Inside the nearly $1 billion cities collected as short-term rental rules and fees piled up

Local governments collected nearly $1 billion from short-term rentals through taxes, registration fees, and fines between 2019 and 2025.

The findings offer a sweeping look at how local governments are cashing in on the growth of Airbnb, Vrbo and other vacation rental platforms.

A new analysis from government watchdog Open the Books zeroed in on dozens of municipalities.

Few stood out more than Clark County, Nevada, where officials collected considerably more money from penalties than registrations.

The county, which includes the Las Vegas Strip and surrounding communities, collected nearly four times as much in fines as it did in registration fees.

“They collected $4.6 million in fines, but they only collected $1.3 million in registration fees,” Rachel O’Brien, deputy public policy editor at Open the Books, told The Center Square. “Clearly their focus is not on registering people, the focus is on fining people.”

California cities cashed in big on short-term rental programs

California produced some of the report’s biggest totals.

Palm Springs collected nearly $4 million in STR fines, while Los Angeles brought in more than $23 million through registration fees.

In Hermosa Beach, the cost of registering a single property climbed as high as $1,600 before the home welcomed its first guest through Airbnb, Vrbo, or another booking platform.

Related: Austin’s short-term rental market is heading into a major enforcement test

Open the Books obtained records from more than 20 cities with strict rules for short-term rentals of fewer than 30 days, then compared the costs passed on to travelers and property owners.

Registration fees ranged from $150 in Atlanta to $1,600 in Hermosa Beach, California.

Meanwhile, San Diego charges $1,000 to register a home, while San Francisco charges $925.

The gap is even wider when it comes to fines. Chattanooga, Tennessee, charges up to $500 for violations, while Clark County, Nevada, can impose fines of up to $10,000 per day.

Did Clark County’s short-term rental crackdown go too far?

Clark County is now in a federal legal battle over its multimillion-dollar haul.

Did the city’s STR enforcement fees go too far?

In December 2025, a U.S. District Court granted STR homeowners a preliminary injunction blocking the county from enforcing licensing requirements, issuing fines, or requiring booking platforms to remove properties.

The case centers on a long-running clash between Nevada’s statewide requirement that local governments allow short-term rentals and Clark County’s efforts to tightly limit them.

The preliminary injunction remains in effect while the court considers a final ruling.

That decision could determine whether Clark County can restart its enforcement program and may offer a roadmap for other communities caught between state STR protections and local restrictions.

The fight is unfolding as governments around the world increase enforcement against vacation rentals.

Ireland, for example, is preparing a new national registration system as officials target an estimated 29,000 properties operating outside existing rules.

For now, Clark County holds an unusual position in the Open the Books report.

It collected millions of dollars from an enforcement system that a federal court has temporarily stopped it from using.

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