Dubbed by some as the “Airbnb tax”, Victoria’s 7.5% short stay levy is facing backlash from tour operators since it was introduced into Parliament yesterday.
The Short Stay Levy Bill will be put in place from 1 January through platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz.
“There is a real concern that this tax is going to make Victoria a very unaffordable and unattractive destination,” Victorian Tourism Industry Council CEO Felicia Mariani told 7News yesterday.
Kerry Williams, founder and director of Accessible Accommodation told Travel Daily: “Introducing a 7.5% tax is going to have a huge impact on people with disabilities. It’s difficult to travel as it is, and that’s going to make it more expensive.”
“What this does now is pave the way for local government bodies to introduce a 90-day cap. This will be critical and catastrophic for any business that has an Airbnb-style property or a holiday rental style property, of which 20 are our properties.”
Accessible Accommodation offers people with disabilities a database of accredited properties that suit their needs across Victoria. The platform grades each property according to what they can offer travellers with different needs.
According to Williams, because of the new levy, the number of properties in the portfolio available for travellers with high needs is now greatly reduced – and only one will now be suitable in Victoria.
“I’d like to see the federal and state governments actually speak to stakeholders before they make these kinds of decisions and also to remember people with disabilities are 18% of our population and over 16% are over 65. It goes without saying that they need to be considered,” she said.
Williams added that ideally, there should be exceptions in place for operators who cater to marginalised communities, such as those with disabilities.
Introduced by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, the bill was created with the aim to offer more long-term rentals and social housing.
In Victoria, there are 63,000 short-stay accommodation properties, almost 50,000 of which are unavailable for long-term rental.
Commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels and caravan parks are exempt and the levy will only apply to stays of less than 28 days.
But when news of the levy first arrived last year, Airbnb Country Director Susan Wheeldon pointed out that short-term rentals only make up 1% of total housing stock – and the housing crisis existed long before platforms like Airbnb launched.
“It’s about getting the balance right. Short-term rentals aren’t the cause of the housing crisis, but we believe there is more we can do to help make a positive difference like advocating for policies that promote the creation of new housing,” said Wheeldon, who suggested a contribution of 3 to 5% across all accommodation providers, given the “uneven playing field” that the levy has created between large hotel chains and independent organisations.
“No-one wants to see Victoria’s appeal as a tourism destination be diminished by higher travel costs, but this proposal stops short of generating more funds for the community by not applying it to hotels as well. Levies are clever as they make the community shareholders in tourism, so let’s grow the pie for everyone instead of giving some a bigger slice.”
