Hawaii Weighs Measures to Curb Airbnb
Skift Take
While Hawaii is not the only destination reeling from the impact of short-term rentals from Airbnb and other providers, its already sky-high housing prices and limited land make the problem especially acute. Regulatory measures to control the number of illegal rentals may provide some relief.
A heated controversy over short-term vacation rentals is coming to a head this month in Hawaii, where lawmakers at the state and local levels are considering measures to regulate, tax, and sharply curtail the number of allowable units from Airbnb and other providers.
The controversy is occurring at a time when short-term vacation rentals, many of them without the county-issued permits that are required, are growing far faster than any other type of accommodations in Hawaii. According to figures from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, short-term rental units increased by 5,716 units between 2013 and 2017, while hotels added just 942 rooms during that period.
Squeezed on Oahu
Proponents of greater regulation say the spike in short-term rentals, particularly on Oahu where the bulk of the population lives, are squeezing local residents out of an already tight and expensive housing market as well as creating congestion in residential neighborhoods. They say the situation is similar to that
