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I booked a property on Airbnb in Hawaii last week. Today the host has reached out with a payment link asking to deposit the 18% tax ahead of my arrival. This was not mentioned anywhere on the listing and this is the first time I have been asked to make a payment outside of Airbnb. So just wanted to check if this is a legit thing or am I being fobbed off?
No payment should ever be made outside Airbnb.
Forward the sellers email to customer support
As above, you should double check with Airbnb, but basically it’s welcome to the USA, land of tax and service charges.
I think the tax (? Transient Accommodation Tax) at just under 18% is correct and that for technical reasons, unlike some local taxes or ‘hotel’ occupancy taxes, it can’t be collected by Airbnb so has to be paid by the host who either needs to collect it by building it into the accommodation cost (which they don’t like to do as it makes them seem uncompetitive) or collect it separately afterwards.
Thanks both for your help.
I cancelled the booking with Airbnb’s help who waived off the cancellation charges, and made a new booking after confirming with the host that the price listed is the final price.
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