Direct lodging companies like Airbnb or HomeAway compete with hotels for tourist dollars (even if hotel rooms are sometimes listed on the sites) yet at first didn’t impose lodging taxes on guests. Now some cities require it, and the listing sites collect and remit those taxes to cities. In Chicago, though, mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed an additional tax on top of that for online short-term rentals, vacation rentals, and traditional bed and breakfasts. [More]
