EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The City of El Paso is moving closer to collecting its local hotel occupancy tax from short-term rentals, including properties listed on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
El Paso City Council unanimously approved changes to the city code Tuesday, Sept. 3, that include short-term rentals under the city’s hotel occupancy tax rules and allow for the collection and remittance of the tax.
The hotel occupancy tax itself is not new. Short-term rental platforms have already been collecting the state’s 6% hotel occupancy tax on qualifying stays. The change allows El Paso to move forward with collecting its local portion from short-term rentals.
Hotel guests in El Paso currently pay a combined 17.5% in hotel occupancy taxes. That includes 6% for the state, 2.5% for El Paso County and 9% for the City of El Paso.
The same local tax structure will now extend to short-term rentals, which the city defines as residential properties rented to guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days.
City officials stressed the tax will be paid by the person booking the stay, not the short-term rental property owner.
Heidi Seoenz, president of the El Paso Short-Term Rental Alliance, said some owners initially worried they would be responsible for an additional tax.
“It’s not a new tax. It is just the collection of the tax now being remitted to the city and county,” Seoenz said.
Seoenz said the alliance supports having short-term rental platforms collect the taxes directly from guests, saying it removes the responsibility from individual property owners to collect and remit the money themselves.
“It’s going to be the exact same thing,” Seoenz said, comparing the process to booking a hotel. “Airbnb and the rest of the platforms, they’re adding this tax, and they’re putting it for the guests to pay.”
City Council initially approved moving forward with collecting hotel occupancy taxes from short-term rentals on June 9. The resolution authorized collections to begin no earlier than 90 days and no later than 180 days after its adoption.
Tuesday’s vote amended the city code to include short-term rentals within the definition of a hotel for tax purposes and allows the city to enter into agreements with short-term rental platforms for collection.
City officials previously estimated that collecting the tax from short-term rentals could generate approximately $3.5 million annually.
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