Online vacation-rental service Airbnb, which has been operating in Portland outside of the land-use rules that govern other short-term lodging, says it’s near a deal with the city to collect taxes on those rentals, according to this article from The Oregonian. Portland, meanwhile, has released a revised set of proposed rules that would explicitly authorize such short-term rentals—provided they meet city code in other ways, the article states. The deal follows Airbnb’s confirmation earlier this month that it plans a large customer service center in downtown Portland and will hire 160 employees. The San Francisco company had triggered concerns among homeowners, neighborhood associations, and hoteliers who were concerned it wasn’t playing by the same rules as others. Portland has been enforcing violations on a case-by-case basis, when neighbors complained. The tax deal under discussion, first reported online by Fortune, would require Airbnb to collect an 11.5 percent tax on rentals in Portland, covering the city’s 6 percent lodging tax and a 5.5 percent Multnomah County tax. Read more over at The Oregonian.
