Airbnb delivers €315 million in EU tourist taxes

Airbnb has today said that it wants to work with more EU Member States and tax authorities to automate the collecting and remitting of tourist taxes, making it easier for more European communities and authorities to benefit from the travel revolution on Airbnb. The announcement comes as Airbnb highlights today for the first time that it has collected and remitted more than €315 million ($365 million) in tourist taxes across the EU, and follows news that Airbnb has collected and remitted more than $4 billion in tourist taxes globally. 

Travel on Airbnb can often be subject to tourist tax and collaborations with authorities across the EU make the process simple for everyone by automating the collecting and remitting of tourist taxes from guests on behalf of hosts. Airbnb first began collecting and remitting tourist taxes in the EU in Amsterdam in 2014 and now has agreements with cities and regions in 7 out of 18 EU Member States where tourist tax is applied, including Amsterdam, Florence, Lisbon and Milan, and generalised collection in France that covers more than 29,000 cities. 

Changing travel trends and the dispersal of tourism are helping distribute the economics generated by travel on Airbnb – including tourist taxes – more widely across the EU than ever before. In 2019, the top ten EU recipients of tourist taxes remitted by Airbnb accounted for the majority of all tourist taxes remitted in the region, but in 2021 the top 10 recipients account for a significantly lower share of all tourist taxes remitted by Airbnb in the EU. Almost 60 percent of overnight stays in the EU in the first half of 2021 were in less populated areas, compared to nearly 40 percent of overnight stays in the first half of 2019. Top markets for 2021 globally include Sicily, Var, Pyrenees Atlantique, and Vaucluse. There were more nights stayed in Costa Blanca than in Madrid, more in the Algarve than in Lisbon.

To further support the redistribution of benefits generated by changing travel trends, Airbnb has today issued a collaboration offer across the EU in the hope of securing more comprehensive tourist tax partnerships to make tourist tax simple for more Europeans and tax authorities. Airbnb also pledges to continue to lead the industry on working with governments across Europe to secure smart, cross-industry frameworks that apply to the entire short-term rental sector.

“Tourism is one of Europe’s greatest natural resources and Airbnb helps local families, communities and authorities keep the economics that generates for themselves. Our collaborations in Europe have already automated the collecting and remitting of over €315 million in EU tourist tax revenues. As the travel revolution on Airbnb helps disperse the benefits of travel to more people than ever before, we want to work with more governments and tax authorities to help make tax simple for more Europeans and European tax authorities.” 

Chris Lehane, Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications