Caution urged on Warrnambool's plan for $400 holiday rental charge

Stayz corporate affairs director Eacham Curry said $400 was at the higher end of what was being imposed in other places.

"We would just caution that," he said.

The council this week revived plans to charge owners who rent their properties for short-term accommodation on platforms such as Stayz and AirBnB.

While Cr Ben Blain labelled the move as "disappointing", Cr Debbie Arnott said she had "no problem" with the fee.

She said it was "only a $400 a year fee" which would bring the council in line with other municipalities.

Mr Curry said Mornington Peninsula Shire had developed its own code of conduct. Its website lists a $300 registration fee.

While Mr Curry said he supported a code of conduct for the whole sector, he believed it was something that should be done uniformly across all of Victoria at a state level like New South Wales and Tasmania have done.

The Victorian government has been reviewing short-term rental regulations, but is yet to implement anything.

New South Wales brought in rules late last year which charges $65 to register a property and a $25 annual fee.

Mr Curry said he would write to the council again to highlight his concerns.

"$400 is probably at the higher end than you would see at other places. So we would just caution that," he said.

"It runs the risk of people saying it's becoming not worthwhile doing it. We think there are better ways to recognise the impact that short-term renting can have on a community.

"What you ought to be trying to do is recognising the benefit it brings and not placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of allowing it to continue to happen."

The holiday rental industry injects about $157.2 million into the south-west economy and pre-pandemic supported up to 1000 jobs.

In 2017-18, 229,655 nights of accommodation alone were booked via one online holiday rental platform.

In the Warrnambool region, there are almost 100 properties listed on the Stayz website.

Mr Curry said things were starting to recover from pandemic lockdowns and border closures, but people's were now looking to holiday in houses and apartments rather than traditional motels.

"The way people travel and where they are travelling to is changing," he said.

"What that's meant is that the return to people travelling and going to typical accommodation like hotels and resorts and things is not as stark as it has been for what's now a massive increase in the number of people who are now seeking out vacation rentals.

"It's a growth sector.

"We think there are things that should be done around regulation for these that recognises the impact that it sometimes has on local council but we think it should be as light a touch as possible."

He said Stayz encouraged regulation to take place at a state level, and supported a fee to help defray the cost of government administrating things.

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