New Ordinance in Las Vegas

[Alyce2]

Hello fellow Las Vegas hosts,

Now that the city council adopted the new ordinance, where does that leave us? I have bookings through next spring, some of which will now exceed the guest limit I am allowed based on the number of bedrooms in the house. I'm sure there are others facing the same battle, amongst others, like the SUP requirement. How do you plan to implement the changes? If we must cancel the reservations for the folks that now exceed the guest limit, will we be punished by Airbnb in regards to rating and superhost status? 

Any thoughts on the subject???

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

Jose,

Now that the planning commission has moved forward with banning ALL short term rentals... can you please re-visit this class action suit?

i believe looking at how Sedona Arizona handled this problem might help.

Specifically, I was told they they proved it was ILLEGAL for a city to tel a home-owner who they could rent to within the confines of their private property.  So this would be for owner-occupied units especially.

We are pretty steamed that we can't rent a room out in our own home where we live without government intrusion.

best,

~anand

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

Jose,

Now that the planning commission has moved forward with banning ALL short term rentals... can you please re-visit this class action suit?

i believe looking at how Sedona Arizona handled this problem might help.

Specifically, I was told they they proved it was ILLEGAL for a city to tell a home-owner who they could rent to within the confines of their private property.  So this would be for owner-occupied units especially.

We are pretty steamed that we can't rent a room out in our own home where we live without government intrusion.

best,

~anand

[Raji0]

Airbnb received a subpoena to turn over it's records which show LV properties that are listed on it's site.  A prominent LV attorney is also working closely with the Airbnb legal team to address all of this and create a more level playing field for all of us.  The shared economy is here to stay for housing, transportation, etc.

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

Raji. How did you find this out?
And WHY DIDN"T AIRBNB let their hosts know this was going on? 

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

On March 6, 2018 I sent the following note (along with scans of the typical citations they are handing out):

The City of Las Vegas has hired an external firm that has CRAWLED EVERY SINGLE ONE of AIRBNB's listings. In addition:
* They are monitoring the number of stays. 
* They are looking through listing photos and matching them up with addresses.
* They are using Google street views and other websites. (in our case, they actually went to our personal website which talks about our architectural restoration work). 
* They have sent "Cease Rental" notices out to all AIRBNB-ers.

WHEN WILL AIRBNB WORK WITH the city to collect occupancy taxes? It would help everyone involved. This has been requested now for 3 years!!!!!

AIRBNB - you make a ton of easy money off rentals - step up to the plate and do the right thing and work with our cities.

PLEASE CALL THE CITY Code enforcement at 702-229-6615 Ext 2.
Collect taxes in Las Vegas like you do in so many other cities. 

please review the thread at (link to this thread)

From another host: "We need to start a class action suit against the Clark County Ordinance. Airbnb needs to get involved since there will be a revenue loss for them. Why are they not helping us?"

AND PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT ME TO THIS PAGE:
(article about vegas laws)

That's b.s. and it DOES NOT help. 
AIRBNB NEEDS to collect occupancy taxes and work with local government to make the path to short term rentals smooth for hosts.

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AIRBNB NEVER RESPONDED - nice huh? 24 hours response??? not!

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So I sent this to them yesterday March 19,2018

Two weeks later and no one has even bothered to respond to this???

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This morning I got this in my inbox

Hi Anand,

My name is Laura with Airbnb's customer experience team. I do apologize it has taken us this long to get back to you. We are experiencing a high volume of inquiries as of late. 

The areas where Airbnb is able to collect occupancy tax on behalf of the host are areas that the city has come to an agreement with Airbnb to do so. 

A host can be the best advocate in their city to get these kinds of agreements going and passed. Airbnb is working hard with all cities world wide to be able to collect taxes on behalf of the host as we feel it makes things easier for the host and the city in the long term. 

It is ultimately the host rsesponsablitly to know the rules and regulation in their city as is stated in our terms of service. 

I wouldn't necessary say that Airbnb isn't trying to work with the city of Las Vegas it might be more that the city of Las Vegas is unwilling to work with us.

These kinds of issues dealing with governments takes time. The city of Portland, Or, took years as well to work out what kind of hosting would be allowed. The city of San Francisco, where Airbnb started 10 years ago, just this past year really fine tuned rules and regulations around Airbnb hosting. 

I will pass along your concerns and I highly recommend providing feedback through this link: (Feedback link)

I understand this might not be the most helpful of responses but keep doing what you are doing and advocate for your hosting abilities.

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This was my response back to them:

Hello Laura,

Thank you for your response. This is not the first time I have contacted Airbnb regarding this issue. I have been reaching out for well over two years now and always get the same or similar response. I HAVE spoken with the city representative and have been an advocate. My city rep says Airbnb has NOT approached them to come to the table with them. My city rep has said that if Airbnb has the ability to collect and remit taxes for them they would obviously take advantage of that. 

