Norfolk City Council members voted 7-1 to raise the per-night tax rate on short-term rental properties like Airbnbs with more than one bedroom.
With Ward 4 City Council member John “J.P.” Paige voting against the measure, the City Council approved the increase at its Tuesday meeting.
Short-term rental guests are currently taxed $3 per night. The measure increases the tax to $3 per night per bedroom. For example, guests staying two nights in a two-bedroom Airbnb will now be taxed $12 instead of $6 under the previous rate.
The ordinance will take effect Jan. 1.
Paige said he voted against the increase because he believed short-term rentals were an important tool for homeowners to help earn extra income and help pay off their mortgages.
“We don’t want to overburden our citizens with those kinds of taxes,” Paige said.
At a previous meeting, Ward 5 City Council member Tommy Smigiel defended the decision, saying it was one of the recommendations from the city’s short-term rental study group. He said the revenue from the increased tax would be reinvested in communities like East Beach and Ocean View and build faith with residents who oppose short-term rentals. The vast majority of the short-term rentals registered to operate in the city are clustered along the Chesapeake Bay in communities Smigiel represents.
According to city spokesperson Kelly Straub, the revenue will be used for both sand replenishment and improved beach access in those neighborhoods. The city was projected to earn $116,976 in short-term rental tax revenue in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the 2026 budget document.
The decision to change the tax rate brings short-term rentals in line with the tax rate for Norfolk hotels, whose customers are also taxed on a per-room basis.
There were no public speakers at the meeting, but the tax increase has drawn opposition from at least one short-term rental operator, who said his businesses are very different from large hotel chains. The rentals are also currently taxed an additional 9% transient occupancy tax by the city and 6% sales tax by the state.
There are currently 221 short-term rental properties registered with the city. However, hundreds more could be unregistered — the Airbnb website lists roughly 500 properties available in the city.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
