Tourism commission recommends improvements to Austin short-term rentals
AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Wednesday, Austin’s Tourism Commission approved a list of ten recommendations regarding short-term rentals.
The list is expected to be sent to the Austin City Council.
The recommendations came from a short-term rental working group tasked with finding ways to address challenges from unlicensed STRs.
Thousands of unlicensed short-term rentals
“Right now we have a system where 2,000 STRs are licensed and 11,000 are unlicensed,” said Tourism Commissioner Christian Tschoepe.
Tschoepe said getting more short-term rentals licensed would generate millions of dollars for the city.
“We’re losing somewhere between $25 million and $50 million in taxes that these properties are supposed to be paying to the city,” Tschoepe said. “That’s money that could go towards parks. That’s money that can go towards promoting tourism.”
What are the recommendations?
Some of the recommendations include:
Require more information from applicants for STR licenses and maintain a database
Focus on underreported Hotel Occupancy Taxes (HOT), which leads to a loss in revenue
Enhance transparency and streamline licensing by simplifying the application process, implementing online systems, and addressing open citations by implementing an efficient tax and permit fee system.
Prioritize safety and community well-being by upholding safety regulations through proactive inspections, addressing noise complaints, and promoting responsible guest behavior.
Foster collaborative partnerships by building strategic partnerships with platforms, neighborhood associations and the Austin Police Department
Implement platform fees and hold platforms accountable for aiding non-compliance
Other recommendations focused on rewarding STRs that comply with rules. One suggested offering discounts and incentives for compliant and sustainable STRs.
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Another recommended creating performance benchmarks and an honorary “Best Practices” badge for STRs that consistently meet performance benchmarks.
‘Educate the folks who are operating’
Airbnb host, Mitch Flax, said he’s currently building a home specifically for short-term rental. He understands the process getting licensed as a short-term rental in Austin. Flax said it isn’t easy.
“Most people are operating illegally, because it’s so difficult to get that STR two license,” Flax said.
Flax agreed its beneficial to get more people licensed.
“Let the city capture the tax revenue and let’s operate in a way that the city can manage this and everything is done aboveboard,” Flax said. “I see nothing wrong with that. I think that’s exactly the way that the city should be attacking this issue of unlicensed STRs.”
Flax even had a suggestion of his own: offer training for short-term rental operators on best practices.
“I think you got to educate the folks who are operating,” Flax said. “That way, you can kind of create some standardization.”
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