Airbnb has collected USD 1 billion in hotel and tourism tax

Airbnb has collected USD 1 billion in hotel and tourism tax (TOT) globally to date. The home-sharing company has established partnerships with more than 400 governments around the world to collect and remit taxes. It was announced through a press release.

“At Airbnb, we’ve made the commitment to treat every city personally and help ensure our community pays its fair share of hotel and tourist taxes (TOT),” the statement said.

“Home sharing democratizes revenue by providing an increasingly valuable source of funding for governments around the world. When Airbnb collects and remits hotel and similar taxes on behalf of our hosts, we help ensure a streamlined process that lightens the administrative burden for hosts as well as state and local governments,” the statement further noted.

Besides key states in the US, Airbnb also collects and remits tourist taxes in many communities across Europe, including Amsterdam, Dortmund, Florence, Lisbon, and Milan. This year, the company also began collecting TOT in 23,000 cities in France.

“We have seen Airbnb to be a key partner, helping us on the revenue front with dollars similar to what the hotels pay. It has helped us in Jersey City with police, with fire, with service. I do believe that this is the way of the future. It’s another outlet for families,” said US Steven Fullop, Mayor of Jersey City in New Jersey, while commenting on the partnership with Airbnb.

“It’s attracted visitors to different neighbourhoods that they wouldn’t normally go to. The Airbnb solution that we have here has worked really well for us,” Fullop added.