Quinte West has approved a plan to locate short-term accommodations operating in the city.
During Wednesday’s council meeting, councillors approved a plan to hire a firm to conduct a study to locate Airbnbs and similar short-term rentals being operated within Quinte West.
The study will cost $6,500. Half will be funded from the municipal accommodation tax while half will be funded by the Bay of Quinte regional marketing board.
While all short-term accommodations are eligible for the municipal accommodation tax (MAT,) there was no registration in place for short-term rental properties, meaning that the MAT was being paid only by hotels and other registered businesses.
The study was approved to locate short-term rentals within the city and develop a registry of those rentals.
There are an estimated 246 short term rentals operating in Quinte West, split across multiple online booking services.
