Duluth City Council Passes Landmark Airbnb Tax Agreement

Airbnb is quickly becoming a favorite lodging option for tourists all over the world.  Rather than stay at a hotel, Airbnb allows visitors to book a home, condo, or apartment when they travel.

One thing that can be tricky for cities is collecting and remitting hotel taxes for a company like Airbnb, which is why the resolution the Duluth City Council passed Monday is newsworthy.

According the the City of Duluth, a resolution passed Monday evening authorized the Mayor and Chief Financial Officer to enter into what would be a historic tax collection agreement with Airbnb.

Once signed, the tax agreement allows the company to collect tourist taxes on behalf of Duluth hosts and remit the revenue directly to the City.

According to the City:

With the tax agreement in place, Duluth will fully benefit from people visiting the city and staying longer through home sharing.  Effective June 1, Airbnb will automatically collect and remit the Duluth Lodging Tax (3%) for taxable bookings, making the process seamless and easy for local Airbnb hosts.

City officials state that Airbnb has over 370 tax partnerships in the U.S., but this is Airbnb’s first tax agreement in the state of Minnesota.