KeysVacationRentalIssuesInvestigativeReport:IllegalUnitsandScams Page9
with the law in all the cities.
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However, Airbnb was actively involved in lobbying against
legislation that restricted short-term rentals in New York City; but failed to take any action to
clear up illegal units from its New York City listings after the legislation passed. Also, New York
City is arguably one of the most popular vacation spots in the world. If Airbnb can’t, or won’t,
keep up with regulations there it seems unlikely any destination will reviewed for legality of
units listed.
This leaves oversight up to the destinations. In 2013, the City of Key West cited a dozen people
for selling nightly spots in their houses via Airbnb
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. After this citation, the City noted 65 other
rentals disappeared from Airbnb’s site. In our recommendations section, we discuss the need for
both more citations like this and getting the word out publically that enforcement is happening
to dissuade others from continuing the practice.
Contrasting the Airbnb lack of oversight in cleaning up illegal rentals is other online agencies
like HomeAway. “HomeAway, the largest vacation rental website, relies on user reviews to
ensure quality, and it will investigate a listing when it’s reported as unclean. It offers an
application for rental owners to make tax compliance easier.”
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Airbnb does withhold payment to the host until 24 hours after check-in. Part of our education of
travelers utilizing this service should include awareness of this and their right to contact Airbnb
right away if the rental they find is not as advertised or is illegal.
Oversight and Enforcement
As of January 1, 2015, the Monroe County Tax Collector assumed duties of Tourist Development
Taxes auditing and enforcement responsibilities from the Monroe County Clerk of the Court.
We spoke at length with the Monroe County Tax Collector, the Honorable Danise Henriquez,
and the Senior Tourist Development Tax Auditor, Pamela Limbert Sellers, CFE about the
procedures they have put into place since assuming this role.
Ms. Henriquez, and her staff, is well versed in tax audit and enforcement. They have provided
this role for other taxes Ms. Henriquez is charged with collecting, and are known for bringing
those failing to fully remit tax into compliance.
One of the initiatives in their new role is to create a communication loop through developing
relationships with the local municipalities. Through this loop, information on both offenders
and licensees will be shared. In this way, one can be assured that the event of holding one
license triggers an information review with the other license issuers to make sure all appropriate
licenses are held. The Tax Collectors office maintains both Monroe County Business Tax
licenses for transient use, as well as, bed tax accounts making an easy system to cross reference
7
Clampet,Jason.“Airbnb’sgrowingpainsmirroredinNewYorkCity,wherehalfitslistingsareillegalrentals.”
Skift.Jan07,2013.http://skift.com/2013/01/07/airbnbs‐growing‐pains‐mirrored‐in‐new‐york‐city‐where‐half‐its‐
listings‐are‐illegal‐rentals/
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Filosa,Gwen.“RentalsinParadisenotalwayslegal.”TheCitizen.Aug11,2013.
http://keysnews.com/node/49315
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Elliott,Christopher.“Avoidbookinga‘rogue’vacationrental.”USAToday.Mar26,2015.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/2015/03/08/vacation‐rental‐tips/24492495/