Tampa Bay, Airbnb reach a deal on taxes

Starting Feb. 1, 2017, online lodging broker Airbnb will begin collecting and remitting hotel bed taxes to Hillsborough County.

Hillsborough County is home to Tampa. Together with neighboring Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg and Clearwater, it make up the Tampa Bay region of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Pinellas County reached its own agreement with Airbnb earlier this year.

Under the deal, Airbnb will collect the 5 percent Tourist Development Tax levied on overnight stays in Hillsborough County starting Feb. 1. The agreement resolves a year-long dispute between the county and the company over how the revenue would be captured and what information Airbnb would provide about its participating properties.

Under current conditions, the agreement could produce up to $250,000 in additional revenue, which the county uses to promote tourism in Tampa Bay.

"We're glad to have this issue successfully resolved," Santiago Corrada, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, the destination marketing organization for Hillsborough County. “We’re very grateful and happy to be able to collect the bed tax from Airbnb. The county tax collector’s officer worked very hard on getting this agreement.”