Airbnb to start collecting "tourist tax" in paris

Photo: RubyGoes

The most popular city on the home sharing site will be the first location for the tax, which will be collected directly from users of properties. The levy will come into effect from 1st October 2015, with Airbnb planning to roll it out to subsequent French cities.

Tourists using Airbnb will pay a fee of €0.83 per person per night, with Airbnb properties now being classified under the rental category of furnished lets or ‘meublés touristiques non classés’.

In the face of rising hotel costs, Airbnb has grown very quickly in Paris over the last few years.

Figures from an economic study carried out by Airbnb back in June 2013 show that Parisian properties on Airbnb generated €185 million towards the economy. Paris-based hosts accommodated 223,000 Airbnb users between May 2012 and April 2013 with 83 per cent of hosts renting out the homes they live in on an occasional basis. On average Airbnb guests stay 5.2 nights and spend €865 over the course of their trip, compared to hotel guests who stay an average of 2.3 nights and spend €439. Over 27 per cent said they would not have come to Paris or stayed as long without Airbnb.

"The move is a result of changes to made to the ‘Loi Alur’ last year, which saw a raft of measures brought in to transform the French housing market,” explains Camille Letuve at Athena Advisors. "It takes the collection of tourist taxes out of the hands of the owners, but is essentially designed to do two things; make it easier for owners to use Airbnb, thereby increasing the number of people who use the platform and secondly, make sure that the city receives all its tourist tax receipts."

Indeed, it is the latest in a number of recent similar tourist tax collection agreements. A similar agreement in Amsterdam came into affect in February this year, after others in the US, including Washington and San Francisco.

"Three years ago there were only a few thousand listings and now there are over 50,000," adds Letuve. "It’s no surprise really as the rent caps on long-term rentals mean that owners find it easier to generate rental returns through short-lets, even if managing them may be more intense."