STONE HARBOR – Council member Ken Biddick says the borough is preparing an ordinance to add a municipal occupancy tax of 3% on hotels, motels and short-term rentals obtained through online apps like Airbnb and Vrbo.
Biddick said the idea of using an occupancy tax as a new revenue stream for the borough came from the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association. His remarks came at the Borough Council’s Oct. 30 meeting; no ordinance has yet been introduced.
The councilman did not provide an estimate of how much money might be raised by such a tax.
If the borough adopts an occupancy tax ordinance, Stone Harbor would join other Cape May County municipalities that have one. Ocean City was the most recent county municipality to adopt the tax, doing so by a one-vote margin by its City Council in July.
Other municipalities with an occupancy tax are Cape May, Middle Township, West Cape May and Lower Township. Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest all have accommodations taxes through tourism tax and tourism assessment programs.
Cape May, an early adopter of the occupancy tax, raised its rate from 2% to 3% in January 2022. By 2024, city records show, Cape May realized over $3.4 million in revenue from its tax.
For those communities that participate in the tax option, the tax is collected by the hotel, motel or transient space operator from the customer and then remitted to the state, which in turn distributes the revenue back to the municipality.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
