Some municipalities in the province have begun charging Airbnb operators a business tax or a flat rate.

Bonavista was the first to make the news but not the first to start the practice.

Mayor Philip Wood of Bay Roberts says they started charging a flat rate of $500 to Airbnb operators in their town last year.

It started when two operators approached council wishing to advertise their vacation-rental businesses through the town’s tourism initiatives.

Currently, Bay Roberts has around 10 Airbnb operators but the mayor says it’s not just Airbnb – it’s all home-based vacation rental operators that will be asked to pay. They aren’t hard to find – you just look them up online says Mayor Wood.

This year, the town received complaints from two accommodation operators in the area that their business numbers had dropped.

Mayor Wood says he’s not against Airbnbs because they benefit the economy. They just want to level the playing field for all vacation rentals in the area.

The mayor says budget time is coming up and they may look at charging a business tax on Airbnbs, similar to the model being used in Bonavista.