The vendor is required to provide and implement a software-as-a-service (SaaS) short-term rental registry platform.
- The selected SaaS solution must:
• Provide a user-friendly online portal for hosts to register their short-term rental properties.
• Automate tax collection and remittance tracking.
• Ensure compliance with state-mandated reporting requirements.
• Include enforcement tools to monitor violations and revoke non-compliant permits.
• Offer multi-county registry functionality to facilitate regional cooperation.
• Securely store data and control user access based on county roles. 1. system functionality
a. Host registration portal
• Online registration system for property owners.
• Verification of property eligibility against state and local requirements.
• Insurance certificate upload & tracking
o Hosts must upload proof of insurance meeting state-mandated coverage.
o The system must track expiration dates and notify hosts before expiration.
o County officials receive reports on expired or missing insurance.
o The system must automatically revoke registrations for non-compliance.
• Property safety compliance
o Hosts must attest compliance with safety requirements (fire extinguisher, emergency contacts, evacuation diagram).
• Unique registration number issuance for each property.
• Payment solution for hosts to pay registration fees, penalties, or occupancy tax payments.
• Communication and ticketing functionality for dealing with host and booking service inquiries via the platform.
b. Booking service provider registration
• Online registration for booking service providers
c. Booking platform integration and tax compliance
• Interface with Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and other platforms to:
o Verify that only registered properties are listed.
o Ensure platforms collect and remit sales & occupancy taxes.
o Generate itemized tax reports for county officials.
• Automated tax tracking and reporting
o The system must calculate tax obligations per property and allow tracking of payments.
o Reports must comply with quarterly state-mandated tax reporting.
d. Compliance and enforcement tools
• Violation tracking and penalty system
o County officials can flag non-compliant properties.
o The system must issue warnings before fines.
o Properties with three violations within two consecutive years must have registrations automatically revoked.
• Automated permit revocation
o The system must automatically suspend permits for expired insurance.
o Counties must be able to request revocation for illegal occupancy.
• Booking platform enforcement
o Integration with enforcement agencies to identify and remove listings without valid registrations.
• “Off book”: transactions
o respondents to this RFP shall detail their ability to identify hosts that may have “off-book” transactions, based on irregularities in property availability. provide details on the specific techniques (e.g. machine learning models, web scraping, anomaly detection) to identify off book rentals.
o Ability to provide periodic audit reports or dashboards related to unregistered activity.
e. Reporting & data compliance
• Quarterly reporting to state
o Automate submission of data required by law.
o Reports must include occupancy, guest counts, rental revenue, and tax collection details.
• Host record-keeping & auditing
o Hosts must maintain rental records for two years.
o County officials must be able to request and review records on demand.
• Multi-county registry & data sharing
o The system must allow counties to collaborate and share data securely.
o County users should have role-based access to manage shared enforcement cases.
• Data sharing functionality
o The system must be able to easily share data provided by the booking services with local municipalities.
- Technical requirements
a. Cloud-based SaaS platform
• Hosted in a secure, scalable cloud environment.
• Web and mobile-friendly interfaces for easy access.
• Supports multi-county implementation with role-based access control.
• The platform complies with wcag2.1 level aa standards for accessibility.
• Counties shall retain ownership of all data and software provider must provide a clear data export and migration plan upon contract termination.
b. Security and data privacy
• Compliance with state cybersecurity and data protection laws.
• Encryption of sensitive data (both at rest and in transit).
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
c. API and data integration
• Open API for integration with state and municipal systems, and with booking platforms for verification
of property registration status.
• Compatibility with GIS mapping tools for property verification.
• Ability to export data in csv, xml, json formats.
• Specify whether integrations with booking platforms will be API-based or rely on third-party aggregators.
• Identify who is responsible for maintaining all integrations.
- Contract Period/Term: 3 years
- Virtual Pre-Proposal Meeting Date: June 10, 2025
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: June 17, 2025