Georgetown looks to cash in on short-term rentals

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Changes are coming to those who rent out their homes or rooms on websites like Airbnb and VRBO in Georgetown.

The city said it wanted to take a closer look at short-term rentals (STR) that are a month or less.

According to city documents, there are an estimated 222 STR in the city. However, only about 30 of them are currently paying the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT).

“You have a pretty diverse guest pool. You don’t have people coming here for one thing. You have people coming here for multiple things,” said Landon Smith, who operates more than a dozen short-term rentals in Central Texas.

“The average stay is three days, but we have some that will stay 30 to 40 days. It just depends on their situation,” he said.

The city estimates it would earn about $250,000 in revenue if all 200 rentals pay the HOT.

“Given regional market trends, the short-term rental growth is only expected to continue,” a city presentation said.

“Right now we are doing a phased approach with this rollout,” Kim McAuliffe said. She’s the downtown and tourism director for the city. “Mostly we’re trying to collect the feedback and data so we have everything we need to know about these properties.”

The city will regulate properties by having owners apply for annual permits. Those applications must include the physical address of the location and contact information for the owner, plus contact information for someone locally who’s available 24 hours a day.

The city would also verify the HOT is being paid and make sure the owners have insurance, along with a few other items.

The city said it has software that can track the STR market.

“We will be able to see how many stays they’ve had and we will be anticipating what they should be paying,” McAuliffe added.

Smith said he’s all for the changes.

“Knowing it’s legal, got your permit, you know I think reasonable regulations are good,” he said.

There’s set to be another council meeting on the proposed changes before they would take effect on Oct. 15.

You can learn more about Smith’s property management company here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.