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

64 imposes two stacked taxes on every "transient": an occupant who, for consideration, obtains a guestroom in a "hotel" (a broad definition covering hotels, motels, inns, rooming houses, timeshares not used by the owner, and even docked boats and trailer courts) for 30 consecutive days or fewer. 030 imposes a base 6% tax on rent, dedicated to the special advertising and promotion fund. 035, the General Purpose Tax, adds a separate 7% collected and accounted for independently and deposited to the City's general purpose fund, for a combined 13% owed by the guest and collected by the hotel operator (defined to include online room sellers and resellers acting as "secondary operators") at the time rent is paid.

A guest becomes a nontaxable "permanent lodger" only after 30 consecutive days of occupancy, and to avoid the tax accruing during that period the individual must sign a written agreement, before occupancy begins, obligating them to pay rent for at least 31 consecutive days; without that signed agreement in advance, the tax applies until the 30-day threshold is actually reached. 040. 085 requires a purchaser buying a hotel property to obtain a tax clearance certificate confirming no unpaid TOT is owed, or risk personal liability for the prior operator's unpaid tax.