Kathleen Soule

1/10/26 My name is Kathleen Soule and I am a homeowner and short term rental property owner. My husband and I live in Carroll, NH with one of our vacation rentals located right next door to our primary residence. We also own another property in Pittsburg, NH that we use as a vacation getaway, also renting it out to help defray the costs of maintaining the property and other associated costs. I am writing in opposition to this bill that attempts to reclassify all residential property that are used as vacation and short term rentals as "hotels" for the purposes of clarification for the Rooms and Meals tax. This is unnecessary as these STRs and vacation rentals already are required to hold a Rooms and Meals license and are already paying that tax. If these properties are booked through the major booking platforms, that tax is collected and remitted to the state by these platforms. This change would jeopardize NH's long standing legal distinction between residential and commercial lodging. In the long history of NH's tourist trade, folks have been renting out residential properties for vacations and everyone knows that they were not renting a hotel room. This is important because it protects homeowners from being treated as a business for simply renting out their homes. It also assures local oversight and prevents regulatory creep into private residences. This bill solves no known tax problem but would create new legal challenges. I respectfully ask the committee to reject this bill or change it to make sure residential property remains residential according to the law. Thank you Kathleen Soule Carroll NH