Mayor asserts that Maui tourists will transition to hotels, a claim met with skepticism by residents and visitors alike who say such changes will drive visitors away from the island entirely. Ongoing debate highlighted in latest new, impactful report.
Our family has been planning a trip to Maui for 2 years. If STR changes make the market tight we will not be switching to an overpriced hotel. We will go to Florida or another location. The government needs to help build more LT housing not meddle in the STR market.
So sorry to hear this Mark B,
Maui is a true treasure and has had a very nice mix of tourist accommodation options for more than 50 years.
Would you be willing to share your change of plans and the reason to the up coming planning committee? They will be providing recommendations to the mayor. A very real sentiment among those desiring a ban on STRs is that tourist will adjust to hotel accommodations to travel to Maui.
Email: Send your testimony to: planning @ mauicounty.gov
Deadline: Testimony is due no later than 12 pm one business day before the meeting (Monday, June 24th at 12 pm).
Address: Department of Planning, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 315, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻi 96793
Thank-you for your consideration.
I’m going to offer a different perspective. After another disappointing experience with our latest short-term rental on Kauai, we are ready to to back to hotels. We paid an exhorbitant rate for one week and had to put up with multiple problems that we would have avoided staying in a hotel. I’m tired of dealing with third-party property management companies that insulate you from “the owner” and last-minute “surprises” with the properties we’ve rented over the years even after I take extra care to thoroughly research the listing. I’m ready to go back to throwing my clothes in my luggage and walking out the door for the airport, not working my way through a cleaning list and then being rewarded for that with a huge cleaning fee. No thanks!!
Aloha Jane. I am sorry that you had a bad experience with your latest short term rental here on Kauai. It seems that you must have done your due diligence in researching properties in regard to looking at all the reviews for properties you are looking at. A 4.75 out of 5 average review rating is my preference. Numerous 5* reviews, al the better. But did the advertisement for the property you rented at “an exhorbitent rate for one week ” indicate if you were dealing with an owner or a management company?
Dealing with an on-island management company (rather than an off-island owner who, by law, needs to engage an on-island management firm) is not as preferable as dealing with an on-island owner, and preferably one who resides nearby. An owner with a vested interest in satisfied guests is most likely to step up to the plate with any issues that arise.
Hi Bruce,
We rented thru an on-island mgmt company and paid $15K for a 5 bed/6 bath house. Literally hours before we supposed to check in, we were informed there was a problem due to “flooding” so we would not have access to 50% of our shared living space–a large recreation room that contained a ping-pong table, pool table, tv/sectional, washer/dryer and full size refrigerator and 1/2 bath. They gave us a story about the owner having to remove all the flooring and it was not reinstalled in time, so that’s why they didn’t tell us sooner. Even though only a small corner of the room was actually affected, the owner had removed the pool table, ping pong table, and disconnected the washer/dryer and fridge and thru the property management company offered us a paltry 15% refund. We convinced the property mgmt company to get us another 5% and reconnect the washer/dryer, but I should have asked for more. That was only some of the things that went sideways. I’m done with this nonsense.
Dear Jane.
Perhaps you are one of those who prefer hotel stays. I have no problem with that. Enjoy mai-tais at the hotel pool bar!
But be prepared to pay 50 to 100% more for a nice hotel stay for your party, especially if you require 2 or more rooms, and plan on eating every (pricey) meal out, because most all hotel rooms do not offer cooking facilities.
I hope to see you at the beach, but I wil Not be visiting your hotel..
I think many people feel the same way. We are Kauai residents who recently had to stay in a hotel due to a plumbing problem. We had a much more straight forward experience with the units managed by Aston Hotel than the units on the same property managed by absentee owners
Go for it, Jane! Some people are just not suited for STRs, which is completely fine. That’s why hotels exist, and why our islands have plenty of them. Hotels are not inherently bad, and neither are STRs. It all boils down to guest priorities and preferences.
