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Home My WebLink About064-O-21 Amending Hotel Tax5/28/2021 6/04/2021 64-0-21 AN ORDINANCE Amending Sections of Title 3, Chapter 2, Section 4 of the City Code Concerning Hotel -Motel, Bed and Breakfast Establishments and Vacation Rental Tax NOW BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: SECTION 1: City Code Section 3-2-4-1, "Definitions" of the Evanston City Code of 2012, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: 3-2-4-1. - DEFINITIONS. (A) "Hotel" and "motel" shall mean and refer to every building or structure kept, used, maintained, advertised and held out to the public to be a place where lodging or lodging and food, or apartments, or suites, or other accommodations are offered for a consideration to guests, which does not include vacation rental units separately defined below, in which four (4) or more rooms, apartments or suites, or other accommodations are used for the lodging or lodging and food for such guests. A building or structure, such as a convention center, or executive conference facility, not open to the public but otherwise meeting the criteria set forth in the previous sentence, shall be subject to the hotel -motel tax. (B) "Operator" shall mean and refer to persons engaged in the business of selling or reselling the right to occupy hotel, motel and/or vacation rental unit accommodations, whether online, in person or otherwise to the public. For bed and breakfast establishments, the term "operator" shall mean the owner of the bed and breakfast establishment, or the owner's agent, who is required to reside in the bed and breakfast establishment, or on contiguous property. (C) "Person" means any natural person, receiver, administrator, executor, conservator, assignee, trust in perpetuity, trust, estate, firm, co -partnership, joint venture, club, company, business trust, domestic or foreign corporation, association, syndicate, society, or any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit, or otherwise. Whenever the term "person" is used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the term as applied to associations shall mean the owners or part-owners thereof, and as applied to corporations shall mean the officers thereof. 64-0-21 (D) "Vacation Rental Unit" means a dwelling unit or a habitable unit that is offered for rent, lease or hire that is rented, leased or hired for which an owner or operator receives consideration from a person and that person has the right to use, occupy or possess the dwelling unit or habitable unit for said period. (E) "Bed and Breakfast Establishment" means an owner -occupied, single-family or two- family dwelling providing accommodations for a charge to the public with no more than five (5) guest rooms for rent, in operation more than ten (10) nights in a twelve (12) month period. Only the breakfast meal may be provided to registered guests. The service of food to the public for a charge is otherwise prohibited. Bed and breakfast establishments shall not include motels, hotels, boarding houses, or food service establishments. (F) "Facilitator" means: A) A person who: (1) Contracts with a marketplace seller or multichannel seller to facilitate for consideration, reaardless of whether or not the consideration is deducted as fees from the transaction, the remote sale of lodginq within the Citv through the person's marketplace: (2) Engages directiv or indirectly. throuqh one or more affiliated persons, in transmittina or otherwise communicating the offer or acceptance between a purchaser and the marketplace seller or multichannel seller: and (3) Either directiv or indirectly. throuah agreements or arrangements with third parties. collects pavment from the purchaser on behalf of the seller. (B) " Facilitator" does not include a person that exclusivelv provides internet advertisinq that does not otherwise meet this definition. (G)"Online Travel Comoanv" means an orqanization that books, reserves or rents hotel or motel rooms, vacation rental units or bed and breakfast establishments and makes other travel arrangements for consumers via the World Wide Web. internet or other digital means. Online Travel Companies are considered Facilitators. as used herein. (H)"Gross Rent" means the total amount of consideration for occupancv. valued in monev. whether received in monev or otherwise. including all receipts. cash, credits and property for services of anv kind or nature, including but not limited to, amounts charged for the making, booking, facilitatinq or servicing of reservations. Gross rent means both (a) the "net rate" paid to the hotel, motel, vacation rental unit or bed and breakfast establishment by a Facilitator for room occupancv by the consumer and (b) the amount retained by the Facilitator for travel -related services provided to the consumer (sometimes referred to as a "facilitator fee"). and anv additional amounts retained by the Facilitator as compensation for its services to the consumer for the individual transaction, or, in the instance of a consumer's direct rental of a room with a hotel, motel, vacation rental unit or bed and breakfast establishment. gross rent shall mean the amount -2- 64-0-21 charged