ATLANTA – State officials said Tuesday they have little to do with vacation rentals but small law changes could give them the authority.
They also told a committee of lawmakers studying the issue that consumer aren’t showing displeasure. Just one complaint, a year ago, about an online rental has come to the Consumer Protection Unit of the Attorney General’s Office. It was about a home on Saint Simons Island reserved for fans of the Georgia-Florida football game.
“This is not a recurring matter. This is the first, and to my knowledge, the only one in the five years I’ve been in this office,” said John Sours, the unit’s director.
His agency only oversees differences between consumers and businesses, not between two private citizens. So, viewing property owners who just rent rooms or vacation homes on occasion would not trigger an investigation under current law, he said.
Officials from the Department of Revenue also said a small law change would let them require the online marketing companies like Airbnb and TripAdvisor to collect taxes and fees. It would expand authority the department already has to demand taxes from wholesalers such as newspaper publishers and gasoline jobbers rather than at the retail level where most taxes are collected.
But a lobbyist with the Travel Technology Association, Matthew Kissling, told the committee that some of the largest websites like HomeAway only provide marketing and never know if the guests and property owner work out a deal between themselves.
He told the House Short-Term Rental Providers Study Committee that most property owners offer rooms tied to their residences a few times yearly and should not be treated as commercial hotels.
“A hotel is a hotel today and is a hotel tomorrow. A residence is a residence today, but it can be a short-term rental tomorrow and a residence the next day,” he said.
The five-member committee has until yearend to decide whether more regulation is needed, whether it should be done on the state or local level and if legislation is the way to achieve it.
Hoteliers told the committee it’s unfair to them that the short-term rentals undercut their prices by avoiding taxes and the costs of safety regulations.
On the other hand, committee members have said they’re not interested in cracking down on incidental rentals by individuals, such as those who rent out space during the six University of Georgia home games in Athens or during the week of the Masters Tournament in Augusta. But they acknowledge short-term renting is a business enterprise in Atlanta and vacation areas like Savannah, Blue Ridge, Jekyll Island and Saint Simons Island.
Committee member Rep. Tom Taylor said he’s still struggling.
“What we’ve seen is we’ve got unique situations. It’s not Athens; it’s not Blue Ridge; it’s not Augusta; it’s not Jekyll,” said Taylor, R-Dunwoody. “It’s probably best just to push back to localities because they’re all unique.”
The committee’s final meeting has not been scheduled.
Follow Walter Jones on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at walter.jones@morris.com.