Hawaii’s housing challenge was not created recently – create a 20 year (reviewed annually) strategic local, state and federal plan (yes, there are some extreme immediate needs) that will achieve its goals no matter who is in office and will create housing and economic success for all in long run – thank you,
Regarding: Maui Vacation Rental Cuts Threaten Island’s Future
There is a solution to this:
1.Put a team together right now to go after and eliminate illegal STR’s.
2. Make an individual department located in Lahaina to fast track permitting and work together with individuals and builders to get both affordable housing and individual housing with Adu’s to be built. By fast track needs to be done in weeks, not years.
Thank you
Are there really a lot of illegal STRs on Maui?
If so, the government, and the “illegals” are to blame.
Here, on Kauai, I believe there are very few illegal STRs, as the government and neighbors appear to have been diligent in restricting them.
Those of us with legal, grandfathered STRs or those wanting to rent short term in the “Visitor Destination Areas”, must remain registered and pay more property taxes and the State and County Transient Accommodation taxes or we risk losing the right to run an STR.
No one, except those operating illegally and those wanting to escape the tax toll when renting, wants illegal rentals to continue.
Absolutely there are a TON6 of illegal STRs across the state, according to this article: staradvertiser.com/2024/03/28/hawaii-news/no-need-for-ban-on-short-term-rentals-in-west-maui-green-says/ Governor says 75,000 out of 89,000 statewide (84%) are illegal! And 31,000 of the STRs are on Maui. Other sources report about 13,000 of them are taxed at the short-term rental rate, meaning about 18,000 of them are illegal. (Some or all of these numbers may be pre-fire.) *This* is the real problem. 18,000 units (out of ~66,000 total on Maui) returned to the long-term rental or homeowner market would make a major dent in the housing crisis. If we want to make our housing work for us again, create a position to go after the illegal rentals and give it some teeth, like fines that go as a lien against the property so it has to be paid when the property is sold. Las Vegas did this: finance.yahoo.com/news/las-vegas-whacks-homeowner-fine-190013495.html
These are really shocking illegal STR numbers. It is hard to understand why the County wants to punish legal STRs that are literally paying 10x the taxes that illegal STRs are paying. It’s interesting that when various pro STR groups request the County’s info on illegal STRs, they are refusing to make it public. My guess is the illegal STR numbers were probably fabricated and now make their ban on legal STRs seem unnecessary.
Hi Bruce,
It is the same on Maui, we must register our STR properties and we submit taxes and pay higher property taxes due to being a legal STR. The Mayor’s Office is targeting legal STRs, which are contributing directly to the tax revenues that benefit or should benefit the local community.
For our first trips to Maui with our keiki, we only only considered STRs. We would not have locked ourselves into a hotel room with a baby and a toddler. We still prefer the space of a STR and still cannot afford the nightly rate for a hotel in Wailea; these rates will only go up if STRs are reduced. The Mayor’s policy will decrease tourism; most families in a similar situation can’t afford his policy and will choose to go elsewhere.
My wife and I own a small STR studio that we saved for decades to get. We’ve spent $10000s with local folks like our contractor, painter, plumber, furniture refinisher, etc. Our management company collects commissions and cleaning fees that pay their staff; visitors pay 17+% taxes. We clear enough to be in a place we love a few weeks a year, and a couple thousand more for our retirement income, but it’s BS to say this is a giant cash cow.
We charge $100-150/night. Our visitors also rent cars, buy food, eat out, take tours, and so on. But they can do all that for much less than nightly hotel/resort rates. This proposal will leave a crater of lost income and jobs when 15-20% of visitors go elsewhere.
It’s an unnecessary, unhelpful, and likely unconstitutional distraction from building more affordable housing. They built the Pentagon in 16 months from scratch – where’s the urgency to make a real difference in Maui’s housing situation without wrecking the economy?
100%. Same situation for us.
We are never coming back to Maui to spend thousands of dollars to stay in a hotel. We now travel to other places that are more reasonable and more welcoming. Aloha Hawaii.
So sorry to hear that Jeffrey,
Would you consider sharing your sentiments with the planning committee. Just a simple statement like above so that the committee does understand STRs have value in the tourism market?
