Unerkannte Erlösminderung durch falsch kalkulierte Belegungsabgaben

Definition

Victoria’s Short Stay Levy of **7,5 % of the total booking fee** applies to short stays under 28 days, including accommodation, cleaning fees, service fees and GST.[1][3][4] In the ACT, a **5 % STRA levy** will apply to the “consideration” for short-term rental accommodation from 1 July 2025, similarly calculated on a broad base including GST and fees.[4] Airbnb notes that, because the levy itself is included in the definition of the base (total booking fee/consideration), the *effective* levy is slightly higher than the headline rate.[4] Platforms like Airbnb will collect and remit these levies for bookings made on‑platform in the relevant jurisdictions, but for direct bookings, property owners/tenants must calculate and charge the levy themselves.[1][3][4] Many small B&Bs and hostels use fixed nightly rates set long before these levies, and when the levy commences they either keep gross prices unchanged (absorbing the levy) or only partially adjust prices, particularly for direct or corporate bookings. For a hostel charging AUD 120 per night in Victoria with 2.000 annual short stays (total booking fees ≈ AUD 240.000), the Short Stay Levy will be around AUD 18.000 p.a. If this is not fully passed on to guests via adjusted pricing, this becomes a direct margin reduction of about **7–8 % of affected revenue**. Even partial under‑recovery, e.g. only increasing rates by 4 % instead of the full 7,5 %+, implies **revenue leakage of ≈ 3–4 %** of gross sales on short-stay nights, i.e. ≈ AUD 7.000–10.000 p.a. for this one property. Because the levy applies only in some states (currently Victoria and, from mid‑2025, ACT) and only to stays under the 28‑day threshold, manual rate management across multiple locations and length‑of‑stay rules makes consistent recoupment difficult, particularly for operators without channel managers that are tax‑aware.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Bed-and-Breakfasts, Hostels and Homestays in Australia 🇦🇺 with Victorian or ACT properties quietly lose 2–5 % of gross room revenue each year by under‑pricing stays and absorbing new occupancy taxes and levies. Automated tax‑aware pricing and booking‑engine integration can systematically recover this margin.

Affected Stakeholders

Owners and managers of B&Bs and guesthouses, Hostel operators, Homestay hosts with professional operations, Revenue managers and pricing analysts in small accommodation groups

Related Business Risks