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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Home » Blog » Hawaii Travel Tips » Honolulu Latest to Hike New Accommodation Tax: Highest in US
Anyone have an idea when the increase in taxes will begin?
Oct 1, 2021
More importantly, does anyone have an idea of where the taxes will be distributed?
No, no one has a clue!! Just like the millions and millions of $$ that the article says was spent/used/siphoned for years, so now we’ll just come up with more taxes on the tourists to recoup that money. My questions are:
1) If you truly don’t want tourists to come why have a tourism authority?!?
2) So you decide to increase, or make a new tax for each island of roughly 3% but 25% of the people elect to not come did you really gain any additional tax $$$?!?
Things that make you go hmmmmm
I didn’t say I couldn’t afford the taxes, but if I’m paying out more money, I need to cut somewhere else … local purchases … local restaurants, etc. Vacation budgets aren’t unlimited. Hawaii is expensive. Where else would you pay $40 for a piece of fish that comes right out of the ocean … it doesn’t travel … not on a plane or a ship. We come because the Islands call us and we enjoy them. But this is just not right. Your government isn’t being fiscally responsible!
They seem to forget to mention the loss they will incur because of this increase. Some people will now go to a area that cost less. Not everyone can afford these new rates. Instead of welcoming visitors they are saying we don’t want you here. Some people wait their whole life to be able to vacation in Hawaii now with new costs they cannot ever see a place they dreamed about. Thanks for nothing greedy people.
Good points all, wonder why no one complained when BHO took two Planes for Christmas every year, then the Security entourage, Press Corp., in 2012 the Locals were complaining about the traffic on the Pali Highway when he dragged everyone in for dinner in Waikiki, Barack and Michelle took Vacation literally, “lock, stock and barrel”, for 8 years all the charges went back to the U.S. Taxpayer for two weeks in Hawaii!
Good point Randy! Spot on!
Goodness, why make a political comment here? We could all go down that rabbit hole about how politicians travel, but that’s not the point of this post.
I’m not surprised by the increasing tourist taxes, but I am disappointed.
Pertinent because BO was from Hawaii and vacationed here numerous times
Obama paid for his rental homes. We didn’t, for the record.
Other expenses are those covered for all other presidents in office. Those are Federal standards and have nothing to do with Hawaii State except for extra police escorts.
The point is, Obama didn’t have a Home, in Hawaii, he came from Illinois and Chicago Politically, and has never returned save for Musuem Funding Visits etc., not in 13 years! Every other President went home, whether it was Texas, California, Maine to a personal residence, for rest, no large contingents, Special Ambulance and Dr.’s, extended SS Detail. The Clinton’s persona non grata in Arkansas, were living off the largesse of others in Martha’s Vinyard, The Hamptons until they invested in Chappaqua, so Hillary could run for the Senate Seat that was to be JFK Jr.’s! The old ‘Robin Masters Estate’ (Waimanalo) rumored to being purchased by a friend for them, was mentioned, but I believe they we’re on the Marine Base in Kaneohe, using the beaches in Kailua-Lanikai. Whether Alan Wong’s or other Waikiki Hotspots, they took over for 30 days, and the Pali was an issue.
Obama was born and raised in Hawaii and was a Punahou graduate. His grandmother was a very well respected executive at Bank of Hawaii. His childhood friends mostly live there and when he goes back he spends quite a bit of time with them. That is where he came from. He was not born and raised in Chicago. He ended up there and spend time there politically but that is not his home. So, just like all the other presidents, he went “home” which was in Hawaii.
A gypsy life no doubt, Washington State, Cambridge Massachusetts, Indonesia before heading to the Mainland and Occidental, never returning to Hawaii again until President! My point was ‘Vacation” he took literally as something paid for by others over those 8 years, other Presidents returned to homes they owned as a respite from the job at Christmas of whenever, incurring no aditional cost to the Taxpayer, past Air Force One to their home, be it in Texas, California, Maine, where-ever, it was not like being awarded a 2 Week Paid Vacation, All Expenses Paid………by Taxpayers!
The HTA and Hawaii are in a sad state of affairs and sounds like it’s going to get worse. Only the elite vaccinated are welcomed to travel to Hawaii. I have my memories.
We’ve been coming to Hawaii every 2 – 3 years for many years. It sounds like you don’t want visitors coming anymore so we will probably not be back with all the taxes & rate increases . There is many other places to visit that will welcome visitors. We loved visiting the islands & met so many wonderful people.
Since taxes are but a fraction of the cost of a trip to Hawaii this will not deter me in the future.
