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Staff outlines ordinance to let platforms collect hotel occupancy tax; seeks city council review
Summary
City staff described proposed amendments to Denison's hotel occupancy tax ordinance to authorize short‑term rental platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo) to collect and remit the tax on behalf of property owners, with a 90‑day implementation window and continued owner liability if platforms fail to collect.
City staff presented proposed amendments to Chapter 24 of the city's code to allow short‑term rental platforms to collect and remit the city hotel occupancy tax on behalf of property owners. Staff said the change would apply within city limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction, would define what constitutes a short‑term rental platform and would create a mechanism for monthly lump‑sum remittances from platforms. Staff emphasized that property owners would remain ultimately liable if a platform failed to collect and that enforcement would continue against owners as necessary.
Staff described outreach to Airbnb and Vrbo and said platforms would be given a 90‑day implementation period after ordinance adoption. Staff also noted difficulty contacting booking.com but said a government portal had been created to enable outreach. "So the proposed amendments ... will be able to collect the tax on behalf of the operators," staff said, and later added, "We're super excited to get the 100% compliance." There was discussion but no vote at the advisory meeting; staff will present the project to city council as a project update and potentially seek adoption on a September agenda.
