Arts Commission offers ideas for improved hotel tax collection from STRs

The Arts Commission has given City Council a three-part recommendation for how to improve collections of Hotel Occupancy Tax from thousands of unlicensed short-term rental properties operating throughout the city. At last month’s meeting, the commission approved a recommendation that is estimated would net an additional $3 million per year for programs related to live music, cultural arts and historic preservation. The recommendation asks Council and the city manager to implement a streamlined, tiered licensing system to differentiate between owner-occupied STRs and those operated by nonresidents. It also pushes for an agreement with STR platforms that would see the city’s hotel tax revenue automatically levied and remitted in a timely manner. The third component calls for creating an “opt-out” sustainability fee on STR bookings, with the revenue used for a new Cultural Sustainability Fund to promote arts and music preservation. Also this year, the Tourism Commission and Music Commission have approved similar recommendations regarding STRs and improved hotel tax collection.