Email: Send your testimony to: planning @ mauicounty.gov
Deadline: Testimony is due no later than 12 pm one business day before the meeting (Monday, June 24th at 12 pm).
Address: Department of Planning, One Main Plaza, 2200 Main Street, Suite 315, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiʻi 96793
Someone mentioned the US illegal overtaking HI. My impression was the Queen sold you all out, promising a third of the land to the peasants but never gave it out. Another group of people sold out by their own people and pointing fingers.
So what your saying is money is worth more than the islanders that were born and raised here.
Stop Off Islanders from getting rich off the backs of locals. When off islanders buy property ment to be single family residents, then turn around and rent to vacationers to pay their mortgage and gain profits, it inflates rent and property values.
You should have to live here to buy her.
The county needs to run on a little less and charge visitors more.
We would be better off with less visitors and more locals able to live where were they were Born And Raised .
Less people from off island buying means more inventory and lower prices.
It’s a start. Give the locals a break.
Surely you’ve read that the vast majority of the units were built as vacation homes and short-term rentals. None of them were built for long-term, permanent residents. Who started that rumor?
The zoning department put A1/A2 on the units, but that’s not what ended up being built. And what did end up being built was blessed by everyone in the government. So please, stop with the “off islanders buy property meant to be single family residents, then turn around and rent to vacationers”. That’s not what happened, and we both know it. They were planned, developed and built to be short-term and seasonal vacation homes, 50 years ago, and have been used as such ever since. In many other communities, long-term housing is indeed being reduced, but that doesn’t hold true for Maui. The Minatoya units were never long-term housing.
The property owners are not The Enemy. Please stop treating them as such, and let’s look to our own government to solve the housing shortfall.
Excellently written and 100% the truth.
Very well said…..Bravo!!!
Great comment.
My only concern is that “looking to the government” has failed. We look to them and they don’t deliver (except for ‘solutions’ that won’t actually work long term).
Instead of “looking to them”, we need to hold them accountable when they don’t their jobs…such as ensuring affordable housing for the families and workers of Maui gets built, year after year. Where is that development over the last 20+ years? They’ve certainly taken enough money through taxes.
Excuse me but you are part of the USA that includes 50 states. And as an American you are entitled to own property in any and All of these states regardless of which you were born in!
“Mainlanders who get rich off the back of locals” No! we struggle to barely break even and often times don’t break even, but we pay more to own a condo in Maui. We’ve been coming for over 25 years, to a timeshare. It costs us 4K for two weeks. But we come and love the island so much. That is why we pay the price to keep our STR which we bought only 6 years ago. I once had a lady say to me (after I said how much I loved the spirit of Aloha) You the tourists bring the spirit with you when you come with the anticipation of having the Aloha spirit. The locals are shooting themselves in the foot with this hated towards visitors. I’ve had people tell me they don’t want to come to Hawaii with the attitudes towards them. But believe me, We are Not getting rich off our STR’s. There is High high HOA fees, 1K a month. 1.2K in property taxes a month, and TAT and GET and Resort fees, then up keep and maintenance. Get A Clue!!
Maui is still part of the US and last I checked a US citizen was allowed to buy property in any state without restrictions. Most STRs were never intended to be long term housing and are not to blame for high rent. Tourists are not the enemy and chasing them away will not solve your problems. The world does not owe you a living!
Locals can rent out a ohana and get “rich” . Mainlanders bought from a native that took the profit and did what was good for them.
No natives sell and then no mainlanders on island. Opps you want to restrict people right to sell and buy to live elsewhere or not.
Jerry,
I don’t think anyone on here is saying that “money is worth more than born and raised Maui residents.” Most are saying that the STR ban will do a lot more harm than good. Legal STRs literally pay 10x the taxes as locals. That money was intended to address affordable housing problems and keep your taxes low. Yet Maui has done very little to help with affordable housing. Maui county is well aware that there are are many more illegal STRs (who do not pay the extra taxes) than legal ones, yet they have done nothing about it! Many STR owners live on Maui part time and are very concerned for Maui residents. They aren’t your main problem. Your politicians are. They have a lot of explaining to do as they have not served you well.
