Austin STR license format mismatch (City issues OL number but Airbnb requires STR format)

[Dingsheng0]

Today Airbnb is asking hosts in Austin to complete the STR license information in the app.

However, there appears to be a format mismatch between the City of Austin license number and the format required by Airbnb.

The City of Austin issues short-term rental permits as an Operating License, with numbers formatted like:

OL XXXX XXXXXX

However, the Airbnb form currently only accepts:

STR-XXXX-XXXXX

The system will not accept the actual license number issued by the city, even if the prefix is changed.

I called the City of Austin STR department, and they confirmed that they only issue Operating License numbers (OL) and do not provide any number starting with STR.

They also mentioned that other hosts have been asking about the same issue.

I contacted Airbnb support, but it seems the frontline support team may not be aware of this difference in Austin’s licensing format.

Has anyone else in Austin encountered this problem?

Also, does anyone know the best way to escalate this to Airbnb’s policy or technical team so the accepted license format can be updated?

This seems like a platform formatting issue rather than an issue with the license itself.

@Airbnb 

[Paula]

Hello @Dingsheng0, thank you for reaching out to our Host Community.

I’m tagging some hosts located in Austin, Texas, to invite them to share their experiences: @Shani231 @Jayan38 and @Kelly149.

In the meantime, it may be helpful to connect with your Local Host Club, where local hosts can offer more specific suggestions.

Regards,

[Dragos33]

This is a known issue and you're right that it's on Airbnb's side, not yours. The City of Austin issues Operating Licenses (OL format) and Airbnb's system was built expecting the STR-XXXX-XXXXX format used by other cities. The two don't match and Airbnb's frontline support usually has no idea why.

A few things that have worked for other Austin hosts:

Try entering just the numeric portion of your OL number without the prefix, some hosts have reported the system accepting that. Not guaranteed but worth trying before escalating.

For escalation, skip regular support and go straight to the "Help with regulations" contact path in the resolution center. Asking them to flag it as a "license format compatibility issue specific to Austin, TX" gets it routed to someone who actually understands city-specific compliance rather than a general support agent.

You can also email Austin's Development Services department directly and ask them for written confirmation that OL numbers are the valid STR permit format. Having that in writing helps if Airbnb pushes back.

Austin has been tightening STR enforcement a lot lately so this mismatch is going to affect more hosts. Worth flagging loudly so Airbnb fixes the format on their end. I track my Austin permit details with RentPermit which at least keeps everything in one place while this kind of thing gets sorted. But the format issue itself is something Airbnb needs to fix.