Mexico and Florida are options for those that have decided they don’t want to visit. Mexico has its charms but it’s not Hawaii…and you can keep Florida.
You can raise the tourist tax as high as you want. Basic supply and demand and availability of alternate cheaper vacation destinations will determine where people will spend their money. Hawaii currently has a monopoly on the tourist business due to Covid 19, but that will soon come to an end. They will tax themselves out of business. Best of luck to them as my post Covid trip will not include Hawaii.
I’m curious….
Is there any other State complaining about increased tourism, restaurant wait times, increased economic activity, or beach parking?
Last I checked, no other Tstae is complaining about their airports not being able to handle people. You go into any other airport in the country…. fully open.. go into Honolulu and you can barely find food.
Good ole Hawaii.. Can’t just act normal. The State has to create its own self inflicted drama.
I agree
Is any other state made up of islands, Sean? Please read up on the impacts of tourism here, perhaps also some history of the state and come back when you’ve got some compassion. Aloha.
Was just on a tourist ” island” on the mainland tonight. Much smaller than any island in Hawaii. Nothing but happy smiling faces, even with the traffic and packed parking lots. I’ll add, getting a table in the packed restaurant was quick and easy. That pesky 6ft distancing really sucks huh?
It’s not 1903 anymore. Give up the stolen lands, white devil rhetoric. Hawaiian became a State what, 60yrs ago? Deal with it. Or be mad at your grandparents for voting in whatever gov’t that accepted Statehood.
The State has nothing in terms of manufacturing, tech.,or agriculture to offer in any meaningful volume.
The State has a natural beauty that attracts visitors. Tourists want to lay on the beach, stay at resorts and see some sights. They certainly aren’t the ones leaving the trash on the sides of the roads. Unless they bought a used car and burnt it out before leaving?
I’d much prefer Hawaii to end Statehood. Then the people will have a whole new set of problems to complain about.
When I see a society cutting off its nose over beach parking and some traffic, after year of side of the road food drives, compassion isn’t warranted.
Sean, I think you’re on to something, poor planning by HT, poor response by State, now making re-employment contingent on Vaccination, the early signs were in Maui and Kauai with Mayor’s bringing up negatives to Tourism, they now claim to have the lowest cost increase in Construction, on this Islands that everything has to be shipped in to. Again, this is Business not Politic’s, but how State Government handled the same problem that the other 49 States has Hawaii with NY, Illinois and California, that locked-down and “killed” Tourism.
I’m pretty sure, from articles I’ve read, that many Caribbean Islands were ecstatic to have tourists back..
Go figure. They know the value of a buck and must not be big on govt handouts from that pesky USA
I live in Alaska. Tourism is a big part of our economy just like Hawaii. We don’t feel the need to over tax our visitors after the pandemic. There are other places tourist can go. The Bahamas and Mexico are rolling out the red carpet for post pandemic tourist. Don’t punish your guest because your tourism industry had poor planning pre pandemic.
I am currently in Southeast Alaska. It is made up of chains of Islands also with limited resources. I lived on Oahu from 2019 until May of 2021 and from what I see, the resources are managed better here than they were in Hawaii.
We love Hawaii, but at some point the price difference between a flight to Hawaii and a flight to French Polynesia is going to be made up by these taxes. We’ll just go there,it’s less crowded anyway.
From what I’ve read on your site lately the locals don’t want us anymore and the government thinks all tourist are millionaires. We’re coming in August to late to cancel without penalty. If both groups pay me back for my timeshare, I promise to never come back again.
Being that the various counties in Hawaii are now complaining about having too many visitors, why does Hawaii even nee a department to promote tourism? Doesn’t make any sense to me. Maui has gone so far as to consider limiting visitors onto that island. Why then does the state need more money for the department of tourism?
Mahalo,
TJ
Hi TJ.
Any tourism destination needs a marketing arm. In large part that is to facilitate coordinated communication. Management of tourism is another goal.
Aloha.
I know there are pros and cons to everything being said on this site. That being said, I think most people will agree that the State of Hawaii has been poorly run for many years now. Look at Chicago and Los Angeles. Local government has failed both cities, with out of control shootings in Chicago and trash and filth and homeless crisis still not being addressed in LA. I tend to agree that maybe Hawaii need to limit tourism to a certain degree but they need to work on promoting locally grown foods and other businesses and technology. I hate to say it, but here on the mainland, we may need to put limits on the number of visitors to parks like Zion, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. These parks are being trampled by too many visitors which impacts the land and the ability to preserve the land for people to enjoy. Its not popular, but if Hawaii feels they need to put limits on tourism to preserve the land for the future, so be it.