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The county Planning Department has finally been able to process almost all the approximately 4,000 short term vacation rental applications it received following last year’s implementation of a mandatory registration system.

But it may be months before the newly approved rentals — or any short-term rentals other than hotels — will be allowed to operate, under emergency proclamations from Gov. David Ige and Mayor Harry Kim. Until travel restrictions are lifted, the rentals can be used only to house tenants who were already there when the restrictions went into effect or workers of essential businesses or operations, such as first responders.

Vacation rental occupancy statewide was just 5% in April, the first month after the March 26 mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers, according to data provided by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. That compares to 8.9% occupancy at hotels, which were allowed to stay open, under the rules.

Kauai, with a 10% occupancy rate, and Kona, with 6.4%, topped the state in occupancy rates. Hilo/Honokaa, the only other Big Island breakdown, was at the low end of the state with 4.9%. That’s well below the Big Island’s 64.7% occupancy in April, 2019.

Ige punted a question about reopening the rentals to the county mayors during a Zoom community session Thursday.

And it was obvious from their responses that vacation rentals are way down the list as businesses are slowly allowed to reopen. In fact, some mayors seemed to hope they wouldn’t reopen at all, especially in residential areas.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell estimated 800 legal vacation rentals on Oahu and another 8,000 operating illegally.

“As we come back to new normal, (they) should be in resort areas and not in our neighborhoods,” Caldwell said.

Maui Mayor Mike Victorino agreed. He’d like to be able to keep visitors in the resort areas of his county and not “utilizing our residential facilities.”

Victorino said he wants to “make sure our hotels, our resorts, open first and allow them to reestablish themselves. … We have a large number of illegal vacation rentals and many are closing them down,” he said.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said the Planning Department on his island is working with police and National Guard to ensure the transient rentals aren’t taking tenants.

Kim also didn’t think the rentals will be allowed to open soon.

“Yes, we need tourism, yes they’re a basic economic industry here, but everyone should know, this is our home,” Kim said. “Our priority is the safety of the people in the state. Everything else has to come second.”

County Planning Director Michael Yee said his office has received complaints from concerned neighbors that some transient rentals may still be open or still taking reservations.

“I think people have been upset,” Yee said. “In most cases, it hasn’t warranted enforcement under the procedures.”

He said the department has hired two inspectors to enforce the vacation rental law, but they can’t go onto property and ask for IDs to prove people live there or not.

“There is a process we have to follow which is never as fast as people want,” Yee said. “We don’t have the authority to actually stop someone from doing it.”

Yee said investigation into complaints about vacation rentals continuing to advertise almost always show they’ve blocked out the dates through June 30, the latest deadline for the emergency rules.

About 1,000 of the 4,000 applications included applications for a nonconforming use certificate to operate in a disallowed zoning classification. Those have to be renewed annually, and renewal applications are already starting to trickle in. That requirement helps regulate the ones out there, especially compared to when the county had no vacation rental law at all, Yee said.

“Although people may be unhappy about short-term vacation rentals in nonconforming areas, at least the county adopted a renewal process so if there is a bad actor, there is a mechanism in place to deal with it,” Yee said.

On the bright side, the county’s backlog of building permits has been whittled down so that what previously took as much as a month or more has been reduced to a week or two. Building permits took a big hit last summer, when vacation rental applicants were scrambling to get their permits in order to meet the September application deadline.

“There were a lot of building permits that certainly got behind during the vacation rental registration period. During this period of COVID crisis, we have been able to catch up on many of our backlogged building permits,” Yee said. “That was certainly a positive during this challenging time for this department.”

ORIGINAL SOURCE: https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/05/31/hawaii-news/mayors-unenthusiastic-about-vacation-rentals-hawaii-county-clears-backlog-but-reopening-likely-months-away/

Even before today’s madness, there was a time when many of us considered Hawaii hotels as the only places to stay. Well, things had already changed hugely before the trouble we are in now, and you haven’t seen anything yet.

Hawaii vacation rentals (which are currently on hiatus) are going to surge in demand and will far exceed Hawaii hotels for quite some time. Think crowded hotel lobbies, elevators, hotel restaurants (with non-existent buffets), and other shared amenities, just for starters. How does that sound versus having your own vacation home or condo with a kitchen, and little to no interaction with others required?

Beat of Hawaii: Being more in control of many aspects of the travel environment, is going to be on our minds at least, for the foreseeable future.

Where the Hawaii vacation rental trend began.

It’s interesting to recall that although Hawaii vacation rentals have become popular across all demographics, the trend largely began with both younger travelers and those with higher incomes. Now it’s ubiquitous.

Once someone tries a vacation rental, half simply don’t go back to hotels. That according to a Goldman Sachs study last year which indicated trouble was already brewing for the hotel industry.

Hawaii vacation rentals will be change agents.

For years, we have preferred vacation rentals, hands down, when compared to hotel stays of over a couple of nights. Both here in Hawaii and elsewhere in our travels. Clearly we aren’t alone then, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some things to consider about Hawaii vacation rentals going forward.

1. Far less contact with other travelers and staff. For example, a vacation rental home lets you go directly from your car to inside without coming in contact with anyone. Even some condo rentals now operate the same way. Often no elevators and less amenity sharing is needed.

2. New industry standards will soon include cleaning and disinfection products and methods. Vrbo President Jeff Hurst said, “New cleaning guidelines will reassure travelers that vacation rentals are safe places to stay for their next vacation.”

3. Increased inspection to assure cleanliness. This will be up to each rental owner or manager to follow, and we advise asking for what guidelines they adhere to.

4. Enhanced digital guest interaction. Look for automated check-in and check-out, more key-less entry, and guest apps as examples, including phone numbers to a virtual concierge service.

As a reminder, please only stay in legal rentals that are in designated tourist areas in Hawaii. Staying in illegal rentals is problematic at every level, with no help if things go wrong. Hosts should post the Tax ID on their listing.

Airbnb takes a huge hit.

The company just saw its value halved during this crisis. Beyond that, the way it handled its property owners and managers caused them to feel alienated to such a degree that a huge number will try to avoid Airbnb in the future.

Beyond that, Airbnb and Booking.com had a very different tone this week. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that “when travel does return, it will look different.” No clarification was provided. “While we know Airbnb’s business will fully recover, the changes it will undergo are not temporary or short-lived.” And on that note, Airbnb just let go of 25% of its employees.

Booking.com tone is more confident.

The company’s first-quarter travel bookings dropped by 51% compared with last year. Despite that, and the acknowledgment that travel will take years to return to normal, the Booking.com earnings call this week provided good insight into where the megalith sees the industry going, and it speaks to Hawaii vacation rentals.

In the short term at least, the trend they are seeing is towards a preference for vacation rentals over hotels. We concur at Beat of Hawaii. In the long-run, however, in terms of the mix of vacation rentals and hotels, CEO Fogel said, “Overall, it will come back very similar…. Here’s the point — hotels don’t disappear.”

Booking also said that vacation rentals will endure both the uncertainties following this crisis as well as any increased regulatory requirements. Fogel believes the vacation rental sector will survive, concluding, “I really don’t see a lot of changes.”

ORIGINAL SOURCE: https://beatofhawaii.com/are-you-choosing-hawaii-vacation-rentals-over-hawaii-hotels/