4 ms·

> I run a vacation rental in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. I'm quite happy to pay the taxes the town demands. Do you collect the same taxes as ho

by jak92 8y ago

> I run a vacation rental in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. I'm quite happy to pay the taxes the town demands. Do you collect the same taxes as hotels do? Have you registered as a business with your city?

alistairSH 8y ago
Not the OP, but my dad has as beach house that gets rented out weekly over the summer. He pays short-term rental property taxes to the county. No idea if it's the same rate as hotels, but it is a tax above what a non-renting owner would pay.
nate_meurer 8y ago
Well, since the city collects taxes from us, they'd naturally be aware that we're running a business, don't you think? :) Yes, we have a Colorado sales tax license and a city-issued business license, both hanging on the wall like any other business. Every vacation rental in town -- many dozens of them in all -- does the same. The town is small, neighbors are watchful, and city enforcement is strict. We pay lodging and sales tax, same as a hotels. My rental rates are about half the cost for the same space in a hotel, and it's way nicer. You don't get a full kitchen in a hotel. We pump a lot of money into the local economy -- much more than we would if we lived there full time. My cleaning lady made about $8000 off our house last year. Guests tend to be pretty active patrons of restaurants and shops, and when they eat at the home they buy food from a little grocery in town. The nearest supermarket is 45 minutes away. It sucks that your neighborhood is suffering. But I rather doubt your situation would be much better if all the tourists were staying in hotels rather than airbnb's. Touristy destinations all face challenges, and there are myriad ways a city can screw it up. But not everywhere is like Miami. A lot of our mountain towns are slowly dying. Some of them of tried to stay alive by legalizing casino gambling. It seems to work, but it turns your town into a casino town. Other towns are trying to navigate a delicate but potentially rewarding transition to being the kind of vacation destinations that people want to stay at for a week or more. Hotels can't help your town get that kind of business. Again, no kitchens. If I can help my town make that transition and also have a successful business for myself, it's a win-win for everybody.

by jak92 8y ago

alistairSH 8y ago

Not the OP, but my dad has as beach house that gets rented out weekly over the summer. He pays short-term rental property taxes to the county. No idea if it's the same rate as hotels, but it is a tax above what a non-renting owner would pay.

nate_meurer 8y ago

Well, since the city collects taxes from us, they'd naturally be aware that we're running a business, don't you think? :) Yes, we have a Colorado sales tax license and a city-issued business license, both hanging on the wall like any other business. Every vacation rental in town -- many dozens of them in all -- does the same. The town is small, neighbors are watchful, and city enforcement is strict. We pay lodging and sales tax, same as a hotels. My rental rates are about half the cost for the same space in a hotel, and it's way nicer. You don't get a full kitchen in a hotel. We pump a lot of money into the local economy -- much more than we would if we lived there full time. My cleaning lady made about $8000 off our house last year. Guests tend to be pretty active patrons of restaurants and shops, and when they eat at the home they buy food from a little grocery in town. The nearest supermarket is 45 minutes away. It sucks that your neighborhood is suffering. But I rather doubt your situation would be much better if all the tourists were staying in hotels rather than airbnb's. Touristy destinations all face challenges, and there are myriad ways a city can screw it up. But not everywhere is like Miami. A lot of our mountain towns are slowly dying. Some of them of tried to stay alive by legalizing casino gambling. It seems to work, but it turns your town into a casino town. Other towns are trying to navigate a delicate but potentially rewarding transition to being the kind of vacation destinations that people want to stay at for a week or more. Hotels can't help your town get that kind of business. Again, no kitchens. If I can help my town make that transition and also have a successful business for myself, it's a win-win for everybody.