Every occupied night in a Montreux short-let produces four documents, and only one of them comes from a platform. The tourist-tax statement is filed with the Commune by the 15th of the following month[1], the communal tax it carries is CHF 3 per taxable person per night on top of the intercommunal tax and is collected in the Commune's name, not yours[1], the guest register has to hold an ID copy and exact arrival and departure dates with a copy sent to the communal authority every month[3], and the authorisation that let the flat be rented at all belongs in your folder, not your manager's[2]. If your monthly statement does not separate those four things, you cannot tell revenue from money you are merely holding.
On this page
Owners usually ask one question about a short-term rental: how much did it earn? The question that decides whether the number can be trusted is a different one: what proves it? A furnished flat in Montreux generates a paper trail whether or not anyone looks at it, and the pieces come from four different hands. Knowing which piece comes from whom is what turns a monthly report into a document you can defend.
Four documents, four authors
None of these four is a formality, and none substitutes for another. The platform statement is the raw material; the owner statement is the arithmetic; the tourist-tax statement is a return to a public body; the authorisation is the right to be in the business at all.
| Document | Produced by | Cadence | What it settles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payout statement | The platform (Airbnb, Booking.com, or direct) | Per payout | What was actually transferred to the account, net of the platform's commission |
| Owner statement | Your manager, or your own bookkeeping | Monthly | Revenue, commissions, costs borne by the flat, and what is left for you |
| Tourist-tax statement | The logeur, filed with the Commune | Monthly, due by the 15th[1] | The nights and taxable persons the communal tax was collected on |
| Guest register copy | The logeur, sent to the communal authority | Monthly[3] | Who was hosted, with an identity-document copy and exact dates |
| Declaration and, above 90 days, the QP 53 authorisation | The Commune | Once, and whenever the use changes[2][6] | That the flat may be let short-term at all |
Two of the five rows sit with the person who takes the bookings, not with the platform. That is the structural point: Airbnb knows what it sold, but it does not know your guest register, and it does not file your communal return. A listing on a platform does not replace the obligation to declare the activity[2], and the fact that a platform collects the tourist tax automatically does not replace the declaration procedure with the Commune either[4].
The tourist tax is collected, not earned
Montreux charges a communal tourist tax of three francs per taxable person per night, over and above the intercommunal Riviera tax[1]. The person who runs the accommodation — the logeur, whether that is the owner or a manager — collects it from guests in the name and on behalf of the Commune[1], and the amount has to appear as its own line on the guest's invoice, labelled “Taxe communale de séjour”[1].
That is why it should never sit inside your revenue. It is not your money, it is never yours to keep, and the amounts collected are declared monthly on the Commune's own form: the statement is due each month and has to reach the Commune, statement attached, by the 15th of the following month[1]. On receipt the Commune checks the figures and fixes the definitive amount, with a reasoned decision if it departs from what was declared[1].
What the regulation says, in its own words. “Le montant des taxes correspondant au décompte mensuel est dû chaque mois, qui correspond à une période de taxation. Il doit parvenir à la Commune, décompte à l'appui, jusqu'au 15 du mois suivant”[1]. Read the arithmetic of a full flat: four taxable adults for seven nights is 28 tax units, CHF 84 for a single week in one property. Across a 200-night year at an average of three taxable guests a night, a Montreux owner is handling roughly CHF 1′800 a year that belongs to the Commune.
The cost of a thin file. The Commune can inspect the collection of the tax at any time, demand any document relating to it, and where it finds irregularities may appoint an accountant to establish the amount evaded — at the logeur's expense[1]. Where the required information is not provided despite a formal reminder, it can assess the tax itself, with administrative costs of CHF 500[1]. Intentionally supplying figures that reduce the tax, or doing nothing to avoid assessment, carries a fine of up to five times the amount evaded and at least CHF 800[1].
The register you cannot rebuild later
The second document that never comes out of the booking system is the register of guests. The law is explicit about its contents: the logeur keeps a register that allows the persons hosted to be checked, with a copy of an identity document or passport and the precise periods of the stay, arrival and departure dates included[3]. The canton restates the same duty for platform lettings[5], and the register has to be sent to the communal authority as a copy every month[3].
Two consequences follow for an owner. First, an export of confirmed bookings is not the register: without the identity copies and the exact dates, the file does not meet the requirement, and the identity copies cannot be created retroactively. Second, the person who greets your guests is the person who holds that register — which is why the mandate matters more than the dashboard. If you never see the register, you have no evidence of the nights your own comply with, and no defence if a control asks for them.
