Tomball will begin enforcing hotel occupancy tax, or HOT, collection from short-term rental properties, according to Finance Director Katherine Tapscott, who gave a presentation on the topic to City Council at its June 19 meeting.

“At this time, we’re not seeking to require any regulatory compliance or licensing for short-term rentals,” Tapscott said. “We’re just wanting to collect that hotel occupancy tax.”

The big picture

The city’s vendor for collecting HOT, Avenu, will identify short-term rentals within Tomball, collect the tax and monitor for new short-term rental properties, Tapscott said. Avenu will monitor over 80 websites to stay on top of new short-term rental property listings in Tomball, according to a presentation from the company.

Zooming out

• The city defines “short term” as less than 30 days, according to Tapscott’s presentation.
• Tomball collects HOT from 10 hotels or motels, and one bed and breakfast facility, Tapscott said.
• The city also receives HOT from several short-term rental properties, but the collection wasn’t being enforced.

What else?

• The fine for noncompliance is up to $2,000 a day, City Attorney Loren Smith said.
• There are 93 active short-term rental properties in Tomball, with an average nightly rate of $236.54, according to Avenu’s presentation. At a 40% occupancy rate, the estimated HOT revenue is about $250,000.
• City Council also approved an amendment to the HOT grant policy. The ordinance was approved as part of the consent agenda, on which items are approved with one motion without discussion.

Going forward

According to its presentation, Avenu will:

• Discover and identify potential short-term rental properties
• Obtain proof that a property is a short-term rental
• Communicate with a short-term rental property about HOT compliance
• Recover funds from newly discovered short-term rental properties