Redmond: An Airbnb Tax Haven No More | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Redmond: An Airbnb Tax Haven No More

Short term rental app now remits 9 percent transient lodging tax


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howcasing the growing demand for Redmond short-term vacation rentals, Airbnb announced Tuesday it has begun remitting and collecting transient room taxes as of November 1.


Following a similar model to Bend, there will now be an additional 9 percent transient lodging tax on all bookings. A current search for listed homes in that area, yielded approximately 120 available listings for the December-January period— all would theoretically be impacted.

In a written press release, Redmond Mayor George Endicott stated, “Tourism brings important revenues to our city and we are grateful for this partnership with Airbnb that simplifies the collection process for hosts and guests.” Highlighting the recent tourism development of the growing city, the mayor added, “We have so much to offer visitors, from hikes to hunting and fishing to an exciting downtown with shops and eateries. It is great that our own residents are so engaged in welcoming tourists to the region.”

In Oregon alone, Airbnb has remitted $10.1 million in taxes from 637,000 visitors in a 12-month time period and has given these revenues to state, local and county governments, according to Laura Rillos, Airbnb’s press secretary. “There are more than 310 jurisdictions around the world where Airbnb has collected and remitted more than $300 million in hotel and tourist taxes,” wrote Rillos.

According to Airbnb, the collected taxes have been used for everything from affordable housing to bolstering tourism in normally tourist deprived areas. In Portland where tourism thrives, revenues were used for land acquisition for affordable housing units, including a recently approved parcel for development of 100-300 units in the southeast. In Eugene, the taxes were used to support cultural service programs, while Klamath and Lane counties used the revenues mostly for tourism promotion.

It’s unclear what the City of Redmond will do with its future revenues.

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