Athens County ends Airbnb lodging‑tax contract, directs hosts to remit taxes directly

The Athens County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 17 to terminate the county's lodging‑tax collection contract with Airbnb effective April 1, saying the platform’s lump‑sum payments lack the property‑level detail the auditor needs to verify collections and identify noncompliant short‑term rentals.

Boone Troyer of the Visitors Bureau told the board Airbnb remits “lump sums” with no property detail, which prevents auditors from reconciling payments to individual properties and makes it difficult to identify delinquent accounts. The bureau offered to lead education and outreach to hosts and said it is also working at the state level with other visitor bureaus on legislation to require greater reporting from short‑term rental platforms.

The board directed staff and the county prosecutor to prepare and send the required 30‑day written termination notice and to develop public communications explaining that, after April 1, hosts must file and pay lodging taxes directly to the county. Commissioner Charlie Adkins made the motion to terminate the contract; Commissioner Chris Chmiel seconded it. The roll call was Eliason, yea; Chmiel, yea; Adkins, yea.

Officials discussed short‑ and longer‑term enforcement options: the auditor's office can track known properties directly and pursue delinquent accounts through the prosecutor’s office, as Fairfield County reportedly does; other options mentioned included creating a dedicated lodging‑tax administrator to be housed in the CVB and financed with lodging revenue. The board agreed to begin with phased administrative changes tied to new regulations and owner outreach rather than immediate structural reorganization.

The action responds to a practical auditing problem rather than a change in tax policy, county staff said; the board did not change the lodging‑tax rate or collection responsibility beyond directing that hosts file directly after the contract ends.