3,400 Airbnb offers in Reykjavik
Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson
There are some 3,400 flats and rooms in Reykjavik on the airbnb.com accommodation rental wesbite, according to a new report. This represents some 4% of the total number of flats rented out to tourists in the city.
The report, produced by Iceland’s Bifröst University, was presented to Icelandic Minister for Industry and Trade Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir today.
The report shows that the number of hotels rooms in the Iceland has not kept up with rising tourist numbers and visitors have had to find other forms of accommodation.
The vast majority of flats on offer on airbnb.com are not licensed and operators therefore pay no taxes or fees, depriving the State of significant amounts of tax revenue.
The authors recommend amendments to current tax legislation to ensure owners are operating legally and paying tax, and a full-scale review of existing rules on restaurants, accommodation and entertainment in order to satisfactorily cover this new growing sector of the economy.
