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How to set up the VIC Short Stay Levy

Eddie
Updated

Victorian Government Short Stay Levy – Effective 1 January 2025
From 1 January 2025, the Victorian Government will introduce a short term levy on reservations of 28 consecutive days (27 nights) in Victorian accommodation. Reservations for a continuous period of 28 nights or more will not be considered short stays and are exempt from this levy.

The levy is a flat 7.5% of the total booking fees, including charges such as booking and cleaning fees.

For the latest updates from the State Revenue Office and OTA's, please refer to the articles below:

Who pays the levy – the property manager or OTA?

  • Homhero Direct, Website, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy and StayMakers Reservations:
    The levy must be managed and applied through Homhero.
  • Airbnb: Airbnb will handle and pay the levy on your behalf.
  • Booking.com Reservations: Booking.com will fund and remit the levy on your behalf until November 30th 2025. From the December 1 2025, the levy must be managed and applied through Homhero. 

    Our new levy charging solution
    Until now, we’ve been covering the levy for you and paying it to the local tax authorities while we’ve been preparing a permanent solution. That solution is now ready, and we’ll begin using it for reservations made on or after 1 December 2025 with a check-out date on or after 1 March 2026. Here’s how it will work:

    For reservations paid through Payments by Booking.com, where we collect payments from guests on your behalf and pay them out to you by bank transfer with our commission already deducted.
    We'll deduct the amount of the levy from your payouts, so you won't have to pay it separately.

    For all other reservations
    We’ll send you a payment request for the amount of the levy each month, alongside your regular commission invoice. You’ll need to pay this separately via your usual commission invoice payment method.

    Either way, we’ll then pay the levy directly to the local tax authorities. We won’t charge you for any levy amounts we’ve paid before this change.

    What you need to do
    If you haven’t already, let us know whether your property should be excluded from the short-stay levy. If it should be excluded, download and fill out this declaration and then upload it in the extranet. To find out how, read this Partner Help article.
     
  • Vrbo Reservations: Vrbo will collect and remit the levy on your behalf until March 31st 2025. From April 1st 2025 onward, the levy must be managed and applied through Homhero. We recommend creating a new VIC Levy package (including new GL Code and new sundry) specifically for Vrbo reservations made from April 1st onwards, as the current VIC Levy package started on January 1st. If you apply Vrbo under the existing VIC levy package, it will affect all bookings made from that activation point. All other package details will stay the same, but you should disable all OTA options except Vrbo. Please read the latest Vrbo changes as per the 18th March: Victoria short stay levy collection changes 

Are add-ons included in the total booking fee?
Charges for items which do not directly relate to the use of property as short stay accommodation may be excluded from your calculation of the levy, depending on how the item is charged.

Where there is a genuine option not to pay for the extra service (such as transportation from the airport), the amount paid for that component should not be included in the total booking fee and is therefore not subject to the levy.

Where the extra service is part of the accommodation booking and cannot be foregone by the guest for a cheaper rate (such as the use of a boat/bike at the property), the total paid is considered the total booking fee for the purpose of calculating the levy.

How is the levy calculated with package/bundle deals?
If short stay accommodation is booked as part of a bundle or package with other items that are not connected to the use of the accommodation, such as flights, a spa treatment or restaurant experience, the levy only applies to the cost of the accommodation component of the booking.

This is the total amount paid for the accommodation by the bundle provider, or if this is not possible, a calculation of what the accommodation would have cost without the other items.

How to set up the short stay levy in Homhero
For reservations made via your website, direct bookings, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy and StayMakers, you must configure a Homhero package to apply the short stay levy. This setup must be completed before 1 January 2025 to ensure the levy is correctly applied to eligible bookings.

For Booking.com - From 1st December 2025 you must configure a Homhero package to apply the short stay levy.
For Vrbo - From 1st April 2025 onward you must configure a Homhero package to apply the short stay levy.

Before configuring the levy in Homhero, you need to:

  • Create a GL Account Code in RMS.
    - When setting up the new Vrbo Package, we recommend to also create a new GL Account Code.
    - When setting up the new Booking.com Package, we recommend to also create a new GL Account Code.
     
  • Set up a Sundry in RMS.
    - When setting up the new Vrbo Package, we recommend to also create a new Sundry.
    - When setting up the new Booking.com Package, we recommend to also create a new GL Account Code.

Step 1. Set up a GL Account Code (RMS)
If you have already setup a General Ledger Account Code for the Short Stay Levy, you can skip this step.

To create a New General Ledger Account Code for the Short Stay Levy, please follow the below steps:

  1. Search and open GL Acc Codes from the RMS Search Menu, then select Add
  2. Enter the GL Acc Code.
  3. Enter a Description.
  4. Click Save & Exit.

Step 2. Set up a Sundry (RMS)
If you have already setup a Sundry Charge for the Short Stay Levy, you can skip this step.