It seems the mayor is grossly over simplifying the situation. I’ve been to Hawaii over 20 times since the 1990’s, but not this year. The extra taxes and fees have become to much of a burden. I’ve even seen extra fees for using the a/c on certain properties. We love Hawaii and her people, but we’ll wait to come back until prices are more favorable/reasonable.
Steve T
The great American economist, Milton Friedman, said “If the government were to take over the Sahara Desert, there would be a shortage of sand in five years.” In other words, government intervention creates mismanagement and scarcity instead of abundance due to its incompetent decision making process producing ineffective use and allocation of resources.
Witness Mayor Bissen’s assertion that Maui visitors will move to the high priced hotels by removing 7000 STR’s that generates $2.2 Billion in direct spending on Maui alone is a head scratcher. The belief that telling visitors he’s making the choice for them to stay at higher priced accommodations and they will happily comply is the epitome of staggering misjudgement.
When assessing their financial resources and realizing they have way more choices to spend their hard earned dollars they will go elsewhere. And more importantly its their choice.
Short term vacation rentals are the problem. Don’t believe the hype, anything is better than the current status quo. Why else would we be talking about this issue, if everything was fine
STRs are Not the problem. It’s you who are being hyped.
The truth is that there is a severe housing problem in this country. The housing problem is not particular to Hawaii.
Many communities have alleviated their housing problem by building more housing through subsidies, and also by incentivizing developers by providing the land and the infrastructure as a starting point.
No community has solved housing problems by shutting down STRs.
Don’t believe me, just look it up.
The government is simply trying to transfer STR business to hotels.
The hotels have seen STRs as a threat since 2016, and they have lobbied vigorously since then to have them shut down. Hotels are doing this by inventing reasons to try to convince people like you that STRs are bad, when the truth is that it is hurting their bottom line.
Don’t let them hoodwink you. STRs are Not the Problem. You see the problem, but you are mistaken as to the cause.
We have been coming to Maui for over 20yrs. We love the people of Maui, their culture and the beauty on Maui.
We will Not Stay in a high priced hotel. They are noisy, crowded pools, long wait for elevators, difficult parking and no good food available unless you go off grounds. We stay in Honokowai, STR on the water for less than 1/2 the cost of one night at a hotel.
We have donated thousands of dollars to individuals and businesses affected by the fire and volunteer at the food pantry when on Maui
It will break our hearts to not be able to return
Love to Maui!
This will never happen, typical smoke and mirrors from corrupt politicians. No one would switch to over priced hotels w crappy overpriced food. And no locals (we have friends that have lived there for 40 years)would be able to buy a million dollar condo w hoa fees of 1.5 to 2.0 k a month. That’s ridiculous, but in today’s world, politicians are paid to bs everyone with their improbable solutions. Here’s part of the fix, freeze any additional str’s, and dont allow any additional hotels so maui can began to control tourism. Then actually utilize all those tax dollars generated by tourism and subsidize housing for locals, like expensive cities like san fran and dc do.
I think you have all the right ideas here. I might add that the local Gov’t should subsidize and incentivize (but not force) the sale of current STRs to Lahaina residents who lost homes. This could target the West Maui area where people want to live. There are already thousands of condos for sale on Maui and almost no one is even looking at the listings. Most will eventually sell at a discounted rate to a new mainland owner. But ultimately the only viable solution is build affordable housing.
The corruption is nothing compared to the staggering incompetence. This is particularly acute on Maui where from the Mayor on down, nobody in county government has any business being there. People suffer, while their indecision and incompetence only make a dire situation all that much worse.
Maui’s Mayor Richard Bissen is only going after the STR. Maui just open and will open a new luxury hotel and have more plan. I think we check in to Mayor Bissen motives along with the Maui leaders. I question of they are being paid off by the large luxury hotel resorts. Maybe they should be investigated.
