Tourist tax in Alsace: what every Airbnb host must know

The tourist tax (taxe de séjour) is a small contribution paid by the guest, per night and per adult, funding the local authority's tourism actions. In Alsace, it applies in most tourist towns: the Eurométropole of Strasbourg, Colmar, Obernai, the Wine Route villages…

Key point: you don't pay it — the guest does. You — or the platform — are simply the collector: you receive the tax with the rent, then pass it on to the local authority.

Airbnb, Booking and the major platforms automatically collect and remit the tourist tax in the vast majority of French municipalities, including the Eurométropole of Strasbourg. Concretely: the tax is added to the price paid by the guest, and you have nothing to do.

Your reflex: check with your town hall or the Eurométropole whether your municipality is covered by automatic platform collection. If it isn't — still the case in some small villages — you must collect the tax yourself and remit it, usually quarterly.

The amount is set by each local authority under a locally voted scale. For furnished tourist rentals, it generally depends on the property's star rating and is often calculated as a percentage of the nightly rate per person, with a cap. An unrated rental is usually subject to the municipality's highest proportional rate.

Practical consequence: getting your property officially rated (1 to 5 stars by an accredited body) can lower the applicable tax — a small boost to your listing's competitiveness. Exact rates are published by your town hall or local authority.

Even when the platform collects for you, a few good habits keep you fully compliant.

• ✦Register your furnished rental with the town hall (registration number)
• ✦Check whether your municipality is covered by Airbnb's automatic collection
• ✦If not: collect the tax and remit it on the municipal schedule
• ✦Keep stay records (platforms provide them)
• ✦Consider a star rating for your property to optimise the rate