As I’ve said many times already, over-tourism is a major issue right now in Hawaii. As it turns out, though, it’s not because there are too many hotels here. No, rather, the issue seems to be vacation rentals. To remedy this, Maui County cracks down on illegal vacation rentals.
Illegal vacation rentals have been an issue here in Hawaii for some time now. The problem is two-fold – it adds more and lower-cost lodging capacity, plus, it mixes transient accomodations into residential neighborhoods which can have have a profound effect on them. So, for years now, county governments across Hawaii have been trying to reign in the industry. But, now, things are changing.
Maui County Cracks Down on Illegal Vacation Rentals
So how is it that Maui County is able to crack down on illegal vacation rentals now? The two largest vacation rental platforms have agreed to help the counties. Specifically, Airbnb and Vrbo signed agreements with Maui County to require all properties to provide a government-issued Tax Map Key and Transient Accomodations Tax number. Existing properties that fail to do so will get delisted by the platforms. Of course, the requirement will apply to any new properties seeking to join the platofrms as well.
In addition to the above requirements, the platforms are also agreeing to provide monthly reports of all properties, including their Tax Map Key.
Final Thoughts
Maui’s new agreements closely resembles those already in place on Oahu and Kauai. And while these efforts do help, they don’t completely solve the problem. There are other platforms and independent listings out there too, but every little bit helps. That said, I don’t think this new initative will have a big impact on vacation rental listing, crowding, or housing prices. Additional measures will eventually be needed to bring balance to ou reconomy and lives.