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 »

Just to update - no reply from Airbnb so have now sent this:

Again, still no reply to my questions ... I require name and address of who you are going to pay the tax sejour to in my area - confirmation of how much per person you will be taking so I can ensure it is correct..

Also OH sent a copy of his letter again to the local Authority who collect our tax sejour about the unfairness and reminding them that tax sejour is paid by the guest (not out of our pocket) and guess what .............. NO REPLY. Perhaps we should play this game when they send us letters and demands!!!
jafa
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Post by jafa »

In my main line of business , I have to get everything in writing. I tend to find sometimes people aren't happy putting things down in print or even answering a question. Therfor I send them a communication outlining something unless I hear to the contrary. At least in that way, in your case, if you indicate what you are suggesting and offering them a response to disagree, if they don't it can be demonstrated you at least offered them the opportunity to respond and disagree, which they clearly haven't.
Jafa
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Just had our 1st booking with Airbnb since they announced they are collecting the tax sejour. As I suspected they have taken insufficient sum from the guest. Our tax is 0.55c per guest, per night. Therefore 7 night stay is 7.70 euros. They have taken just 3.08 euros - presumably the old rate of 44c per night and only for 1 guest not 2. What a shower of s... h...i....t. I knew this would happen and that is why I have been asking them to confirm the figure and who they are paying it to for nearly 2 weeks, still with no reply.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Why list with them? Do you really want all of this in your life?
Maybe be there should me a keep calm posters.

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Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

casasantoestevo I think your posted may just be right. The situation ref them collecting tax just gets worse. Still been fighting all this time for them to reply. Today they announced that they are taking a rate of 0.22c per night, per guest. This is even worse as our rate is 0.55c. The rate of 22c is for a campsite!!!! I have even sent them a copy of our Tax Notification from our Commune. They included a link in their reply to our local Coummune list of tax rates and even on there it clearly shows 0.55 and 0.22 for a campsite. Thiick b........ds.

Just re-registering with B.com as I tackled them about the T&C condition which says no price on line could be lower. I pointed out to them that France had taken them to court in 2015. Bingo, got a phone call yesterday admitting their T&C's had changed and we can charge any price, any where. It is not up to them, they said, to tell us what we can charge. Obviously a try on (in France) anyway. Looking today I could not see any little signs on properties showing "pricing policy" so perhaps they have dropped that too. Good news and pleased I took them on. Must admit so far their customer service has been very good.
Last edited by Frenchlady on Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

Well done Frenchlady for taking them on and pursuing them so vigorously, I Hope they change their approach but I fear that it will make no difference. I can't imagine the mess everyone would get in trying to sort out the mess of underpayment of Taxe de Sejour at the end of the season. We pay our TdS as a lump sum at the end of the season and the only reference to who paid it is the date of stay and the nationality of the client, trying to sort reconcile that lot would be a challenge me me, it would be impossible for the local tourist office (who collect our taxe). I am only glad we're not with B.com, but how long will it be before the rest of the agencies take the same approach.
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oasiscouple
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Post by oasiscouple »

I spoke to a representative of our local tourist office this week who told me that ABB had been in touch with them to know the amount of the Taxe de Sejour. Here it is 0.77€ per adult per night for B&B

And lo and behold I have just received an ABB booking from Holland and was informed that ABB had charged the guest 6.16€ for the tourist tax, exactly the correct amount for two adults four nights. How they will pass it on is now ABB problem.

Wonders never cease!
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newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

Frenchlady wrote: Just re-registering with B.com as I tackled them about the T&C condition which says no price on line could be lower. I pointed out to them that France had taken them to court in 2015. Bingo, got a phone call yesterday admitting their T&C's had changed and we can charge any price, any where. It is not up to them, they said, to tell us what we can charge. Obviously a try on (in France) anyway.
You unfortunately still cannot charge less on your own website - the ruling only applies to other OTAs. https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-to- ... europeesp/
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

Hi Newtimber, I have been told by them on the phone that you can charge whatever price you want on any other site, anywhere. After I tackled them about the court case in France and that the T&C's they sent to me were therefore incorrect they came back to me and said yes their t&c's have been changed!!!! So they are sending me new T&C's. I am happy with that. The guy said "it is not up to us how much you charge for your property elsewhere" ... change of heart maybe or the Authorities are getting to them at last??
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Great work, I do hope you are going to be happy with Booking.
Dusty wrote:Well done Frenchlady for taking them on and pursuing them so vigorously, I Hope they change their approach but I fear that it will make no difference. I can't imagine the mess everyone would get in trying to sort out the mess of underpayment of Taxe de Sejour at the end of the season. We pay our TdS as a lump sum at the end of the season and the only reference to who paid it is the date of stay and the nationality of the client, trying to sort reconcile that lot would be a challenge me me, it would be impossible for the local tourist office (who collect our taxe). I am only glad we're not with B.com, but how long will it be before the rest of the agencies take the same approach.
Mmm why are you glad you are not with Booking? It is AirBnB and the new French law that seems to be at odds with how the tourist office collects the taxes in Frenchlady's area.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
baringa
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Post by baringa »

Re. the AirBnb and any that follow suit, collecting TdeS: I talked to our tourist office and though not happy because they have had to change the website where we declare and they collect the TdeS online (which is very efficient), plus AirBnB only collect at one rate!! they have completely changed the website and have totally got it covered. So maybe instead of trying to get anyone at AirBnB to understand what we are saying, ask your local OT or whoever collects the TdeS what they are going to do about it? I am in the Lot dept 46 by the way, and the OT Vallée du Lot et du Vignoble and the Communauté de Communes organise the collection online.
Info page here (NOTE this is for the Lot it may not be the same wherever you are, but explains how it works for declarations): https://ccvlv.taxesejour.fr/#collecte_airbnb
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

I contacted our commune who collect the tax and informed them that from 1st July Airbnb were taking the tax and it was at the wrong very reduced rate. They replied that they were aware Airbnb would start collecting tax in JAN 2019 (not this year) so why they have started who knows. They said they had not been in dialogue yet with Airbnb ..... bet they will now. Over to them!!!
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Oh I wish I was a fly on the wall then! :lol: :lol:
Did you read that the EU have stated that the prices in AirBnB are not clear and are not the full prices?
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-a ... SKBN1K613F
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Frenchlady
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Post by Frenchlady »

..... 3 more bookings and all have the incorrect tax sejour charged to the guest. How difficult is it to amend on a computer from 22c to 55c?? Have told our commune that this is still going on and their reply was ... we have been made aware of this by others and are in communication with Airbnb but it is complicated.

Who made it complicated I wonder ... was perfectly SIMPLES when it was left to me to take money off my guests.

The cunning plan to ensure we all do not fiddle our tax sejour seems to have backfired.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

No longer a case of Benallagate more of Sejourgate
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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