(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 162647, 186985, 187339, 188170 and 189557, effective July 12, 2019.) Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions given in this Section govern the construction of this Chapter.
A. “Accrual Accounting” means the Operator enters the Rent due from a Transient on their records when the Rent is earned, whether or not it is paid.
B. “Booking Agent” means any Person that provides a means through which a Host may offer a Short-Term Rental for transient lodging occupancy. This service is usually, though not necessarily, provided through an online platform and generally allows a Host to advertise the Short-Term Rental through a website provided by the Booking Agent’s hosting platform and provides a means for potential users to arrange transient lodging occupancy and payment, whether the transient pays rent directly to the Host or to the Booking Agent. Booking Agents include, but are not limited to:
1. Online travel booking sites which are involved in the process of listing and booking Short-Term Rental transient lodging occupancies and handle any aspect of the resulting financial transaction; or
2. Online travel booking sites for Short-Term Rental transient lodging occupancy where advertisements of Short-Term Rental transient lodging occupancy rentals are displayed; or
3. A hosting or other online site that provides a means through which an Operator, Host or agent may offer a Short-Term Rental unit for transient lodging occupancy; or
4. Any Person who lists commercial Hotel rooms or long-term rentals for transient lodging occupancy; or
5. Any Person who directly or indirectly accepts, receives or facilitates payment, whether or not they are the ultimate recipient of the payment, including through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or other computerized devices where third party providers receive information about a transaction and collect funds for the transient lodging occupancy from a Transient.
C. “Division” means the Revenue Division of the Bureau of Revenue and Financial Services of the City of Portland.
D. “Director” means the director of the Revenue Division, or designee.
E. “Business License Appeals Board” means the Board composed of five representatives appointed in the manner set forth in Section 7.02.295 of this Code.
F. “Cash Accounting” means the Operator does not enter the Rent due from a Transient on their records until Rent is paid.
G. “Host” means the owner or person who resides at a Short-Term Rental or has been designated by the owner or resident of the Short-Term Rental and who rents out the Short-Term Rental for transient lodging occupancy either directly or through the use of a Booking Agent.
H. “Hotel” means any structure, or any portion of any structure which is used, occupied, intended or designed for transient occupancy for 30 days or less for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes, and includes, but is not limited to, any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, boutique hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, single family house or any portion of such house, duplex, condominium, bed and breakfast facility, vacation home, multi-dwelling structure, accessory dwelling unit, trailer home, houseboat, public or private dormitory, hostel, fraternity, sorority, public or private club, corporate housing or executive housing space or facility, and also means space in a mobile home or trailer park or portion thereof so occupied, provided such occupancy is for less than a 31‑day period. All Hotels must comply with all local codes applicable to their location and use, including but not limited to zoning and building codes.
I. “Occupancy” means the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession for lodging or sleeping purposes of any Room, Rooms or portion thereof in a Hotel as defined above.
J. “Operator” means:
1. Any Person who provides one or more Rooms for Occupancy for periods of 30 days or less to the general public for compensation. Furnishing accommodations can be done via employees, contractors, agents or any other person the Hotel consents to allow to process reservations and accept payments from the Transient on behalf of the Hotel; or
2. Any Person that facilitates the reservation of an accommodation and collects the payment for the Room reservation from the Transient; or
3. Any Transient Lodging Provider, Transient Lodging Intermediary or Transient Lodging Tax Collector as defined in ORS 320.300; or
4. A Booking Agent as defined in this Chapter.
There may be more than one Operator for a Hotel and each Operator is independently responsible for compliance with this Chapter though the tax will only be collected once. Operators include, but are not limited to, the Hotel owner and/or management, online travel companies, Booking Agents or other online travel facilitators, travel agents or companies, contracted management companies or any other Person that secures the right to occupy a Room on behalf of the Transient and receives payment from the Transient for that right whether or not the Operator is the ultimate recipient of the payment.
K. “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, corporation, limited liability partnership, association, host, social club, fraternal organization, fraternity, sorority, public or private dormitory, joint stock company, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
L. “Rent” means the full consideration charged to the Transient for the right to occupy a Room in a Hotel, valued in money, goods, gift cards, labor, credits, property or other consideration of value without any deduction. Rent is considered to be the total amount represented to the Transient by an Operator as the consideration charged for the Occupancy including any accommodation fees, commissions or similar amounts paid to or withheld by a Person that facilitates the reservation of a Room.
M. “Rent Package Plan” means the consideration charged for both food and Rent where a single rate is made for the total of both. The amount applicable to Rent for determination of transient room tax under this Chapter is considered the same charge made for Rent of the identical room when it is not a part of a package plan.
N. “Room” means each portion of a Hotel which may be rented or is intended to be rented to a separate transient lodger or lodging party, other than rooms containing no sleeping accommodations and intended to be used for purposes other than sleeping and living accommodations, such as meetings, recreation, education, business or other purposes. In rooms with multiple beds where each bed may be rented or is intended to be rented to a separate transient lodger, such as bunk or dormitory style rooms, each bed is counted as a room.
O. “Short-Term Rental” means a house, duplex, multi-plex, apartment, condominium, houseboat, trailer or other residential dwelling where a person rents guest bedrooms for transient lodging Occupancy. Generally, a Short-Term Rental is zoned residential or has a building occupancy that only allows for residential use.
P. “Short-Term Rental Registry” means Short-Term Rentals that have valid, current Type A or Type B Accessory Short-Term Rental permits as required by Chapter 33.207 and that are recorded in the City’s Portland Maps or successor database platform publicly available on the City’s website. A copy of the Registry shall be made available to any person upon request.
Q. “Tax” means either the tax payable by the Transient or the aggregate amount of taxes due from an Operator during the period for which the Operator is required to report their collections.
R. “Transient” means any individual who exercises Occupancy or is entitled to Occupancy in a Hotel for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. The day a Transient checks out of the Hotel is not included in determining the 30‑day period if the Transient is not charged rent for that day by the Operator. Any such individual so occupying space in a Hotel is deemed to be a Transient until the period of 30 days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of Occupancy, and the tenancy actually extends more than 30 consecutive days.