Assembly Establishes Reporting Requirements for STR Platforms

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At the September 10 Regular Assembly Meeting, the Anchorage Assembly approved (11-1) AO 2024-81(S), As Amended, establishing reporting requirements from platforms that host short-term rental listings.

"We know there's a local housing shortage, but we don't know to what extent housing is limited because of short term rentals," said Assembly Vice Chair Zaletel, who sponsored the ordinance with Assembly Members Randy Sulte and Daniel Volland. "This ordinance is one step towards understanding the intersection between these markets by leveraging the bed tax to capture better data."

AO 2024-81(S) requires hosting platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO submit additional data to the Municipality alongside the platforms' tax returns. Effective January 1, 2025, hosting platforms will be required to report the total number of operators included in the tax return and details about the type of lodging provided, such as location and unit type. An amendment was approved to require the data by month.

AO 2024-81 follows a previous proposal to collect short term rental data by enacting a licensing program through the Municipal Clerk's Office. AO 2023-110(S-1), As Amended, was approved by the Assembly on March 19, 2024. Former Mayor Bronson vetoed the ordinance the next day.

"I'm proud that the public process is delivering a solution to make data-informed policy decisions," said Assembly Member Sulte, who represents District 6, South Anchorage, Girdwood, and the Turnagain Arm. "This ordinance achieves the intent of the previous proposal to collect the information we need but reflects community concerns for building a new system and implementing new fees."​

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Contact:

Randy Sulte | District 6, [email protected]
Daniel Volland | District 1, [email protected]
Meg Zaletel | District 4, [email protected]​

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