DENVER (AP) -- Colorado mountain towns whose lodging-tax collections have suffered along with the travel industry are trying to make sure homeowners who rent out rooms pay lodging taxes too.
Telluride Town Manager Frank Bell says people who rent their homes to vacationers are essentially hotels that should be taxed.
One of Bell's employees trolls vacation rental websites like VRBO.com and Craigslist to find private renters violating tax laws or zoning restrictions that bar nightly rentals.
Colorado Association of Ski Towns executive director Joyce Burford estimates hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue is being missed in Colorado. The association is hiring an expert to develop a strategy for towns to track private rentals and enforce local laws.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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