In SC that is not allowed to “just up your price a bit”. Tax has to be broken out, added on, and showed as a separate line item.
I say taxes are included and show the the breakout percentages in the listing I provide a guest receipt with the amounts broken out, just like you would get from a hotel, base rate, this tax, that tax, total noting it excludes Airbnb guest fee. If the state comptroller comes after me hopefully I will prevail!
I miss you konacoconutz. 
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Just noticed this.
I stay at Airbnb’s in Vegas and I like it. There’s nothing like renting walking distance from the strip for $50/night. I don’t want to pay 2x that to stay in a crappy hotel thats loud and smells like tobacco smoke on the strip.
Now as for all the negativity about Airbnb’s operating outside of the law, wow ya’ll must be some saints huh? Drive the speed limit everywhere. By the way you have to pay wind energy tax whenever you fly a kite. I know none of you making these comments would ever violate your city ordinance by not updating your animal licenses every year, or parking your garbage wheelies bins where they’re visible, or by parking on the street for more than 24 hours. I know everybody here has a screen on every window. You also don’t throw away oil filters when you change your oil and you bring them into a recylcing center. Nobody here has ever downloaded an MP3 or a movie I’m sure too.
Back to OP’s question from like 2 years ago… there’s really no point in posting how they do it here because whatever company is investigating it is most likely registered here and looking for information on how to catch unlicensed Airbnb’s. I’m not one to support witch hunts so I’m not going to add fuel to the fire. If anyone wants to talk about it in private, feel free to PM me I suppose.
I’m not a saint, but I do follow all the rules and regulations for STR in my county and state. I voted for the county supervisors that put the local regulation in place, after analysis and public hearings, and I can write, protest, vote, etc. to get them out or to get the rules changed. I am not unhappy with the uses the county makes of my license fee and lodging tax.
I’m not happy that some of my STR competitors operate outside the rules and don’t have the costs of compliance that I have. However, I’ve been generous in sharing tips with other hosts and have advised some hosts who were in a panic because they got letters from the county to comply or cease their unlicensed operations.
I can see where some businesses multiply the probability of getting caught times the penalty amount to impute a risk cost to operating outside legal requirements, but that’s not for me.
This area is my home, too, and the local limitations on STRs – primary residence, cap on number of people, etc. – make sense to me as to quality of life for me and my neighbors. If I thought the rules were extremely unfair, onerous or ridiculous, maybe my reaction would be different, but that’s not the case.
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No saint, I just prefer to sleep at night. If you’re running a business the last thing you want is for that business to be closed down because you didn’t pay attention to legalities. I guess that for hosts who are jump-on-the-bandwagon types who are just in it to make quick money and who don’t care about being shut down then fine, they can go ahead and operate under the radar. But not for long. Most hosts here are serious about this business.
It’s not a case of being law-abiding for every minor thing that crops up, it’s a case of keeping your business alive.
Getting another speeding ticket isn’t going to ruin my business - not having the necessary licenses and not paying taxes can.
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A nonchalant attitude towards following Airbnb law is the kind of thing that just results in more regulation for everyone and taints the reputation of Airbnb hosts everywhere. Most people don’t equate following reasonable law as being tantamount to engaging in a witch hunt. I wonder where that kind of sentiment originates?
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We are not saints, but we are not going online and ask other people for help on breaking the law.
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Touche. But I’m not convinced that these regulations are in the spirit of the law. Most of them are city ordinances and the license doesn’t involve any sort of inspection, certification or testing that would increase guest safety. I think its the hospitality industry lobbying with the help of a few neighbors who don’t like their local Airbnb host/guests. Its all a money grab and the government certainly wants to regulate and control whatever it can.
I certainly won’t back up the professional Airbnb hosts who systemically blockbust or bring nuisances to residential neighborhoods. I don’t think the home owner with a few spare rooms should have to get a license to have visitors though. Its really nobody else’s business what goes on in my home and who I invite in or why.
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