,600 “guest arrivals” annually.
The company website lists a similar number of home shares in Christiansburg.
“It’s kind of a mystery though, actually,” Verniel said. “Hosts might be renting just for graduation or the football season. It varies month to month.”
“Being able to collect and remit taxes on behalf of our hosts and guests will help Airbnb’s community pay their fair share, is a win-win for Blacksburg’s growing popularity among travellers, and will create an additional stream of revenue from the state’s tourism industry,” the release said.
“While we want to se more transparency from Airbnb, I think it’s a good step in the right direction where taxes are being collected,” Verniel said.
— Staff reports
