Vacation rental operators get summer reprieve on Charlottetown tourism levy

People operating vacation rentals on services such as Airbnb and VRBO in Charlottetown received a bit of a reprieve Monday night in terms ofpayingthe city's tourism levy.

The three-per-cent levy, used by the city to raise money for tourism marketing, had included year-round operations with 10 or more rooms, but was expanded in a bylaw amendment Monday to include all tourism operators.

But implementation of the levy, originally planned for June 1, has beendelayed to Sept. 1. City staff had hoped to have the bylaw pass third reading earlier in the spring.

Charlottetown has one of the most active Airbnb markets in the country. A CBC News analysis found the city had one of the highest proportions of Airbnb listings for the number of private dwellings in the country. Short-term rentals have been blamed for record low vacancy rates.

The city made the change at the request of the local tourism industry.

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