Escondido, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Section 25-75 defines 'transient lodging' broadly to include hotels, short-term rentals, motels, tourist homes, rooming houses, and mobile homes at a fixed location, and a 'transient' as anyone occupying space for 30 consecutive days or less; a stay becomes exempt only once the guest signs a 'qualifying rental agreement,' a written contract for 31 or more days that cannot be cancelled early by either side. Before renting to any transient, § 25-77 requires the operator to register with the tax administrator, the city's director of finance, and obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate, which must be posted where guests can see it; the tax administrator can require a security deposit equal to one month's estimated tax from a new operator until 12 months of timely remittance passes.

The tax itself, set at 10% of the rent charged under § 25-78(a), is legally owed by the transient guest, not the operator, though the operator must collect it at the same time as the rent and state it separately from the rent charged under § 25-79. Operators hold the collected tax in trust for the city, cannot advertise that they will absorb or waive the tax, and remain personally liable for the tax if they collect rent but fail to collect the tax; an operator who collects the tax and doesn't remit it can be prosecuted under Penal Code § 424.

Monthly returns and payment are due by the last day of the month following the reporting month under § 25-80, and a late remittance draws a 10% delinquency penalty under § 25-82(a). Short-term rental hosts specifically must also carry this registration: Chapter 16, Article 8 cross-references § 25-77 as one of three permits an STR host must hold before advertising a rental.