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Athens County votes to end Airbnb third-party collection after reconciliation problems
Summary
Auditor staff reported double-payment cases and lump-sum Airbnb remittances that lack property-level detail; commissioners voted Feb. 10 to terminate the Airbnb collection agreement effective April 1 and referred late-fee collection questions to the prosecutor.
The Athens County Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 10 to terminate the county's third-party lodging-tax collection agreement with Airbnb, citing reconciliation problems and a lack of property-level remittance detail that prevents verification of host payments.
Leah Allen of the Auditor's Office told the board that some hosts had already remitted county lodging tax while Airbnb also withheld and remitted the same tax in aggregate, resulting in apparent double payments for some hosts. The office also reported that Airbnb sends lump-sum checks without a host or property breakdown, preventing the county from reconciling collections to specific properties.
Commissioners approved issuing a refund to Stafford Hill Cabins LLC from the Hotel Lodging Settlement fund for an identified overpayment and agreed to refer another property's late-fee collection to the prosecutor after accrued late fees of $3,147.86 were identified. The board voted to terminate the Airbnb agreement, with the termination to be effective April 1 so hosts will be required under new county lodging regulations to file directly with the county.
The motion to terminate was made by Commissioner Chris Chmiel, seconded by Commissioner Charlie Adkins, and passed on a roll call that recorded Lenny Eliason absent, Chmiel yea, Adkins yea. The auditor and prosecutor will review the termination paperwork and the county's enforcement and collection options going forward.
