Portland City Council is considering adding two new fees to Portland’s growing Airbnb market. One fee, a 2 percent charge per night on short-term rentals (STRs) like Airbnb, would fund Portland tourism campaigns. But it’s the other—a $4 per night charge on STRs—that could have greater impacts on both STR hosts and local renters. In a housing market where many rental homes and apartments have been converted into STRs, the $4 per night charge will fund more affordable housing in the city and, possibly, encourage STR hosts to consider renting to Portlanders, rather than tourists.
STRs in Portland are currently taxed by the city, county, and state a total of 13.3 percent of their listing price. The new 2 percent fee, already charged to larger hotels, would increase the hosts’ tax to 15.3 percent. Revenues from that fee are estimated to be around $720,000 to $840,000 per year.
The estimated revenue from the other, $4-per-night fee—$1.1 million per year—would go directly into the city’s Housing Investment Fund, which supports Portland’s affordable housing projects.
Over a dozen Airbnb hosts spoke in opposition to the ordinance at a June 13 city council meeting, calling it “regressive” as well as a threat to their own ability to afford Portland’s housing prices.