Short-term rentals in Snowmass Village, explained properly.

Sec. 18-313 defines the classes. Permit 1 applies only to Viewline, Limelight, Wildwood and Mountain Chalet. Multi-Family A is a multi-family dwelling or group of them in one PUD with at least 25 dwelling units whose owners take part in a centralized check-in facility, property management program and rental management program, where the applicant can show to the Town's reasonable satisfaction that at least 67% of the units can reasonably be expected to participate; it does not include multi-family dwellings operated as a hotel or lodge. Multi-Family B is required if you do not meet all the Multi-Family A requirements or do not participate in the complex's centralized management program. Permit 4 covers an independent single-family structure on its own land or a duplex.

Sec. 18-314 says licenses and permits are renewed annually. The Town's page says the revised regulations effective December 30, 2025 give all STR permits a unified April 30 expiration; renewals due January to March 2026 carried prorated fees ($33.33, $66.66 or $100 for one, two or three months), and from April 2026 all renewals are valid through April 30, 2027 at the standard renewal fee of $400.

Sec. 18-316 sets the limits and says children five (5) and under are not considered in the bedroom limit. The section applies to permit types 3 and 4. Exceeding occupancy limits is a minor violation under Sec. 18-319(b).

Sec. 18-325 requires all permit holders to have a designated local owner representative, available 24/7/365, who must be able to respond to all calls within sixty (60) minutes. The Town's permit application asks for the representative's name, phone number and email address.

Sec. 18-324 requires the home or unit to be insured for use as a short-term rental and to carry liability insurance.

Sec. 18-321 says that once a short-term rental permit is assigned it must be listed on all advertising listings, and that permits must be displayed in a prominent location inside the property for permit types 3 and 4. Sec. 18-315 repeats the permit-number requirement for online marketplace listings and says it applies to permit types 3 and 4. Failure to list the permit number on all advertising listings is a minor violation (Sec. 18-319(b)).

Sec. 18-322 gives the Town the right to inspect your home or unit, subject to the Town's discretion, with twenty-four (24) hours' notice of entry unless there is a life safety issue.

Sec. 18-327 requires the Self-compliance affidavit and the Good Neighbor Guidelines to be uploaded and signed as part of the STR permit application. The guidelines must be included with your rental agreements and displayed in a prominent location in your unit or home. The Town's page also requires a notarized Statement of Authority when the property owner is a legal entity such as an LLC, corporation, partnership or trust.

Sec. 18-319 lists major violations: renting without an STR permit, a second conviction or guilty plea for noise or wildlife violations within two years, life safety violations (smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers), providing false information, and failure to remit sales and lodging taxes. A first major violation may result in loss of the permit and/or business license for up to two (2) years and fines up to $1,000; a second may result in loss for up to five (5) years and fines up to $1,000. Minor violations are occupancy limits, parking violations, failure to list the permit number on all advertising listings, recurrent delinquent sales tax filing or remittance, administration issues with the permitting, and violation of any other applicable STR provision; a first may result in a fine up to $1,000, a second up to $1,500, and a third may become a major violation with loss of the permit and/or license for up to two years. Under Sec. 18-318 violations are noncriminal municipal offenses heard in the Town Municipal Court and each day is a separate offense. The Town's page says that, under the revised regulations effective December 30, 2025, trespassing is now also a major violation; that addition is not in the Municode text we read, so the penalty list may be out of date.

The Town's page says the STR permit fee increased to $400 effective January 1, 2026, and lists the permit fee as $400 per hotel (Permit 1), $400 per unit (Permits 2 and 3) and $400 per home or duplex (Permit 4). Sec. 4-3(c) directs the Town Manager to establish rules and regulations for the issuance of permits, approved by Town Council; the dollar amount is taken from the Town's page. Fee revenue goes into the General Fund.

The Town's page lists a business license fee of $85.00 per hotel/lodge (Permit 1), per parent company (Permit 2), per owner/property manager (Permit 3) and per home (Permit 4). The page introduces these as the "proposed application fee" and the fee schedule carries no date, so the figure needs confirmation with the Town Finance Department (970-923-3796).

Sec. 18-314 lists the Town of Snowmass Village sales tax at 3.5% and lodging tax at 2.4%, remitted directly to the Town through MUNIRevs, with the state, Pitkin County and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority taxes remitted to the State of Colorado. The Town's Sales & Lodging Tax page gives the same Town rates (3.5% and 2.4%) but lists an additional 0.25% Confluence Early Childhood Development tax that the code article does not list, and the two sources give different overall totals, so we give no combined total. Sales and lodging tax forms are filed monthly, due no later than the 20th of the following month, including a zero-tax form for a month with no rental activity, and the number of occupied nights is reported on the lodging tax form. Sec. 18-315 says online rental marketplaces such as Airbnb and VRBO will no longer remit sales and lodging tax on the host's behalf and that hosts collect and remit to the Town through MUNIRevs. Failure to remit sales and lodging taxes is a major violation (Sec. 18-319). Rates are subject to change; check with the Town.

Colorado charges its 2.9% state sales tax on the entire amount charged for rooms and accommodations. A stay may also owe local sales taxes that the Colorado Department of Revenue collects for counties and special districts, and any sales tax of a home-rule city that collects its own tax (see below).

State sales tax does not apply to a room or accommodations rented to a person who is a permanent resident of it and has a written agreement to occupy it for at least 30 consecutive days. Shorter stays are taxed.

The Colorado Department of Revenue says anyone who offers rooms or accommodations for rent must get a Colorado sales tax license and collect sales tax on taxable rentals. A seller who makes sales only through a marketplace may be exempt from licensing, collection and filing if the marketplace collects all state and state-administered local sales taxes for them. The license costs $16 (prorated) plus a $50 deposit, a separate license is needed for each business location, and licenses expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years.

For rooms rented through a marketplace (including online platforms), the marketplace facilitator must collect and remit the state sales tax and the local sales taxes the state collects, plus any county lodging tax and local marketing district tax. City taxes in home-rule cities are separate (see below).

The Colorado Department of Revenue does not administer any lodging tax imposed by a city or town, and it does not collect sales tax for home-rule cities that collect their own. Those taxes are licensed, filed and paid with the city.

Colorado counties may add a county lodging tax, regional transportation authorities a visitor benefit tax, and local marketing districts a marketing tax on rooms subject to state sales tax. County lodging and visitor benefit taxes are filed quarterly with the Department of Revenue on form DR 1485; the Department's DR 1003 publication lists the rates.