Airbnb collecting tax sejour

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

The notification from Airbnb said they are starting to take the tax from 1st July 2018, paying this to the authority the beginning of the following year it has been taken, i.e. 2019.

The local commune is taking the correct amount. We sleep 4 adults so they calculate 55 cents per adult per night for the whole of July & August (60 days). We advertise that we can accommodate 5 (a double & single in 1 room) but it very rare we have 3 in a room, so last year the bill was for 5. We wrote to them but they never replied!! Also took it up with the Maire but no joy there either. This year we have reduced the number of adults on their paperwork to 4. This year I will only be paying them the actual amount that we have taken the whole season - April to October. Otherwise with the lack of bookings for July & Aug I will be paying them from my own pocket and Tax sejour is supposed to be paid by the guests not me. If they take me to court so be it.
limousin-cottage
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Post by limousin-cottage »

Ah, not good. Problem being, that in France, once a bill is generated it must be paid, then if it is incorrect the onus is on you to sort it out. Not paying a bill can land you in all sorts of problems, including your bank account being stopped, so I would never recommend that. A few years ago, I received a bill from les impots at Cannes (a place I have never been to in my life!) for unpaid taxe d'habitation going back several years. There was apparently a lady down there with the exact same name as me (highly unlikely, but true). It was clearly not my bill, and even with the Maire of our commune getting involved (and they were so rude to her on the phone!) I had no choice but to pay up, then provide the evidence to prove it wasn't me. Where do you advertise your B&B French Lady?
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Thanks for that. Yes very worrying taking on a fight in your host country but we are going to have to try and sort this out this year as cannot afford to pay what we have not taken. Enough taxes to pay as it is. We advertise with lots of French sites which the French seem to prefer to use and we are on Airbnb of course. Refuse to go with B.com because of the amount they charge and their "cannot advertise anywhere else cheaper" policy. Sadly all the advertising has changed over last few years. We held a place on 1st page of google for many years but not now the big boys are paying to advertise. On Page 2 last time I checked. Then of course there are all the camper vans which are taking the business from B&B's ... but that is a whole other story. Thanks again for your input.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

"cannot advertise anywhere else cheaper"
That was knocked on the head years ago. :)
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Then why does it state the following in their terms and conditions which were sent to me at the end of May - due to their now running a Pricing Policy.

We Price Match" means the guarantee issued by Booking.com (under this or any similar name) stating that Booking.com offers the best rate for a
room and that no lower rate can be found online for the equivalent room with the same check-in and check-out dates and the same booking conditions.
jafa
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Post by jafa »

All you have to do for example is ensure that the rate offered on B.com is the only one offering some kind of unique terms. For example room only, if they want breakfast that's extra. (pays for the commission) All your other rates are an all inclusive rate. Therefor B.com cant do you for offering different rates for the same thing.
Jafa
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Breaking the law in France if you give separate price for breakfast. Breakfast must be included in the price (hence the title B&B). Hotels is different. Would also get very confusing if someone booked not wanting breakfast and others booking direct have theirs included. Just want a simple life!!
jafa
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Post by jafa »

Well offer a "superior" breakfast and another breakfast, just call it what you like extra superior or such like. I was only giving an example of offering something unique only on the b.com site. How about a charge for wi-fi on B.com and free on all other sites?
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

It seems it was agreed to but Booking are also under investigation on this issue. Links in no real order.
https://www.gouache.fr/articles/Article ... gnificatif
http://www.lmtavocats.com/rupture-bruta ... ciales-454
https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marc ... es-1146973
http://www.jeantet.fr/wp-content/upload ... ere-VS.pdf
I really thought it was all done and dusted.
Still. Using Booking gets you out of the possible tax mess with AirBnB. Plus the reputation of AirBnB is worse than Booking and that Booking gets it's averts in almost everywhere. I know why we have chosen to stick with Booking.
If you are very concerned about loosing fees for reservations. If you think out side of the box a bit you can achieve what you want. Suggestions started above and there are many more creative ways of achieving your goal. Personally we cannot be bothered to fluff around with different packages depending on how the guest makes the reservation. We prefer to keep it simple.
But each person will have their own ideas of which business model works best for them. We can only hope out of these discussions we can help you get out of the possible tax issues.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

Frenchlady wrote:Breaking the law in France if you give separate price for breakfast. Breakfast must be included in the price (hence the title B&B). Hotels is different. Would also get very confusing if someone booked not wanting breakfast and others booking direct have theirs included. Just want a simple life!!
Which law is that? Our adverts on BC and ABB specifically give breakfast as a separate option extra to the price per night. This is partly because there is a small kitchen for the guest's sole use. Only about one in three ask for breakfast, the others prefer to keep themselves to themselves and use the kitchen.

Regarding price, the fact our price is higher on BC to cover the commission doesn't seem to create a problem and in fact we get considerably more bookings through BC than ABB despite the higher price.

Taxe de sejour is easy here and completely based on trust. We just get a reminder when it is due and simply send a cheque giving the total number of persons and nights.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
louloup
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Post by louloup »

This one

https://www.entreprises.gouv.fr/tourism ... es-d-hotes

I have my very last guests here at the moment and I'm giving up chambres d'hôtes. It has been fun, but time to move on.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Thank you louloup. It amazes me how many people open a B&B and do not know the rules.

Yes, our tax sejour used to be run on trust with a member of the Maire's team calling to collect the tax for the whole of the season. Was changed last year and I wonder how many French are challenging this new ruling as well as us ... I bet there are many.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Good luck louloup for the future. I really think the best days in this business have gone now, well in France anyway. Oldies prefer motor homes and youngsters prefer "all inclusive" resorts. We have even bought a caravan as it is a cheaper way to holiday!!!
Will have to battle on for a few more years until retirement ... that is if the government don't move the goal posts again.

All the very best.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

Frenchlady wrote:It amazes me how many people open a B&B and do not know the rules.
Fortunately we follow the rules. Our guests are offered breakfast. I don't see anything which says you can't show the price separately as do most hôtels.
Honi soit qui peu y boit
louloup
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Post by louloup »

Thankyou Frenchlady.

I am one of the WASPI's too, so was expecting to be retired now :( and my body is still signaling the need for a break. I will still be working online. I only accepted this one booking for 2018, but the time it has freed up already has been wonderful and the income after all the expenses wasn't that great.

The hourly rate for a C d'H is abysmal. You don't have the same opportunities for generating extra income that a hotel has, like having a bar or restaurant that can serve non guests, nor do you have the economies of scale.

I used to cook evening meals and I don't think I made a profit at all on those. I used to use good quality ingredients and take great care. My meals were very popular, but I was exhausted.

As an aside, our area has a really laborious system for taxe séjour. I complete a form with all the details, ages etc, if they were exempt & why (only happened a couple of times) and I tot it all up at the bottom of the page & send it off. A few months later, they have totted it all up again and decided that is how much I owe them, they write to me about this. Then they send my details to the Trésorerie who generate a facture. Once I receive that I am allowed to pay! I caused mayhem the first year when I just sent off a cheque with the first document.

Yours is clearly unfair, I hope you get it sorted soon.
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