Leveling the playing field for B&Bs
Mount Dora considers ways to reap more taxes from Airbnbs
Mount Dora officials may ease up on restrictions on bed-andbreakfasts that some owners say put them at a competitive disadvantage with Airbnb and other short-term vacation rentals.
Thinking along the same lines, Lake County officials are looking to set up a system recommended by Tax Collector David Jordan to better ensure collection tourist development taxes on Airbnb rentals and others like it.
An estimated $5 million to $7
million annually in tourist development taxes go uncollected, Jordan told county commissioners at a recent meeting.
If Mount Dora’s B&B ordinance — which doesn’t apply to Airbnbs and contains requirements in addition to state provisions — is eliminated those establishments could host and provide meals to outside groups for meetings and events.
They also wouldn’t be required any longer to have a live-in owner or manager.
“It’s a move in the right direction because it’s keeping everyone on the same playing field,” said Gwendolyn Smith, owner of the Grandview Inn Bed & Breakfast on Third Avenue.
For example, she said, B&B owners would be free without restriction to host book clubs or wine nights that would invite people not staying at the location. Currently, B&B owners can apply for a permit, which carries a $75 registration fee, to host a limited number of events annually with the stipulation that rooms can only be rented to guests of the event.
The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, an advisory board, recently voted 5-1 to do away with the ordinance, as recommended by staff. The idea is to make Mount Dora a “more B&B friendly city,” said Bill Carpenter, the panel’s vice chairman.
“We’ve decided the old restrictions were no longer necessary,” he said.
The commission’s recommendation is expected to go before the City Council for consideration on Jan. 21, according to city spokeswoman Lisa McDonald.
A Dec. 18 memo to the commission from Planning Director Vince Sandersfeld said the B&B section in the city’s land-development regulations is outdated “and in most cases tends to over regulate B&B uses.”
The memo says the city’s B&Bs “are quintessential services that highlights the charm and maintains the character of the City.”
B&Bs would still be required to obtain a conditional use permit spelling out terms of their operation.
Planning & Zoning Commission member Glenna Burch, a former City Council member, opposed the proposed changes because she said that allowing B&Bs in residential areas to sell food to non-guests, for example, makes them a commercial business in a residential zone.
“We had an ordinance that was all the way to Z but now we’re going back to pre A with no restrictions,” Burch said.
City Council member Crissy Stile, who operates an Airbnb rental, agreed.
“I definitely have concerns with getting rid of the whole ordinance,” she said.
Stile said B&Bs in residential areas “could potentially have cars parked up and down the streets” during functions if the ordinance is ditched.
Meanwhile, county commissioners are hoping to boost tourist tax collections by doing as Jordan recommended and crafting an ordinance pertaining to Airbnbs modeled after one enacted in Palm Beach County.
It requires anyone offering short-term rentals to obtain a business tax number and a tourist development tax number.
If the system is created in Lake, Airbnb would send the 4% levy on tourist accommodations to the host, who then would pay the money to the money to Jordan’s office.
The tourist development tax is supposed to be paid by guests staying at hotels, motels and short-term lodging including home-sharing rentals listed on Airbnb. Proceeds must go toward promoting tourism and tourism-related activities in the county.
The Palm Beach model is the ideal one to follow, Jordan said, because it’s been agreed to by Airbnb after much legal wrangling.
“It appears on outward appearances that it’s a no brainer,” he told county commissioners at a recent meeting.
He provided an estimate that 2,500 to 3,000 vacation rentals using sites including Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway don’t pay the tourist development tax.
County staffers will work with Jordan’s office to craft an ordinance to capture those dollars.
Commissioner Sean Parks expressed a common sentiment about going after tourist taxes from Airbnb owners.
“It’s just a matter of fairness,” Parks said. “I think this is something that could have a huge impact on the county.”