I will be attending a City Planning Commission class on March 29, 2018 - specifically focused on short term Airbnb rentals.

Please can send me an official explanation of how that process has worked for other cities. 
Please send me a SPECIFIC contact person who can fix this issue once and for all, AND their contact info.

I will PERSONALLY hand deliver that info to the correct authority person in Las Vegas.

~anand

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

The BULL**bleep** from AIRBNB continued Today at 2:57 PM:

Hi Anand,

Airbnb is not able to provide tax advice or advise to how local taxes affects your situation. For specific tax advice, I suggest working with a tax professional that is familiar with short-term rentals.

If you need to add taxes to your rates, please clearly explain the tax in your listing description so that potential guests are aware. You can increase the price of your listing to accommodate the tax percentage, or, after you've established the dates and number of guests for a potential reservation, you can use the Special Offer feature to set the correct price. 

If you choose to collect a tax outside of your rates, we’re unable to assist in collecting the additional amount. Please be clear in your listing description and communication with guests so they can budget appropriately. We also ask that it is not collected before the time of arrival. 

Airbnb’s ability to facilitate tax collection involves a number of factors, including discussions with tax authorities for the area—which could be at the city, county, state, or other jurisdictional level. We’ll let you know if an occupancy tax related feature becomes available for your listing.

Unfortunately, I do not have, nor can I share how other cities have gone about those negotiations. Each city has different steps for these kinds of situations. Our side of the negotiations would be proprietary information that I am unable to share. 

I would suggest reaching out to city officials in other states where we have come to an agreement with them and see if they are willing to share their side of things. 

Keeping up with the community boards will be your best place to find current information around this kind of information for your city and how to get involved. 

Best, Laura

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

my response just now:

I am not looking for, nor have I ever mentioned that I was looking for "tax advice."

YOUR ANSWER IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Please accelerate this issue to a supervisor who can help.

DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HAVE HAVE A PERSON OR TEAM WITHIN AIRBNB THAT CAN BE REACHED DIRECTLY BY OUR CITY OFFICIALS?

You have said, "in other states where we have come to an agreement with them."

WHO WITHIN AIRBNB HAS DONE MADE THIS AGREEMENT?
HOW DOES THE CITY REACH THIS DEPARTMENT?

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

Airbnb's response:

"I do apologize but I do not have anyone or team I can pass you along to."

and the 'support' person CLOSED THE CASE.

All this company is  - is a glorified electronic travel broker. With that kind of treatment toward a superhost, Airbnb will not survive the long haul.

[Salim6]

Hi

i got a letter today to cease operations on my house in Las Vegas it is dated May 10 ,2018

what should I do?

should I get some liscence? 

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

Is anyone else going to the City Planning Commission Short Term Rental Class on March 29?

[Geoff44]

I went to the meeting. Here is what I have gathered over the last few days of intense research:

1.) NLV is the best place for STR, there are no current laws on the books. But there tend to be a ton of HOAs which make it difficult.

2.) Uninc. Clark County does NOT enforce (from what Ive been told)...correct me if Iam wrong here please!

3.) Las Vegas REALLY does not want STR because it interferes with the hotel business.

I think the regulations are justified if you are running AirBnB as a business, however, if you are just renting out a spare room in your house and the house is Owner-Occupied...there should be an exception.

If enough of us get togethor, we can petition the City Council to revise the Ordinance...Ill bet thats easier then getting lawyers involved and trying to sue the city.

Im lucky enough to have a CUV and not need an SUP...but I still dont want to deal with the **bleep** business license and tax collection crap!

[Kurtis6]

NLV - No Laws? I just got a call from a officer last week. She said they will fine me if they see my listing again on Airbnb.  Does anyone know if the police can actually give me a citation for listing my place?

The officer also mention neighbors complained. I think that is BS because I do not have parties and do not allow parties.  But my neighbors have parties almost weekly, sometimes loud music, lots of cars. When I have guest there's probably max two cars.  

[Samantha331]

I was just looking at a property zoned H-1 to rent out as air bnb occasionally...... but as I've been researching looks like this is a no-go due to this new ordinance?
Super sad people want to live in a world where we're stuck with no options, no variety and culture... and hand all our money over to super greedy corporations. AWESOMEEEE. What fun. I'll def follow to see if there's any way I can support the effort for change!!

[Salim6]

Thanks for the message 

 

How can effectively work on this 

 

Can you forward this message to all AirBnB   Landlords to come to the city council meeting and form a group to  make our demands heard and implemented 

Thanks 

salim  [Surname hidden]

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 10:00 AM Airbnb <hello@airbnbmail.com> wrote:

*[Message hidden for privacy reasons – in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Anand-And-Chef-Mason-Gre0]

if you can - reach out to us at

**[Name hidden due to privacy reasons - Community Center Guidelines]