ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The city of St. Augustine has approved a small increase in fees for vacation rental owners, a move that is intended to cover administrative costs and affects about 820 active short-term rentals in the area.
City commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to raise the fees, with Commissioner Cynthia Garris saying she supports the modest increase because she doesn’t want to see residents be “overwhelmed” by an increase of hundreds of dollars.
Additionally, the fee hike applies only to vacation rental owners, not taxpayers. It adds roughly $9 to the base rate and $6 to the per-bedroom rate.
Visitors to St. Augustine shared their thoughts on the increase. Stacey Judge, who frequently visits the city with a friend, expressed some concern.
“[The fee] could have people looking somewhere else or outside of St Augustine rather than coming in if the prices are going to increase.”
Despite the small size of the increase, some worry it could impact vacation renters.
Christopher Stevens, who was visiting St. Augustine from the United Kingdom, said he and his wife normally stay in a vacation rental when they travel to the city and shared some concerns about the fee increase, but overall, he isn’t too worried about it.
“If it helps, like, maintain, the areas, facilities, trash pickup in general, services around the island, around the area.... I’m for it,” he said.
The city says the fee increase is necessary to manage the growing number of short-term rentals and maintain services.