The cost to hosts and guests using the hospitality service, Airbnb, will go up in Oceanside next month as the company starts to collect taxes to be given to the city.
Starting May 1, Airbnb will begin collecting a 10 percent Transient Occupancy Tax and 1.5 percent Tourism Marketing District Assessment on behalf of its hosts and guests on all bookings.
Guests will be charged the taxes on their Airbnb reservation. The company will then send the taxes collected to the City of Oceanside.
“Tourism revenue plays an important part in the city budget, and this process will ensure that the appropriate taxes from that industry are collected in a timely and efficient fashion," Oceanside City Manager Michelle Skaggs Lawrence said.
Airbnb said they are voluntarily collecting the taxes as a new partnership and agreement with the city.
"The extra revenue will go towards our city’s General Fund, which pays for Police, Fire, Parks, and Libraries," added Lawrence.
Some are opposed to the new tax. "We have a housing crisis and homeless epidemic," said Nicole Joyce in a Facebook comment. "Put the community before the tourism!"
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Airbnb's Head of Policy for California, Matt Middlebrook, said the service helps families in Oceanside make extra money by renting out their rooms and homes.
“We are excited to partner with the City of Oceanside to make the tax collection process easier for hosts and want to promote healthy tourism in Oceanside communities," said Middlebrook.
The new agreement makes Oceanside one of 400 jurisdictions around the world that collect and remit taxes. More than $1.25 billion in hotel and tourist taxes has been collected worldwide since 2014, according to Airbnb.
Airbnb already collects similar taxes in San Diego, Carlsbad, Riverside, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, among other California cities.
Airbnb said the City of San Diego collected $7 million through a partnership with Airbnb's Transient Occupancy Tax program in 2016.
