In an unsual case of a company arguing for a tax that would make its services more expensive, the short-term letting website has called on the state government to introduce a new tax on all short-term accommodation, including Airbnb and hotels.

Under a model with a 5 per cent charge, a guest staying at a $100-a-night Airbnb listing would end up paying an extra $5 a night.

Airbnb Australia and New Zealand head of public policy Brent Thomas said small Queensland towns with only a few thousand residents were inundated with tourists during summer and the school holidays, putting pressure on council budgets.

"The costs of building and maintaining the infrastructure needed to accommodate those huge influxes falls primarily on the small resident population - locals paying through their council rates," he said.

Mr Thomas said Airbnb, with 29,000 hosts in Queensland, believed a statewide bed tax was a fair and sustainable solution.

"Evidence and experience shows bed taxes work, if designed and delivered correctly. They allow cities to raise extra revenue without hurting tourism," he said.

Airbnb collects tourism taxes in more than 500 jurisdictions, including Chicago and Las Vegas.

Some councils, such as Noosa and the Sunshine Coast, have introduced an extra annual fee on rates bills for properties rented out to holidaymakers, based on land valuations.

But Mr Thomas said bed taxes were a more progressive way of raising revenue.

"The typical Airbnb host in Queensland earns just $5300 a year in income so a levy of even a few hundred dollars is a significant slug on [a] host's supplementary income," he said.

Airbnb wants money raised to be directed to councils, including holiday towns with a small taxpayer base.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the majority of its members, including accommodation and transport providers, did not support a bed tax.

"Hotels feel it is unfair to levy such a charge on them," he said.

"The challenge that it would make our accommodation relatively less competition is the objection.

"The charges on the consumer would have to be administered through the hotel itself and that obviously brings with it all sorts of issues - the administrative cost and so on."

A Palaszczuk government spokesman poured cold water on the idea.

"As we've said for a number of years, we will not support a bed tax in Queensland," he said.

Earlier this year, LNP leader Deb Frecklington ruled out any new taxes if she won government, including a bed tax.

An industry reference group, including Airbnb, councils and the hotel sector, has been reviewing the short-term letting sector and is due to provide its recommendations to the Queensland government within months.

Airbnb listings in Queensland more than doubled between April 2016 and December 2017, according to University of Sydney research released this week.