We have a condo off the beach at Papakea on the market going on three+ months any one interested? Turn it into a LTR or single home? No? Weird I thought there was a shortage of housing and its listed under market. We were hoping not to sell to non US residents but if locals won’t buy it and you don’t want us mainlanders then I guess you get the CCP? Local gov acts like them anyway, walk sound like a duck, it is a duck.
Maui has become a cash cow for out of state residents. It is time to focus on the local residents and bringing back a better quality of life before STR s. Money is never the answer…only created greed and hate.
My neighbors with STRs would vehemently disagree with you about the “cash cow” part. They feel lucky if they break even. I don’t think you realize the expenses and taxes involved with these Minatoya STRs.
I manage STR’s on Oahu. My owners average 22% of total revenue to them – 78% goes to maintenance fee, prop tax, state / county / hotel tax, airbnb / vrbo booking fee, cleaning fee, mgmt fee.
Many of the owners i represent are local. Many are not.
STR’s are not cash cows.
I think you have all the right ideas here. I might add that the local Gov’t should subsidize and incentivize (but not force) the sale of current STRs to Lahaina residents who lost homes. This could target the West Maui area where people want to live. There are already thousands of condos for sale on Maui and almost no one is even looking at the listings. Most will eventually sell at a discounted rate to a new mainland owner. But ultimately the only viable solution is build affordable housing.
Apparently guests will transition to ‘hotels’. Such a thought is very short sighted and without any evidence. Hawaii has been ahead of the curve with STRs, having had such an option for over 50 years for new and returning guests, decades before VRBO and Airbnb existed.
I do not have data to support this next statement, though that does not seem to be a requirement for decision making, the option of accommodations (STRs) that allow families to be together and experience Hawaii together, coupled with Hawaiian Aloha create the enjoyable experience of so many visitors which have led to return and new guest trips.
STRs have transitioned to be the backbone of tourism over the last two decades because they offer so much more to guests than a hotel stay. They enhance the tourist experience.
We need these owner occupied homeowner STRS, and the condos for tourists to stay. There are bedrooms and kitchens, yards, etc. which provide a better and different experience tourists want.
zThen what we have to go to higher induced corporate owned hotels? You will just end up building more, A single owner who is sexy 6 months who rents to STRs, gives quality to the visit. Exotically families.
Only phase out owners who have multiple STRS that never live her,
This aren’t small businesses.
Some p eu one kneed this tot hang into their property.
If ant study ( hue much is budded spending on these studies?) Ask the budget minded tourist, and allow single owner STRD to revisit as us. People who build over 5 mil and 10 mil+ new big condors as in Makena should pay a mansion tax extra , it has generated 132 mil for the community in Los angeles, Google it.
zThese big confidence now being built and proposed, should pay higher tax rates, as well .
I have visited Maui (and most other islands) numerous times. The o ly time I stayed in a hotel was my first trip. I have lived/ worked on Maui for three 6 month jobs, each time staying in a short term rental. I love Maui and understand the housing crisis, as it is similar to the one faced in my primary residence, Sonoma County, California. We also experienced a devastating wildfire, and even prior to that, locals were priced out.
That being said, I won’t visit if I have to stay in an overpriced hotel. There are other destinations.
We have been coming to Maui for about 15 years. We typically stay for 3-4 weeks in a STR. As much as we love the island and its people, these proposed restrictions and the increasing costs of staying on the island will, unfortunately, cause us to look elsewhere. The housing shortage for locals is a real problem and is the obvious result of poor, shortsighted and potentially corrupt policy negligence on the part of the government. I will not be switching to a hotel stay for 3-4 weeks.
No way we visit Maui again if forced to stay in a hotel. The politicians must be smoking loco coco moko!
Mexico and/or The Florida Keys, here we come !
Myron, having lived in Key West and also gone to Mexico multiple times, neither one of those places even comes close to a vacation in Maui. Regarding Mexico, I don’t know about you, but I want to return alive from any vacation I take.