Short-term rentals in Billings

Billings is Montana's largest city and its commercial hub, which makes it a business-travel market first: energy, agriculture, healthcare and regional retail bring visitors all year. Leisure demand adds to that in summer, with travelers on their way to Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway, to the Little Bighorn Battlefield or to Red Lodge, plus sports tournaments and events at the MetraPark arena. Rentals are mostly single-family homes and townhomes, from older central neighborhoods to newer subdivisions on the West End.

Permit, business license and house rules

The City of Billings requires two things before you rent: an annual short-term rental permit, applied for through the city's online Citizen Access portal, and a city business license. Whole-home tourist rentals are admitted in the N1 to N3 neighborhood zones with no owner-residency condition; confirm the zoning of your lot. The operating rules are practical:

• a maximum of two guests per bedroom;
• no rentals for parties or large gatherings;
• only habitable residential structures, not garages, accessory buildings, RVs or commercial buildings;
• smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors;
• a named individual, not a company, as the 24/7 contact for guests and the city.

Enforcement is real

In early 2025, the city identified more than 300 properties operating without the required permits and gave owners a compliance window before fines. If you already rent without a permit, regularize now.

State requirements and taxes

As everywhere in Montana, a vacation home rented to the public needs a public accommodation license from the state health department, with an inspection, and the owner collects the state lodging facility use tax and lodging sales tax. Platforms handle those taxes on their bookings; for direct bookings, you need a Department of Revenue account and quarterly returns. Since the 2025 property tax reform, a short-term rental is taxed in the higher non-homestead class, whereas a long-term rental of seven months or more a year qualifies as homestead.

Our advice

In Billings, design for the business guest: a reliable workspace, fast internet, easy parking for trucks and flexible check-in. Obtain the permit, business license and health license before the first booking, and keep a local contact who actually answers. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.

Livestock shows, the Rims and refinery shifts

MetraPark is more than an arena: in August it hosts MontanaFair, and each autumn the Northern International Livestock Exposition brings ranch families, breeders and exhibitors who stay for several nights and often arrive with stock trailers. These are the guests who remember whether a driveway could take their rig.

Industry sets another rhythm. The oil refineries on the edge of town schedule maintenance turnarounds that bring in crews of contractors, many working nights. Billings Clinic and the St. Vincent hospital draw patients from a vast rural area of Montana and northern Wyoming, often for multi-day treatments. Montana State University Billings and Rocky Mountain College add graduations and sports visits.

Leisure within a short drive

• Pompeys Pillar National Monument, where William Clark carved his name, sits east along the Yellowstone River.
• Pictograph Cave State Park and the Rimrocks trails above the city attract hikers and history buffs.
• ZooMontana and the downtown brewery district keep families and couples busy on a stopover.

Winter-proofing the property

Billings sits at the junction where Interstate 94 meets Interstate 90, so winter storms can strand travelers and create last-minute bookings. Equip for that: a plug-in outlet for engine block heaters, a cleared driveway, spare blankets and clear instructions for pipes during cold snaps. The airport sits on top of the Rims, and the road down can be icy, so a note on the safer routes for arriving guests is worth writing.