A plan to charge owners of holiday rentals in Warrnambool more in council rates will drive up the cost of tourist accommodation, website Stayz has warned.
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The holiday rental website, which lists 87 properties in Warrnambool, has labelled the city council's policy as "misguided".
The council last week flagged its intention to charge ratepayers who rent out their homes for holidaymakers on sites such as Airbnb and Stayz a commercial rate instead of residential.
It would see rates for those properties rise on average from $1499 to $2698 a year.
Stayz corporate affairs director Eacham Curry said a comprehensive regulatory framework from the state government would be a far better response to questions about the economic impact of short-term rental accommodation on local infrastructure and services.
"Stayz is supportive of efforts to find a reasonable balance between regulation and addressing the economic impact of short-term rentals on local infrastructure and services but we believe this must be done in an even, fair and consistent way," Mr Curry said.
"Local councils, like Warrnambool City, have limited policy instruments available to them to answer questions about amenity, urban planning and infrastructure.
"As a result, they risk pursuing misguided regulations that will fail to address the core questions about our sector.
"While Stayz understands the legitimate questions about our industry as tourism continues to drive economic growth in the region, it's our view that localised taxes only serve to drive up the cost of holiday accommodation and send valuable tourism dollars to other parts of the state.
"Rather than higher council rates, Stayz advocates for statewide regulation that contains a simple registration scheme for all short-term rental listings, a code of conduct that is backed by a strikes-based disciplinary regime, and an industry body to adjudicate compliance with the code of conduct.
"As the Victorian government continues the delicate task of re-opening the economy in a COVID-safe way, Stayz believes that short-term rentals will have a key role to play in the region's economic recovery.
"Now is not the time to put this opportunity at risk with higher council rates that will put Warrnambool's tourism led recovery at risk.
Mr Curry said Stayz would rather partner with the council in a call to the government to implement consistent, statewide regulations for short-term rental accommodation.
Data shows that holiday rentals inject $157.2 million into the south-west economy and supported 987 jobs across the region.
The ACIL Allen Economics data from 2017/18 shows 229,655 room nights of accommodation were booked via an online holiday rental platform across the south-west.
Data also shows that 44 per cent of holiday rental revenue came from regional Victoria.
Stayz's key statewide policy recommendations for the Victorian Government are:
- Compulsory and simple registration for all properties listed on a short-term rental accommodation platform, that will help inform sensible and easily understood policy.
- The creation of a mandatory short-term rental code of conduct for owners and managers - including a three strikes rule for those who do not meet the standards.
- A new largely industry-funded and administered body to quickly address problems and adjudicate questions about amenity, noise and overcrowding at short-term rental accommodation properties.
The proposal is open for community consultation until Wednesday, June 2.
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