by the hotel, motel, vacation rental unit or bed and breakfast establishment directiv to the consumer for the occupancy of the room. SECTION 2: City Code Section 3-2-4-2, "Tax Imposed" of the Evanston City Code of 2012, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: 3-2-4-2. - TAX IMPOSED. A tax is hereby levied and imposed upon the use and privilege of renting, leasing, or letting of rooms in a motel, hotel, bed and breakfast establishment, or vacation rental in the City at a rate of seven and one-half percent (7.5%) of the gross l r renta�..,eGe-;-+s-from such rental, leasing or letting. The ultimate incidence of, and liability for, payment of said tax shall be borne by the user, lessee or tenant of said rooms or vacation rental unit. The tax herein levied shall be in addition to any and all other taxes. It shall be the duty of every owner, manager, facilitator and/or operator of hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment, or vacation rental unit accommodations to secure said tax from the user, lessee or tenant of the hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment, or vacation rental unit accommodations and issue payment to the City. SECTION 3: City Code Section 3-2-4-3, "Payment and Collection" of the Evanston City Code of 2012, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: 3-2-4-3. - PAYMENT AND COLLECTION. Collection of the tax from each user, lessee or tenant of rooms in such hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment or vacation rental unit shall be the responsibility of the owner or operator if the user, lessee or tenant of rooms in such hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment or vacation rental unit contracted directiv with or paid directiv to said owner or operator. Collection of the tax from each user, lessee or tenant of rooms in such hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment or vacation rental unit shall be the responsibility of the facilitator if said user contracted with or paid directiv to the facilitator consistent with Section 3-2-4-1(F) and (G) of this Code. operator of each hetel, motel, bed Rd hre I F + tabli-hm9nt,, E) oaGai"'eR FeRtalU enc�Rd the-peF6GR tA-whflrn-the I+sen-se-to operated bUsinesno shall have been issued by , sms in suGh hotel, metel, unit.vaGatiGR rental Every person required to collect the tax levied by ordinance shall secure said tax from the user, lessee or tenant of a room(s) or vacation rental unit at the time that he/she collects the price, charge or rent to which it applies. -3- 64-0-21 SECTION 4: City Code Section 3-2-4-5, "Enforce Payment of Tax" of the Evanston City Code of 201.2, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: 3-2-4-5. - ENFORCE PAYMENT OF TAX. (A) Failure to Pay. Whenever any person shall fail to pay any taxes herein provided, or when any owner, operator, facilitator or licensee of a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment, or vacation rental in the City shall fail to collect the tax hereby imposed from any person who has the ultimate liability for payment of the same, the Corporation Counsel shall, upon request of the City Manager or his/her designee, bring or cause to be brought an action to enforce the payment of said tax on behalf of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction. If the City Manager, after a hearing held by or for him/her, shall find that any hotel, motel or vacation rental owner, operator, facilitator or licensee has willfully evaded his/her responsibility to collect the tax imposed by this Section, he/she may suspend or revoke all City licenses held by such tax evader. Said person shall have an opportunity to be heard at such hearing, to be held not less than five (5) days after notice of the time and place thereof, addressed to him/her at his/her last known place of business. Any suspension or conviction resulting from such hearing shall not relieve or discharge any civil liability for nonpayment of the tax due. (B) Interest and Penalties. In the event of failure by any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast establishment, or vacation rental owner, operator. facilitator or licensee to collect and pay to the City Manager or his/her designee the tax required hereunder within twenty (20) days following the completion of the calendar month, a late fee penalty of ten percent (10%), per month, of the tax. SECTION 5: All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. SECTION 6: If any provision of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid application or provision, and each invalid provision or invalid application of this ordinance is severable 64-0-21 shall be in full force and effect after its passage and approval. ME 64-0-21 SECTION 7: The findings and recitals contained herein are declared to be prima facie evidence of the law of the City and shall be received in evidence as provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes and the courts of the State of Illinois. Introduced: June 14 , 2021 Approved: Adopted: June 28 , 2021 June 30 , 2021 Daniel Biss, Mayor Attest: .J Stephanie Mendoza, City Clerk Approved as to form: X.A- da r 6. a,,n.� Nicholas E. Cummings, Corporation Counsel -5-