Proving the flat was allowed to be let
Letting a furnished dwelling or a room to holiday guests in Montreux is subject to a compulsory declaration[2], and since 14 September 2026 the whole process runs through a single electronic form, with the authorisation passed on to the services concerned once issued[2]. Above that sit the planning rules: where the flat was previously let on a traditional lease and is to go on a platform for a planned duration of more than 90 days per calendar year, the owner must first obtain an authorisation for change of use, requested through the commune[5], on the Questionnaire particulier n° 53[6].
Keep those two documents yourself. An insurer asked to cover a loss, a bank looking at the property, and a buyer's notary all treat the authorisation as part of the asset, not as an administrative souvenir. Our own registration checklist for Montreux walks through the sequence, and the difference between Valais and Vaud is set out in the registration guide.
What the file has to survive
The paperwork is not only for the commune. On request from the tax authority, a taxpayer must produce written or oral information, books, vouchers and other attestations, along with the documents on their business relations[7]; self-employed persons and legal persons must keep those books and vouchers for ten years[7], and a VAT-registered person keeps them until the absolute prescription of the tax claim[8]. A taxpayer domiciled or resident abroad can be required to appoint a representative in Switzerland[7] — which is the tax-law version of the same question a remote owner asks about the guest register.
The practical answer is one folder per year, in the flat's name, holding twelve monthly owner statements, twelve tourist-tax statements with proof of payment, twelve register copies, the communal authorisation, the supplier invoices and the platform payout statements. Nothing exotic, and nothing you can assemble afterwards. How the figures inside those statements are taxed — the CHF 100′000 VAT threshold, the deductions, the taxe de séjour as the guest's charge — is set out in the tax and VAT guide, and what an owner abroad can delegate is covered in managing from abroad.
What to ask your manager for, line by line
A monthly owner statement should answer five questions without a follow-up email: what did the flat receive, what did the platform take, what did you take, what did the flat spend, and what was collected for a third party. Two of those deserve their own lines. The tourist tax belongs on the statement as a collection, not as revenue — and the platform's commission belongs on its own line too, because it is charged on the guest's payment, not on what remains after it.
RivieraHost runs on a flat 20% commission of the host payout (after platform fees, cleaning and city tax included), with no setup fees, and a one-year contract, then a 30-day notice period if you leave; licensed apartments only. Whatever the arrangement, the documents below are the ones that should be handed over without being asked for:
- The owner statement — per property, per month, showing gross revenue, the platform's commission, the manager's commission and the costs borne by the flat.
- The tourist-tax statement — the monthly décompte filed with the Commune[1], plus proof that the amount was transferred, not just declared.
- The register extract — the nights hosted with the taxable-person count, and the copy sent to the communal authority each month[3].
- The platform payout statements — untouched, so the revenue line can be reconciled against the transfers.
- Invoices in the flat's name — cleaning, linen, maintenance, utilities: the input side of the ten-year file[7].
- Anything that touched the authorisation — a change of use, a longer letting period, a new platform: the file is only as good as its last update[2].
One question decides more than the rest when you compare managers: who is the registered logeur? That is the person the Commune addresses, the person who owes the monthly return, and the person whose name sits on the tax decision if the figures are challenged[1]. If the answer is vague, the file will be too. What ending that arrangement looks like is covered in ending a management mandate.
Frequently asked questions
What should a monthly owner statement for a Montreux short-let show?
Five lines, per property: what the flat received, the platform's commission, the manager's commission, the costs borne by the flat, and the tourist tax collected on behalf of the Commune. The tourist tax is charged at CHF 3 per taxable person per night in Montreux[1] and is collected in the name and on behalf of the Commune[1], so a statement that folds it into revenue overstates what the flat actually earned.
Is the tourist tax part of my rental income?
No. It is charged to the guest, per person and per night, and the owner or manager collects it as an agent of the Commune[1]. It has to appear as its own line on the guest's invoice, under the heading “Taxe communale de séjour”[1], and the amounts collected are declared monthly and paid over, not retained.
When is the monthly tourist-tax statement due, and what happens if it is late?
The statement, drawn up on the Commune's form, has to reach the Commune by the 15th of the month following the nights it covers[1]. Where the required information is not provided despite a formal reminder, the Commune can assess the tax itself with administrative costs of CHF 500[1], and intentional under-declaration carries a fine of up to five times the amount evaded, with a floor of CHF 800[1].
