Innovation has created a new product, Airbnbs. It is a form of short-term accommodation like a bed and breakfast, but it is not subject to the same government regulations because bookings take place mostly online. One problem is, it is particularly hard for code enforcement officers to find over-occupied houses. After all, we have an affordable housing crisis, and we might solve it if we let people bunk up, couch crash, and otherwise get out of the elements in the winter. I digress.
As things usually play out, the B&B’s are now begging government to kneecap the Airbnbs so they don’t run too far ahead of the hobbled institutions.
[B&B’s] must charge a sales tax and the 4 percent Buncombe County occupancy tax. And their establishment must comply with a laundry list of building codes, fire codes and health inspections.
The local daily holds up Austin, Texas as one city that has addressed the cause:
Owners of short-term rentals are required to pay a $285 fee and meet additional parking requirements as well as show proof of property insurance, pay a hotel occupancy tax, if applicable, and either have a certificate of occupancy or hire a third-party inspector.
A chunk of the pay then goes to create jobs for Airbnb processors in the planning department. And, hey, the city did want to “staff-up” its planning department.
The article also argues B&B’s charge taxes that go to the TDA. The fees charged by Airbnb’s, by contrast, “don’t go back into the local economy.” One would think the B&B’s would like this, as their feather-down four-posters are surely more comfy than those crunchy, crunchy money-filled mattresses.
