More taxes are confirmed for your Hawaii hotel or vacation rental. Prepare for some sticker shock.
230 thoughts on “Honolulu Latest to Hike New Accommodation Tax: Highest in US”
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This additional tax may help in reducing the number of people who come to the islands for a vacation.
I think more important is doing an independent audit for toast three years to see exactly how much was taken in, how it was spent and what the percentage of tourist who came to Hawaii on a three rolling average.
Bye Hawaii.
Loved you for 35 years, but it’s now apparent the feeling is not mutual. All you want is money.
Thanks for this information on policies that may kill the goose that is Hawaii tourism. Adding nearly 20 percent to lodging costs combined with a lack of rental cars and confusing Covid rules should do more to turn away potential visitors than anything the state has done before. Sad. We were frequent visitors for than two decades. No more.
Will they be adding this charge to existing reservations? We are going next summer. Thanks for keeping us up to date on all news Hawaii.
Hi Lori.
We would certainly believe that will be added to all upcoming reservations unless they have been deemed paid in full, and perhaps even then.
Aloha.
Hawaii remains the highest Unemployment State in the Nation, Governor Ige decided months ago to take the 10.25% Tourism Tax and place it on the States General Fund, forcing Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, Molokai and Lanai to act Independently! Despite the States Unemployment Compensation being upside down by $500,000,000.00, the Governor still had the Lockdown in place and mandates that restricted Businesses from getting up to speed, given the weight of Federal Funds added to compensation. We postponed 3 times from March 2020, to September (Moana had not re-opened), to May 2021, before finally deciding things will hopefully back up to speed by January 2022. The State can say what it wants, but Business is what drives Tourism, the demand is there, but, as so many a Reports have claimed, there is a mixed reaction as to returning Guests, that it wasn’t as good as they remembered, the State has to understand it’s responsibility in the equation, which is Business, not Politics!
Got to love that aloha spirit. Not only are they raising accommodations taxes but Maui is also attempting to pass a bill to limit tourists access to county beach parking while charging them to park at the few spaces that remain. They have already added user fees plus car fees to the state beaches. What’s next, charging them to walk down the street?
This is fastly becoming one of the least hospitable places on the planet. If they hate tourists so much why allow them to come in at all?
I didn’t think much about it myself before moving here, but I’d suggest studying up on the history of Hawaii, the importance Hawaiians place on taking care of the land, and the negative impacts of tourism here. Sure, there are probably some people who would prefer no tourists at all, but I think many people accept tourists as needed for the economy as long as it’s not destructive to the environment and allows for locals to continue to enjoy their land. Currently, that is not the case. With your attitude, I don’t think anyone will miss your presence here, but I can understand you may just be angry in the moment.
I’m shocked. Our trip is in jeopardy. A place for the rich for sure. You’d think with the lack of tourism during covid, they would do things to encourage visitors. Sad.
The islands are pricing the average tourist out of coming. In the long run they will loose more money. I belong to HGVC and pay taxes every year we try and visit every two years ususally I have 6 to 10 people with me, not if this keeps happening.
It feels like Hawaii really just doesn’t welcome tourism and does not want us back to visit. If Hawaii continues in this path, I have no problem in pulling the plug and cancelling my upcoming trip. We have a group of 17 coming to visit 2 islands over 2 weeks. I believe we would be well contributing to the travel dollars. If Hawaii doesn’t want us, I’m sure we will easily find vacation spots that would welcome us. This saddens me. I have been planning this trip for a few years and was really looking forward to it. Now I just cringe whenever I read the latest information.
While I partly understand the need for the increase, Hawaii is showing again that it doesn’t value visitors. With this extra tax and the cost of car rental, traveling to Hawaii is becoming prohibitive. We hope to still come soon, but I am thinking we may have to look at other destinations. This will be a very sad decision if we choose not to come.
If tourists, such as myself, are not carrying their financial weight something has to change. The infrastructure cannot sustain millions of visitors that don’t pay their share.
Not everyone vacations in St Bart. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.