Do I need a guest register if the platform already holds the booking data?
Yes. The logeur has to keep a register that allows the persons hosted to be checked, with a copy of an identity document or passport and the precise arrival and departure dates[3], and a copy goes to the competent communal authority every month[3]. A booking export without the identity copies does not meet that requirement, and the identity copies cannot be created later.
How long do I have to keep the papers?
On request from the tax authority the taxpayer must produce books, vouchers and other attestations[7]; self-employed persons and legal persons keep those books and vouchers for ten years[7], and a VAT-registered person keeps them until the absolute prescription of the VAT claim[8]. An owner domiciled or resident abroad can be required to appoint a representative in Switzerland[7].
Bahram Khanlarov
10+ years in hospitality. BBA Hospitality (Glion), MSc Tourism (FHGR), MSc Data Science (HSLU).
A monthly report you can hand to an accountant
RivieraHost runs licensed apartments in Montreux and on the Swiss Riviera on a flat 20% commission of the host payout (after platform fees, cleaning and city tax included) — no setup fees, one-year contract, then 30 days’ notice. One statement per property per month, with the tourist-tax return and the register kept alongside it.
Get a free revenue estimateSources
- Commune de Montreux, Règlement relatif à la taxe communale de séjour (8 November 2017) — art. 5: the tax is 3 francs per taxable person per night; art. 6: the logeur collects it from guests in the name and on behalf of the Commune and it must appear as its own line on the guest invoice; art. 7: monthly statement on the Commune's form, due by the 15th of the following month, checked and fixed by the Commune; art. 8: controls at any time, any document, accountant at the logeur's expense; art. 9: assessment with CHF 500 administrative costs; art. 13: fine of up to five times the amount evaded, minimum CHF 800. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- Commune de Montreux, Logements de vacances — letting a flat or a room to holiday guests is subject to a compulsory declaration; a listing on Airbnb or any other platform does not replace the obligation to announce the activity; a single electronic form has handled the whole process since 14 September 2026. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- Commune de Montreux, Office du commerce et des manifestations (Sécurité Riviera), B&B et logements de vacances : bases légales et démarches administratives (2026 edition) — art. 74c LEAE: announcement at least ten days before the first night and the data needed for the register of lessors; the logeur keeps a register allowing the persons hosted to be checked, with a copy of an identity document or passport and the exact arrival and departure dates; a copy of that register goes to the competent communal authority every month. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- Commune de Montreux, Démarche simplifiée pour déclarer un logement/chambre de vacances (14 September 2026) — publishing an advertisement on Airbnb or another platform does not suffice to declare a holiday dwelling, and the automatic collection of the tourist tax by some platforms does not replace the declaration procedure with the Commune. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- État de Vaud, Police cantonale du commerce, Informations relatives aux locations de type Airbnb — the lessor keeps a register allowing all persons hosted to be checked, with an identity-document copy and the precise periods of the stay; a dwelling previously let on a traditional lease and now offered on a platform for a planned duration of more than 90 days per calendar year needs a prior authorisation for change of use. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- État de Vaud, Hébergement sur des plateformes d'économie collaborative de type Airbnb — the reasoned request for change of use is submitted to the commune using Questionnaire particulier n° 53 (QP 53). Consulted 25 October 2026.
- Confédération suisse, Loi fédérale sur l'impôt fédéral direct (LIFD), RS 642.11 — art. 126 al. 2: on request from the tax authority, the taxpayer must supply information and produce books, vouchers and other attestations as well as the documents concerning their business relations; art. 126 al. 3: self-employed persons and legal persons keep the books and vouchers relating to their activity for ten years; art. 126a: the tax authorities may require a taxpayer domiciled or resident abroad to appoint a representative in Switzerland. Consulted 25 October 2026.
- Confédération suisse, Loi fédérale régissant la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (LTVA), RS 641.20 — art. 70: the taxable person must keep the books, vouchers, business papers and other relevant documents until the absolute prescription of the tax claim. Consulted 25 October 2026.
Montreux communal rules and Swiss federal law consulted on 25 October 2026. General information on owner documentation, not legal, tax or accounting advice — the Commune's published rules and the wording of your own mandate prevail.
Base yourself in Montreux
RivieraHost’s apartments sit steps from the lake — with kitchens, more space and better value than a hotel for families and groups. Every one is right on this guide’s doorstep.