A recent survey by SMS Research and Marketing Services, Inc., commissioned by the Maui Vacation Rental Association (MVRA), sheds fascinating light on Hawaii surveyed voters’ perspectives on the state’s short-term vacation rental issues and raises important questions about future regulations. The results indicate that most of these voters do not consider short-term rentals a significant issue compared to concerns like the high cost of living, homelessness, and political corruption.
While MVRA’s objectives appear clearly to support existing legal vacation rentals, SMSHawaii is the largest market research firm in Hawaii and has been around for 60 years. The survey of more than 500 registered voters statewide was conducted from May 23-26, 2024. This was a very sampling and was not specifically a survey of just Maui voters.
Maui is, of course, currently grappling with the proposal to ban short-term rentals to address its severe housing crisis after the Lahaina Fire. Mayor Richard Bissen’s plan aims to convert the approximately 6,172 rentals, currently used as legal short-term rentals, into long-term housing. This proposal has sparked significant debate due to its potential economic repercussions, including reduced tourist numbers, job losses, and decreased tax revenue. For more details on this proposal, read the latest, including the newest plan from UHERO about taxation vs. elimination.
Key findings on Hawaii vacation rentals.
Perception of Hawaii vacation rental issue:
- Only 28% of voters surveyed across Hawaii view these short-term rentals as a “big problem,” with even fewer (24%) holding this view on Maui.
- In comparison, the high cost of living is deemed a “big problem” by 75% of voters surveyed statewide and 76% of Maui voters.
Hawaii voter perspectives and policy preferences:
- Most surveyed voters (73%) favor a balanced approach that maintains legal short-term rentals while banning only illegal ones. This sentiment is echoed by 65% of surveyed voters on Maui.
- A complete ban on short-term rentals, according to this study, is not favored by surveyed voters, with only 10% statewide and 12% on Maui supporting such measures.
- 60% of surveyed voters statewide and 65% on Maui support the right of property owners to rent out their homes as short-term rentals.
- Support for property rights, offering affordable alternatives to expensive hotels, and ensuring economic benefits remain within local communities are among the reasons given.
Economic concerns and implications:
The potential decline in visitor numbers and its impact on government finances are major concerns for 77% of surveyed voters statewide and 68% of Maui voters regarding eliminating legal vacation rentals.
The study, albeit small in scope, appears to highlight a significant disconnect between current policy proposals aimed at banning these Maui vacation rentals and the opinions of Hawaii voters. With the majority of voters surveyed not perceiving Hawaii short-term rentals as a significant problem, there appears to be room for policies that balance regulation with the rights of property owners. That comes just one day after the state’s research arm, UHERO, proposed its alternative.
Who should decide the future of Hawaii vacation rentals?
Given these findings, the question arises about who should ultimately decide the fate of short-term rentals in Hawaii. Should it be left to policymakers, such as Governor Green, who gave that control to each county? Or to local officials like Mayor Bissen? Should the courts that would clearly become involved if the decision to ban rentals is pursued?
We also wonder if the decision would be better left directly to the voters.
As the debate continues, it is fascinating to contemplate returning the decision to Hawaii’s residents, who seemed to have expressed clear and differing preferences in this survey. Voters could play a significant role in shaping the future of the vacation rental industry in the islands.
We welcome your input!
MVRA_Short-Term-Rental-Public-Opinion-Research_073024
There are other ways to accomplish the goal of more housing.
1. The county could buy certain complexes (at fair market value) that were actually built for long term housing with the fund that is set up through STR taxes. Then keep replenishing those funds with rents & taxes.
They could put a 3 to 5 year moratorium on all other construction that take needed infrastructure in order to build more apartments and affordable homes.
This would be a win win…not pick winners & losers.
I like it quiet where I live.
It would really be frustrating to live where a high number of tourists frequent. Causing noise, traffic, and nothing tranquil.
If you live in an area where people like to visit, there is not right or wrong, just the way it is.
Population is growing, people are living longer.
Social Media lets people see what is out there across Earth.
Humans have this misconception they can own nature and keep people away from it.
Imagine that, let the voter’s decide… What a concept….
Best Regards
Do you think it would be okay to vote on your financial future? Maybe that we vote to cut your 401k by 50%?
We purchased based on property rights that have been established for over 40 years. No thank you.
If the powers to be, try and pass this, the courts surely will get involved, and most likely will overturn this attempt.
I have a vacation rental in California and come to Hawaii and always try and rent a short term rental instead of a hotel. If my only choice was a hotel, I would go to a different place to vacation.
I sometimes hear of something similar trying to be put in place in California, usually people who just really don’t want tourists, and are too short sighted to really think about the economic impact such a move would make.
The solution there is to build housing for more locals to use, not try and put them into vacation rentals and by doing so hurt the overall economy by restricting tourism, not to mention the hurt placed on the property owners who lose income or are forced to sell.
Put it on the ballot & let the voters of the state of Hawaii decide.
Hey its Hawaii. It’s run by an oligarchy. The voters always vote one party and are gullible. The leaders won’t and don’t care about the voters. If there was ever a state that needs a change it’s Hawaii.
I think property owners should be able to rent out their own home or condo unit when not in use by their own family, one per owner only. I would prohibit investor own properties wherein individuals or partnerships or corporations or limited liability companies purchase multiple properties for the express purpose of renting them out as short term rentals. But be careful to establish who the true owner is, as they can create individual companies for ownership purposes for each property to hide they own more than one. How they’d prove it’s their one owned property, I’m not sure.
Some more ideas:
1. Ban all new hotels & timeshares – they take $ out of the communities.
2. Allow any developement – but only with firm owner / occupant requirements, and ban anything less than 6 month rentals in any new building.
“Everyone loves short term rentals and they want more!”
