Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Short Term Rentals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Visit Greenville CEO outlines short‑term rental growth and tax gaps to Reynolds ad hoc committee
Summary
Heath Dillard of Visit Greenville SC told the Reynolds short‑term rentals ad hoc committee that nearly 2,000 short‑term rental units operate across Greenville County and that the county may be leaving local accommodations tax on the table; the committee requested more granular data and took no formal regulatory action.
Heath Dillard, president and CEO of Visit Greenville SC, told the Reynolds short‑term rentals ad hoc committee that "nearly 2,000" short‑term rental units are available on any given night across Greenville County and urged the committee to seek more granular, geography‑specific data before considering regulatory changes.
The presentation, given at an early fact‑finding meeting of the Reynolds Short‑Term Rentals Ad Hoc Committee, laid out the industry’s recent growth and revenue impact and prompted committee members to press staff for a split between municipal and unincorporated inventory so the county can identify what it actually regulates.
Dillard said the short‑term rental supply has climbed sharply since the pandemic and that the segment now accounts for a substantial share of the county’s accommodations market. "In a short 4‑year period, the total accommodations revenue that are flocking into short‑term rentals has grown by 25 million on an annualized basis," he said, adding an estimate that the county’s accommodations market is on the order of "$380 to $400 million." He also told members that roughly 1,750 of the nearly 2,000 units are classified as houses and that about two‑thirds of the supply are two‑plus‑bedroom units.
The committee discussed tax collection and enforcement. Members asked whether accommodations taxes are collected from guests or property owners and whether short‑term rentals remit local taxes. Dillard said platforms such as Airbnb generally remit state and some local taxes on behalf of hosts but cautioned the group that county‑level remittance of the 3% local accommodations tax in unincorporated areas may not be consistent without targeted enforcement or a data split to locate county‑jurisdiction units: "Airbnb remits on behalf of hosts," he said, but the committee was told staff must splice the data by municipality and unincorporated area to determine local exposure.
Committee staffer Chris summarized the team’s review of other South Carolina counties and said most counties remain largely hands‑off in unincorporated areas, though a minority use tools such as short‑term rental permits, mandatory local contact agents, guest‑book or advertising requirements, parking limits, occupancy caps, or misdemeanor penalties for violations. Chris said some counties that regulate short‑term rentals do so via zoning or a local permit tied to business registration so staff can monitor compliance.
Members asked for concrete next steps. The committee requested that Visit Greenville provide the requested municipality versus unincorporated breakdown and asked staff to return with zoning implications and examples of ordinances or permit programs used in peer counties. No ordinances, fees or enforcement mechanisms were adopted at the meeting.
Votes at a glance: The committee approved the minutes of the Feb. 16 meeting by voice vote and later moved to adjourn; no other formal actions were taken.
The committee scheduled follow‑up work and plans to reconvene in about a month after staff and Visit Greenville deliver the requested data and regulatory examples.
