There wasn’t much discussion about it, but Belleville Council has approved an agreement with AirBnB, to have the short-term accommodation provider collect the city’s municipal accommodation tax on rentals of its properties.
As of July 1 last year, AirBnB and other short-term accommodations, like hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, must charge an extra 4% with those revenues going back to the city.
The agreement means AirBnB will collect that money via its platform and pay it back to the city, which staff say will be much more convenient than setting up an in-house licensing and registration process that the city would have to maintain.
A report from Manager of Economic and Strategic Initiatives Karen Poste estimates the MAT has brought in close to $500,000 so far, most of that from the big accommodation providers.
A brief review of the AirBnB site shows about 100 establishments in the City of Belleville.