– report commissioned by………short term rental association
I want to make two points. First, given the population of Hawaii, a statistical sampling of just 500 people is not, at least by most standards considered a valid statistical sampling. My second point is that of late everything I see on your newsletter seems to talk about the ban as if it applies only to Maui. Unfortunately it applies to every county, city and town in Hawaii. And I feel sure that Hawaii residents who own short term rentals, regardless of where they are, will feel significant economic damage by the inability to rent these units for income!
500 surveyed by a vacation rental association.
Hahahahaha! Is this a joke?!!
I’m sure it is “accurate”.
Decisions are always better left directly to the voters!
The politicians know this won’t hold up in court and only only vote yes for votes. Easier for them to say I tried to do something but the courts are the hinderance.
Yes, fence sitters. Unless they know what the majority wants, then they come out strong. True leaders make decisions based on what the majority of their constituents want.
It’s even more clear now that Bissen and the County Council have succumbed to the vocal minority by reacting with emotion, complete lack of factual judgement (which I find ironic coming from a previous judge), and disregarding the majority’s will.
STR owners shouldn’t pay the price for the Council’s bad decisions on housing and permitting. If you want houses, then get out of the way of builders and build houses.
The results of a survey are only as good as how well it’s written and how respondents are recruited, especially regarding demographic representation.
Is the survey, its methodology and demographics available for public review?
Exactly.
Leave it to a short term rental association to come up with their own “survey” and “data” to put out a “report” on………vacation rentals.
Well, so far all we’ve been hearing is the propaganda released by the hotel lobby, one of the wealthiest lobbies in the world.
This is not rocket science, brain surgery, or even simple arithmetic.
One commenter recently asked, “How much is enough?” referring to tourism growth. With that in mind, and given the backlash after the post-COVID boom, perhaps the answer—at least for Maui—is to freeze the development of any more short-term rentals. Cap them exactly where they are now.
Also freeze any new high-end residential development for off-island owners. Maui doesn’t need any more vacation homes.
Maui needs workforce housing. Fund it by raising the property taxes on all vacation rental properties, including investment homes and second, third, or fourth homes for the obscenely wealthy.
Affordable, work force housing benefits all Maui County residents so to be fair all Maui County residents need to pay into tax fund not just STVR property owners.
The answer is so simple….College class….Economics 101……
Supply vs Demand…….We must build more housing, and Fast. We all agree we need more housing. This is the only way out of this.
I guess you want to give the Hotels an exemption for tax increase? FYI They are off island corporations also.
“Maui is, of course, currently grappling with the proposal to ban short-term rentals to address its severe housing crisis after the Lahaina Fire.”
The fire definitely exacerbated the problem, but lack of affordable housing has been a problem for 30+ years. Maui County has declined to do anything about it other than talk. Must be there’s not enough money in affordable housing for elected officials and department heads to take action. When they finally did, they got in bed with a convicted fraudster for a project that can’t be built because there isn’t enough water. And how much money have Kai Nishiki and Tamara Paltin secured for him?
Sadly, I don’t think we can rely on the government that has failed to do anything about the problem to fix it now.
I would leave if to the registered owners of the property. Looks like the majority of the people would like to keep the STR’s in place to keep the economy going rather than to shut them down. Is this bill already on the ballot to vote on and when will it be decided? This will help to bring visitors back if they can stay in a condo instead of a hotel. Just don’t raise the taxes up too high for them or visitors will not come. They still won’t be able to afford it. There has to be a fair medium that all can benefit without being gouged. Hope you two are well and having a great summer. Warm regards. Aloha
Well, well.
What a surprise.
Constituents don’t see vacation rentals as a problem.
But we knew that.
It’s the hotels that see them as a problem. And they have big money, so they’ve been able to proliferate this myth.
“60% of surveyed voters statewide and 65% on Maui support the right of property owners to rent out their homes as short-term rentals. Support for property rights, offering affordable alternatives to expensive hotels, and ensuring economic benefits remain within local communities are among the reasons given.”
I don’t think the politicians were ever going to follow through with the ban. My guess is they were just giving lip service to the Mauna Kea gang to get them off their backs.
The real political heroes will be the ones that bust out of the box and build us all affordable tiny houses, or even tiny apartments. However, it’s going to be a tough fight battling all of the unions and development companies that own and line the pockets of the politicians.
What a mess the people of Hawaii face.
I’ve been trying to get a permit to build a small home since December 2022. I’m not even close to receiving it.
I’ve recently read articles citing that Maui County isn’t even able to collect TVR taxes or enforce existing regulations. I’ve read that this is a software problem. They should concentrate on solving existing, known problems before passing legislation that clearly will have unknown and unanticipated consequences. Based on this sample survey it looks like all these Council people are going to be losing their jobs in the next election.
Seems like another case of Politian’s and bureaucrats in it for themselves thinking they know better than the people they work for.
To be fair, they are doing what their campagn contributors are paying them to do – help hotels & timeshares while hurting STR’s.
If they can ignore the people & the suffering their policies cause, and still get enough $ to get reelected, they will.
There is an entirely new slate of candidates running who seem like they have resident’s needs in mind. One of them is called Core24. They don’t have a lot of money, because they’re not in anyone’s back pocket. But it would be good if residents become familiar with their choices on the BI, and vote their heart.
I’ve just thought of a likely side-effect of banning or greatly reducing short-term rentals (maybe someone else has mentioned this; if so, I missed the mention). What will owners of rental properties do with all that furniture, kitchen equipment, and linens? Vacation rentals come fully furnished. Permanent residents will presumably already have most of their own stuff. A local entrepreneur could do well to go into the used home goods trade!
Many of the permanent renters that will be taking up those homes are most likely going to be victims of the Lahaina fire and would probably greatly appreciate the furniture.