Question

“What is your thought on the matter of airbnb in Hawaii”? 200 words please. Thank you!

Answer 1

Although Hawaii isn't the only destination suffering from the effects of Airbnb and other providers ' short-term rentals, its already sky-high housing prices and limited land make the problem extremely acute. Some relief may come from regulatory measures to control the number of illegal rentals. A intense debate over short-term vacation rentals is coming to a head this month in Hawaii, where state and local legislators are debating proposals to restrict, tax and dramatically limit Airbnb's and other providers ' number of permissible units.

The increase in short-term rentals, especially in Oahu, where the majority of the population lives, is squeezing local residents out of the already tight and costly housing market and causing residential congestion. We say the situation is close to that in a plethora of destinations from San Francisco to Barcelona where regulatory measures have already been imposed on short-term rentals.

Some holiday rental companies that have aggressive marketing campaigns designed to encourage Hawaiian residents to list units strongly oppose the measures. They are warning of a catastrophic effect of suddenly removing thousands of TVUs from the Oahu accommodation inventory. Instead of bringing Oahu's short-term rental laws into the 21st century and addressing market realities, Bill 89 will effectively kill the alternative housing market outside the resort areas and cause significant damage to small businesses and the local economy,