Mid-Missouri Business Week: Short-term rentals

The City of Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau is working to create changes to two different ordinances regarding short-term rentals.

ABC 17 told you back in March the city has a 5 percent lodging tax. Four percent of that tax funds the CVB. However, while hotels have to pay that five percent tax, short-term rentals like Airbnb do not have to pay it.

The director of the CVB, Amy Schneider, joined ABC 17’s Deborah Kendrick to talk about the latest with short-term rentals, and she said they are a growing trend.

“Over the eclipse we had over 400 short-term rentals that weekend, which is larger than our largest hotel,” Schneider said.

And eventually, taxing the short-term rentals could have a positive impact on the city’s economy. “We’re still at the beginning of short-term rentals, so we’re still trying to figure them out,” Schneider said. But, if the trend continues in the future, taxing short-term rentals could increase lodging taxes for the city and help the CVB work to attract people and bring them to Columbia.