I went down to the County Office. They (again) wanted to do the Catch-22 that they don’t get you activated with Airbnb. Airbnb does. I showed them the letter that said that someone has to put you on the active list. I said that there has to be someone there that they are talking to. The kind lady at the front, this time, finally went to the back, and they agreed to look at my information. They sent a note off to the liason who works with Airbnb for that “active” list to include my listing on the “reactivated list.”
Airbnb will not reactivate you without it, I am told.
The county tells me that they will do nothing with your city BTR, just their County LBTR
There is a loophole, because the County SHOULD require a County LBTR when you get your TDT number. They do not. As a result, you can easily miss getting one. The County can fine you, for not having an LBTR. They can’t shut you down, though. Yet they don’t seem to run the TDT numbers, and see who is missing the LBTR. You can be shut down for not having your City BTR in order. Yet the county TDT office does not record them.
What to do:
Ask for an Airbnb tax department case manager;
If you do not have an LBTR, go to the Tourist Development Tax office on the third floor of the West Palm Beach office. Pay for one.
Make sure that your Tourist Development Tax (TDT) account is active, and that you are paying your taxes (Airbnb DOES NOT PAY YOUR TDT). Want to collect the 6% County Tax, so it doesn’t come out of your pocket? Read the thread here on how to cover the TDT by setting your Community Fee correctly. Make sure that your TDT taxes are paid and current.
If you have a County LBTR, is it expired/lapsed? Renew. If it’s not, that’s a total head-scratcher as to how you got put on the Inactive List by Palm Beach County. Perhaps the TDT office can explain.
Once all of your numbers are active, and correct, bring your notepad, or laptop, or phone, as you’ll have to show the TDT office that you’ve updated with the current numbers on your airbnb listing. The correct form, in your listing’s LICENSES AREA is: [TDT NUMBER],[LBTR Number] Save the changes, if any.
You will also need your Airbnb host listing number.
Ask the Tourist Development Tax agent to take your active LBTR, TDT, and Airbnb number, and give them to the Tax Assessors Office representative who verifies licenses with the Actives List, to put you on the “REACTIVATED LIST.”
It can then take 3-5 more days for the County to publish one, and up to 14 days to get Airbnb to do the same.
Yes, Ms. Gannon should require them to issue an LBTR with the TDT, if you do not already have one. Yesm, Airbnb is treating the LBTR number as the primary thing, and will not budge unless you’re on that active list.
Yes, this is totally unclear, on both ends.
Yes, this is total madness.
Yes, we are stuck in the middle.
Yes, we are losing money every day over a paper-pissing contest.
No, Airbnb makes no effort to explain this clearly.
Yes, it’s extremely frustrating.
Good luck
Brian Ross
