Some Queensland councils are pushing for online accommodation hosts on sites like Airbnb to pay a levy toward that region's marketing and infrastructure costs, even if it means forcing the websites to handover names and addresses.

Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington has raised the issue but said it was not specific to Noosa.

"The upside of the online booking agency is that they're a great addition to the local economy and I'm sure being on Airbnb or Stayz.com helps many a household to make ends meet," he said.

"The downside is that we don't necessarily know how many there are or where they are."

In an effort to locate the properties, Councillor Wellington has called for legislation to force providers such as Airbnb to divulge the names and addresses of short-term accommodation hosts.

Airbnb is one of the short-term accommodation sites available in Australia. ( ABC News: Thuy Ong )

Airbnb statistics in Queensland: 19,000 listings state wide or 1.7 per cent of the housing market

19,000 listings state wide or 1.7 per cent of the housing market Airbnb injects $217m each year into Queensland's economy

Airbnb injects $217m each year into Queensland's economy Guests spent $331m in one year

Guests spent $331m in one year 343,000 guests stayed 580,000 nights

343,000 guests stayed 580,000 nights Airbnb supports 2,000+ jobs in Queensland

Airbnb supports 2,000+ jobs in Queensland A host's annual median income from listing is $4,700 SOURCE: Deloitte Access Economics via Airbnb

"We're seeking the Local Government Association of Queensland to have a conversation with the State Government to determine if it would be appropriate for the State Government to introduce legislation that forces these services to divulge addresses," he said.

"That way we can actually find out how many there are and where they are."

The head of Airbnb's public policy ANZ, Brent Thomas, said the company worked with officials to identify the specific types of data they needed to support planning decisions while protecting the privacy of hosts and guests.

"We protect very carefully the private information of our hosts," he said.

"We'll certainly share some data with councils but we protect the specific private information of our hosts."

Body corporate lawyer Frank Higginson urged a state wide approach and thorough consideration of any legislative definitions.

"At the moment councils in their own right don't have the ability to force that information to be provided," he said.

"Everyone's talking about online booking services, so Airbnb and Stayz would be the big two.

"Does that extend to the person that advertises their unit in the back of the RACQ magazine? Does it capture them too?"

Time for a tourism levy?

Noosa is one of the popular choices for Airbnb guests. ( ABC: Nance Haxton )

Councillor Wellington said short-term accommodation hosts should also pay a tourism levy that other businesses paid toward advertising the Noosa brand.

"Potentially they should be paying their very minimal tourism levy which is $60 a year, so that they contribute towards the marketing of Noosa along with all the other visitor accommodation types." he said.

Airbnb's Brent Thomas said its hosts throughout Australia did not currently pay such a levy but contributed to the economy in other ways.

Councils in Queensland will soon consider whether to charge a levy for hosts of short-term accommodation. ( Supplied: Airbnb )

"The idea that there's not some enormous economic contribution in terms of jobs and all sorts of other contributions to restaurants, cafes, retail stores, it just doesn't quite stack up," Mr Thomas said.

"The idea that there's just one set size of the pie and we're all eating into that — we're actually growing the pie."

Mr Thomas said Airbnb supported a tourism or bed tax for local infrastructure as long as it was levied on all accommodation providers.

"The way it works in other countries and other jurisdictions is that the guest tends to pay a small addition to the amount they're paying to stay in someone else's home and that is then passed onto the government."

He said the typical host in Queensland made $4,700 a year from sharing their home and he welcomed discussions with local governments to find an equitable system.

"This is a person who's sharing a room in their home or their home when they're away and so we would much prefer to see something like a small percentage of every night's fee — that'd be a fairer system," Mr Thomas said.

Mark Jamieson, the Sunshine Coast Mayor president of the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) expected the issue would be raised at the LGAQ conference in October.

He said ultimately it came down to fairness and equity.

"It would be totally unfair to levy a proportion of the tourism market but not one of the major growth beneficiaries."

Impact on housing affordability, infrastructure

There are more than 19,000 Airbnb listings for Queensland properties. ( Supplied: Airbnb )

Interstate councils have previously raised concerns about the impact of short-term accommodation rentals on housing affordability and infrastructure and Noosa's Councillor Wellington agreed.

"There are more and more properties being listed in online booking services and therefore they are being removed often from the permanent rental market, which results in increasing homelessness and people having difficulty with finding long-term rentals," he said.

However body corporate lawyer Mr Higginson was not convinced that that style of accommodation impacted negatively on infrastructure.

He referred to a New South Wales case where an owner's corporation sued a resident over unlawful use of the building for short-term accommodation purposes, claiming increased wear and tear on lifts, facilities and gardens.

"That was in the Supreme Court in New South Wales and the judgment ended up that actually short-term visitors used the common property less than full-time people."