With Pope and DNC coming to town, Philly wants to collect hotel tax on Airbnb rentals

If you’re planning to rent out your house or apartment for the Pope’s Visit or Democratic National Convention, the city of Philadelphia wants a taste.  

Under the proposed ordinance, owners and tenant-occupants may lease residences for up to 30 days without a rental license. Short-term rentals would be subject to the 8.5 percent City Hotel Room Rental Tax and Tourism and Marketing Tax, proceeds of which are split between the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.

 

Councilman Bill Greenlee sponsored the bill for the Nutter Administration.

“These things have really sprung up not only in Philadelphia but all over the country and they are pretty much unregulated,” he said.  “Particularly now with the Pope coming and the DNC and other things happening in Philadelphia, a lot of these rentals are generating a lot of income.” 

Councilman Greenlee says Airbnb already withholds taxes in other jurisdictions and the 8.5 percent hotel tax will just be a part of the rental cost.

“When people come in and are lodging somewhere,  people are turning their properties into a short term hotels and should be liable for the tax for the money they gather for that,” he said.

There is no estimate how much extending the tax will generate for the city.