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Tourism director and prosecutor discuss using local resolution to tax short-term rentals; projected modest revenue
Summary
County tourism staff and the prosecutor told commissioners they could use a local resolution to include short-term rentals (Airbnb/VRBO) in the lodging tax by lowering the bed threshold; staff estimated roughly $20,000 potential annual revenue but warned tracking and enforcement are limited without state reporting.
Trumbull County tourism staff and the county prosecutor briefed commissioners about the option of expanding local lodging-tax coverage to short-term rentals.
"When we did the math last year, we thought it might be an additional $20,000 in lodging tax income," Beth Carmichael of the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau told the board, describing prior research that found about 100 short-term rentals locally and noting that the tourism office could include qualified short-term units in its promotional listings if they remit lodging tax.
Prosecutor Bill Dano said the county could pass a resolution to change the local lodging-tax threshold (the county’s current lodging-tax resolution targets establishments of five or more rooms) and thereby require short-term rentals that meet the new threshold to collect and remit the tax. He cautioned that without state-level registration or reporting requirements enforcement would rely on self-reporting and third-party platforms, and tracking would not be perfect.
Why it matters: County staff said the likely revenue gain is modest but that including short-term rentals could expand the county’s marketing pool and create a more equitable system where like accommodations contribute to tourism promotion. Commissioners asked staff to check whether a similar resolution is already on file and to circulate any sample resolutions and backup materials.
Next steps: Staff will verify whether the county previously adopted a resolution on this issue, provide sample language and discuss enforcement and software options to detect short-term rentals.
