UHERO’s Justin Tyndall explains how short term vacation rentals impact Hawaii’s housing market

1 thought on “UHERO’s Justin Tyndall explains how short term vacation rentals impact Hawaii’s housing market”

1. 

   John Kevan

   March 10, 2024 at 6:23 am

   A few points on this interview
   1-If you look at the real statistics the the governors misinformation, and you can check by going to the HTA research on its website, there are only approximately 500 more vacation rentals on Maui in 2023 then 20 years ago in 2003 yet 35,000 more people live on the island. This is a lack of building issue that created this.
   2-Look at UHERO report on expensive condo’s and why. Again, lack of building issue.
   3-Converting to Long Term will have significant impact to the unemployment, there are on Maui alone over 12000 jobs and families directly supported by STR’s, let alone downstream (activity companies, restaurants, handymen…..)
   4-Folks are claiming STR jobs can go to hotels, STR industry pays an average of $37/hr, hotels pay an average of $21/hr. Expecting people to move jobs and take a pay cut is not realistic.
   5-West Maui was built around tourism, your maps showing 87% short term housing in an area of west Maui was built that way with hotels, timeshares and vacation condos and of course there is no local housing as the hills above are golf courses or a small amount of luxury homes. Go to the other areas of west Maui and if you look into the condo complexes, they all have front desk operations for guests that have been in existance since they were built in the 70’s and 80’s, 50+ years ago. Almost all the local housing built for Long Term are still doing long term, again, no building for all the new population.
   6-Short term rentals play a significant role in outer island economies, bringing in 37% of real property tax in Maui County, and more than 15% of the entire Maui county operating budget.
   •Short-term rentals also benefit the state of Hawaii by generating tax revenue from taxes such as the general excise tax and transient accommodation tax both state and county.
   7-During times of inflation and rising prices, short-term rentals provide essential economic support for local families and the broader community.
   8-They are not only a valuable option for mainland visitors but also for local families traveling within the state.
   9-Short-term rental owners and operators are committed to responsible practices and fair regulations. They support a balanced approach to addressing challenges and a collaborative approach with local stakeholders.

   There are so much information missing in this interview and UHERO’s reports on housing that makes it look paid for by special interest groups. Needs to be fair and balanced which is what we expect from UHERO.

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