Airbnb to donate 58 million euros in tourist tax to 28,000 municipalities

It is a huge transfer to 58 million euros that Airbnb has just ordered for 28,000 municipalities in France. This amount corresponds to the tourist taxes paid by its hosts, between January and October 2019, for each person accommodated and each night booked on the platform. For technical reasons, the months of November and December 2019 will be paid to the communities in the first quarter of 2020 but will further increase this amount.

It is already twice as high as in 2018 and its 24 million euros collected. In July 2018, the American giant had anticipated the Elan law (Evolution of housing, development and digital) of November 23, 2018 by automating its collection on behalf of 23,000 municipalities.

Previously, the tourist tax of only fifty cities was collected directly by Airbnb, to the chagrin of hoteliers who denounced unfair competition. Theoretically, individuals who rented their apartment on the platform had to collect the tax for their municipality and pay it back, but rarely did.

Paris in the lead with 15.3 million euros collected

“It was complicated for individuals while for us, it is not a constraint, prides himself Emmanuel Marill, the director general France of Airbnb. We did this in 2015 for two municipalities, Paris and Chamonix (Haute-Savoie). This year, this concerns 28,000 municipalities which will thus receive funding for their tourism economy. "

Unsurprisingly, Paris leads the communities that received the largest amounts of tourist tax from Airbnb in 2019. With € 15.3 million, the capital is far ahead of Marseille (€ 2.3 million) and Nice (€ 1.8m).

In the top 50 of the biggest beneficiaries, there are also smaller cities but stars of French tourism such as Deauville and Trouville (Calvados), Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie), La Teste-de-Buch next to the dune du Pilat (Gironde) or Serris, at the gates of Disneyland Paris and Val-d'Europe (Seine-et-Marne).

If the amount has doubled, it is not only due to the automation of the tourist tax collection. "The increase is linked to that of the number of travelers on Airbnb," says Emmanuel Marill. I do not yet have the 2019 figures but the growth is double digits. In 2018, 16 million people had used Airbnb in France.

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Then, in a context of disappearance of the tax on housing and constrained local finances, the local communities are more and more numerous to set up the tourist tax and it is now they who set the tariff. For tourist accommodation not classified, the price is no longer a flat rate of maximum 0.80% per night and per person. But a percentage, freely voted by the municipality between 1% and 5% of the price of accommodation, per night and per person, within the limit of 2.30 euros.

You can consult the rate chosen by your community on the tax site. The department can also levy an additional tax of 10%. In Ile-de-France, the region has also voted a 15% “Greater Paris” tax. All in all, Airbnb will thus have collected € 18.7 million in tourist tax in the Ile-de-France region.

Cities with less than 3,500 inhabitants will receive 10.5 million euros

But "the greatest increase between 2018 and 2019 concerns cities with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, notes Airbnb. The amount of € 10.5 million is three times higher than last year (€ 3.2 million in 2018). »The share of these small municipalities goes from 13% to 18% of the total amount between 2018 and 2019.

Morzine-Avoriaz, the only town in the top 50 with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, is about to collect 160,000 euros in 2019. “Airbnb has been collecting the tourist tax on Morzine since spring 2017. It was 116,000 euros in 2018 on our total tourist tax of 1.3 million euros, we calculate in the charming winter sports resort of Haute-Savoie. We have 40,000 beds spread over Morzine and Avoriaz. The tourist tax allows us to operate our two tourist offices and contributes to investments in our sports park which includes an ice rink and a swimming pool. "

"Only 7000 municipalities in France have a hotel," says Emmanuel Marill. For everyone else, even the smallest villages, Airbnb offers the possibility of bringing in money and visitors. It is the possibility of thus receiving several thousand euros. It’s significant. "

"We pay the 3% Gafa tax"

A way to restore its image while Airbnb is criticized, like the Gafa (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon), on the derisory amount of its taxes paid in France? The amounts of 90,000 euros in 2016 and 160,000 euros in 2017 are regularly advanced. "We have never confirmed these figures and we do not communicate on corporate tax", repeats its general manager France.

But Emmanuel Marill recalls: "We pay the Gafa tax of 3%, to which we have never been opposed, we collect the VAT, the tourist tax and we allow our guests to generate income, which can be taxed. "