To create a New Sundry, please follow the below steps:

  1. Search and open Sundry from the RMS Search Menu, then select Add.
  2. Enter a Description.
  3. Select the GL Acc Code created in Step 1.
  4. Set GST Type to GST Free.
  5. Click Save & Exit.

Step 3. Sync Sundry from RMS (Homhero)
To sync the new sundry from RMS to Homhero, please follow the below steps:

  • Click Settings > General Settings from the Homhero side menu
  • Click Sundries
  • Click Sync From RMS to bring the Short Stay Levy into Homhero.

Step 4. Set up a Package (Homhero)
As the OTAs introduced changes to the short stay levy at different times, you will need to set up three separate VIC Levy packages in Homhero to align with the dates each change came into effect. To setup a New levy package in Homhero, please follow the below steps:

  • Click Booking Engine > Packages from the Homhero side menu
  • Click Add 

    Package Tab
  1. Active Toggle - Ensure it is ON.
  2. Package Name - Enter a package name e.g. "Short Stay Levy".
    If you have multiple VIC Levy packages set up per OTA, you can name them accordingly, such as:
    - Short Stay Levy
    - Booking.com Short Stay Levy
    - Vrbo Short Stay Levy
  3. Description - Add a description (visible only on your website, not in templates).
  4. Guest Mandatory - Turn ON.
  5. Apply to all Listings - Turn ON if all listings in your account are located in Victoria
  6. Apply to Listings - Set specific listings that are located in Victoria
  7. Days of the Week - Select all days.
  8. Validate On - Set to Arrival.
  9. Max Nights - Set to 27.
  10. Valid to use from (date) - For the Short Stay Levy package, you would set this to 1 January 2025. 

    For the additional Booking.com VIC Levy Package, you would set this Validate on Departure, Valid to use from 1 December 2025, and only bookings staying from 1 March 2026.



    For the additional Vrbo VIC Levy package, you would set this to 1 April 2025.

     
  11. Valid to use from (time) - Defaults to 00:00 AM
  12. Package Type - Select Per Booking.
  13. Amount - Set to 8.11. This is because the 7.5% levy will be calculated on the the booking total (including the levy). Example provided in screenshot below.
  14. Amount Type - Select % Percent.
  15. Calculate On - Select Tax. This new setting calculates the package based on the final total and should only be used for tax packages. If you're currently using "Booking Total," it will still function as before. However, if you have multiple packages set to "Booking Total" (e.g. Beyond Pricing Commission), you’ll need to set the VIC levy to "Tax" to avoid any pricing calculation issues.
  16. Itemised 
    - Turn ON to make the levy visible to the guest (only applicable for website reservations).
    - Leave OFF to include the levy in the total without being visible to the guest.
  17. RMS Sundry Link - Select the Sundry created in Step 2.



OTA Options Tab

  1. Website - Turn ON.
  2. Direct - Turn ON.
  3. Airbnb - Turn OFF.
  4. VRBO - Turn OFF.
  5. Booking.com - Turn OFF.
  6. StayMakers - Turn ON.
  7. HVMB - Turn ON.
  8. Click Save

    Short Stay Levy Package


    Booking.com VIC Levy Package - Turn ON for new Booking.com VIC Levy package.

    We recommend creating a new VIC Levy package specifically for Booking.com reservations made on or after December 1st onwards, as the initial VIC Levy package started on January 1st 2025. If you apply Booking.com under the existing VIC levy packages, it will affect all bookings made from that activation point. All other package details will stay the same, but you should disable all OTA options except Booking.com.



    Vrbo VIC Levy Package - Turn ON for new Vrbo VIC Levy package.

    We recommend creating a new VIC Levy package specifically for Vrbo reservations made from April 1st onwards, as the current VIC Levy package started on January 1st 2025 If you apply Vrbo under the existing VIC levy packages, it will affect all bookings made from that activation point. All other package details will stay the same, but you should disable all OTA options except Vrbo.


     

How to Report on the Short Stay Levy (Homhero)
The following export can be used to assist you in reporting the VIC Levy requirements to the State Revenue Office (SRO):

  • VIC Short Stay Levy Export: This is a new export that is automatically sent on the first day of each quarter. If you need a copy of the report outside of the scheduled dates, please reach out to Homhero Support.

How to Report on the Short Stay Levy (RMS)
The following reports can be used to track the levy charges:

  • General Transfers (Trust Accounting):
    The levy appears in the General Transfers utility for processing in trust accounting properties.
  • Cash/Charge Report:
    If the levy uses a unique GL Account Code, this report provides a total of all charges applied to that account. You can also drill down to view individual transactions.
  • Sundry Usage Report:
    This report itemises individual transactions associated with the levy’s Sundry Charge.

For any further assistance, please contact Homhero Support.

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