Have any hosts out there come up with a good way to collect the TOT from guests? This is such a frustrating aspect of the Air BnB platform. And very misleading. I've attached images that state my listing is covered by the automatic TOT collection service offered by AirBnB. But when you dig deeper within the Local Taxes and Laws section you can see that the TOT collection is only offered in my county (Sonoma) for UNINCORPORATED properties. This seems so arbitrary and confusing.
We are located in the heart of Wine Country, a major tourist destination and a hot spot for impeccable guest relations and services. AirBnB makes the suggestion that you collect this tax fee from guests separately through the resolution center after they have paid for their booking, OR collecting it in person. While trying to do this through the resolution center may be more effective, explaining this to guests after they have already paid thousands of dollars for lodging is not a very warm welcome. And the idea of collecting in person is absolutely preposterous! The whole point is that this is AIR bnb, which to us means it's a NO HOST situation. ESPECIALLY now during covid, what host is going to show up at the door of a vacation rental and ask to be paid the TOT in person?? That's crazy!
Some other hosts suggest simply building the TOT into the base price. This does not work you guys! All that does is increase the total amount that you pay taxes on. It does nothing to help COVER the taxes. You still pay out of pocket if you do not collect the taxes from your guest.