Airbnb and Erie County announce voluntary tax agreement on behalf of hosts

Last year, hosts welcomed nearly 170,000 guest arrivals to Erie County, bringing an influx of tourism spending to neighborhoods in the county—many of which would not have seen those tourism dollars if it were not for hosts and guests. 

Tourism taxes are key revenue-generating mechanisms for governments, becoming even more important as lawmakers deal with crushing budget deficits. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Erie County and Airbnb have reached a voluntary agreement to allow the platform to collect and remit county hotel occupancy taxes on behalf of thousands of guests who visit the county every year. This is the thirty-seventh agreement that Airbnb has entered into in New York, a practice that hasn’t been followed by other platforms operating in the state. The agreement, which goes into effect August 1, 2024, will grow the county’s tax base and allow the Airbnb community to contribute its fair share of taxes. It will also make the process seamless for hosts while providing a valuable source of revenue to Erie County. 

Hosting on Airbnb is an important source of supplemental income for many New York families as they work to support themselves and navigate the rising cost of living. In 2023, the typical host in Erie County earned approximately $13,300 welcoming guests¹, with many hosts using this supplemental income to save for retirement, repay student debt or pay their mortgage². 

“We’re proud to partner with Erie County to support collecting tourism occupancy taxes to ensure our community contributes our fair share. This agreement simplifies the tax process, making life easier for our hosts while simultaneously funding important community initiatives in Erie County. We are dedicated to fostering local economic growth and supporting our hosts through similar partnerships across New York State.”

Nathan Rotman Policy Lead, Northeast, at Airbnb.

“Erie County’s tourism industry is dependent on hotel occupancy taxes, paid by visitors from out of town, which are invested in marketing our area to bring in even more visitors, conventions and conferences. The agreement with Airbnb is a fair and realistic way to have Airbnb guests, while not staying in a hotel during their visit, pay the same taxes that visitors to a hotel would. It makes the process more equitable and streamlines it for Airbnb hosts while still maintaining our tourism investment pipeline. This is a smart agreement that is good for all.”

Mark C. Poloncarz, Erie County Executive

Airbnb has long supported measures that would extend existing sales and hotel and motel room taxes to short-term rentals and authorize and require all platforms to collect and remit such taxes statewide. Unfortunately, New York State law prevents Airbnb from collecting and remitting taxes at a statewide level, leaving millions in potential tax revenue on the table. While a solution was included in Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget, this year’s final budget did not include the provision. 

Airbnb has made agreements with individual counties to ensure they receive their fair share of tax revenue. With this new agreement, Airbnb will now collect and remit taxes in 37 counties statewide. Erie joins other counties in entering tax agreements with Airbnb.  

In 2023 alone, hosts in the US generated approximately $2.2 billion USD in tourism taxes. As more communities welcome their first Airbnb guests and localities face mounting budget challenges, streamlined tax collection systems are more important than ever to help ensure cities and states more efficiently collect all applicable tourism taxes. 

Whether we’re collecting and remitting taxes on behalf of our hosts, or streamlining the collection process into a growing source of revenue for emerging travel hubs, we’ll continue to work closely with governments to unlock the full potential of citizen-led tourism and travel.