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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0675.237 2022-2024p / pcPLun &Ohalfl Cogs/ RESORT ASSOCIATION July 3, 2024 Ms. Ashley Kierkiewicz, Chair iJ Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Development c Hawaii County Council Hawaii County Building i 25 Aupuni Street w o -< Hilo, HI 96720 =C' 17- Support for and Comments on Bills 121, 122 and 123 w Dear Chair Kierkiewicz and Members of the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Development, .%0 The Kohala Coast Resort Association (KCRA) is in support of Bills 121, 122 and 123, updating our short-term vacation rental laws, and incentivizing homeowners to build more accessory dwelling units for local residents to use. We are grateful to Councilmembeis Heather Kimball and Ashley Kierkiewicz, Planning Director Zendo Kern and Deputy Planning Director Jeff Darrow, for stewarding this process during the last two years. There are several reasons we support these bills: 1) They will create a more equitable playing field in terms of taxation and regulations by addressing all types of transient accommodations rentals (TAR) — owner -hosted, operator -hosted and un-hosted, 2) They will help protect and hopefully create new affordable workforce and residential housing across the island with the clarifications on accessory dwelling units, 3) They will aid Civil Defense in communicating with our visitors during natural disasters and emergencies, 4) They will provide an oversight framework to make sure that accommodations being offered are safe, secure, and follow our required building codes and county laws, 5) They will help us avoid bait -and -switch scams where one property is advertised, but another property, or none at all is delivered, 6) They will help us obtain more accurate visitor counts and distribution models island -wide, 7) They will make sure the hosting platforms are transparent and accountable for reporting to the government, and 8) They will provide more comprehensive data, so that economic forecasting can be more accurate, and planning for key infrastructure improvements can be considered. There are a few comments we would like to make on specific sections of Bill 121: 1) Section 25-4-16.7 Rental Registration Process, Sub -section (a), Number (6) a notarized affidavit in a format determined by the director, and submitted under penalty ofpeijwy, that the transient accommodation meets health, safety and code requirements. As has been the lawful standard, any time there is a change in use of any structure,or property, the owner is required to go through the existing planning, building and engineering processes. The County of Hawaii is then responsible for verifying that the owner is meeting health, safety and code requirements before the new use is allowed. Allowing the owner to simply provide an affidavit stating that they have met those requirements, without the necessary follow-up, skirts the checks and balances the public requires. This could put visitors' and residents' health, safety and welfare in danger. We suggest that this section be amended so that the County of Hawaii requires, at minimum an inspection of all TARS to verify that they are structurally sound, have adequate means of access and egress, and comply with all other code requirements, before they are issued a TAR license. While later sections of Bill 121 assess penalties and violations if sections of the owner's affidavit are found to be false, we believe the information contained in the affidavit should be verified at the outset. 2) Section 25-4-16. 7 Rental Registration Process, Sub -section (a), Number (8) copies of a current State of Hawaii general excise tax license. Many testifiers on these bills during the January meeting of the Planning Committee of the Hawaii County Council, and the hearings of the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions stated that they "pay all their taxes." We would suggest that in addition to the State of Hawaii general excise tax license, that the County of Hawaii also require the registrant to submit their transient accommodations tax license. We know Comm. Ret.To: Ref, Date through our economic impact report that our members paid more than $17 million in TAT to Hawaii County in 2023. The Hawaii County budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 shows TAT budgeted at $24 million. Those who have been renting units as TARS should have to show that they were licensed and paying their taxes. These bills are in complete aligrunent with Hawaii County's Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) 2021-2025, which was completed with community, government and industry stakeholder involvement in partnership with the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau (IHVB) and County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development. The Hawaii State Legislature codified the DMAPs into state law. Better management of TARs was identified in the top 10 needs for Hawaii Island and can be found here - HTA Hawaii Island Action Plan (lhawaiitourismauthority of-g). As a board member for the Hawaii Island Safety and Security Professionals Association (HISSPA), I am grateful that this suite of bills will help to address visitor safety. As a member of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs and Economic Development Committees, and the Vibrant Hawaii Housing Coalition, I appreciate that these bills provide measures to address our housing crisis. And as a former Executive Director of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, Hawaii Island (VASH) I am grateful that these bills will ensure that accommodations offered online are safe, secure, and actually exist, as during my tenure with VASH there were visitors who were the victims of bait -and -switch scams online. Finally, I'm attaching a report from www.AlltheRooms.com as an addendum to our written testimony. It shows that there were more than 19,000 units on Hawaii Island advertised through Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and similar websites during the last year. Those units range from studios, to a single bedroom in someone's home, to entire homes with up to 12 bedrooms. For comparison, the total number of hotel rooms on the Kohala Coast is 2,718 rooms. The Kohala Coast Resort Association is a collection of master -planned resorts, situated north of the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole. In 2024, KCRA members employ more than 5,500 Hawaii Island residents, supporting more than 17,000 family members, at our hotels, timeshares, golf courses, restaurants, shopping centers and spas. The members of the KCRA paid nearly $45 million in GET and $75.7 million in TAT to the State of Hawaii and the County of Hawaii. KCRA's members, as well as the businesses and residents within the resorts along the Kohala Coast, paid more than $151 million in property taxes to Hawaii County in 2023, accounting for more than one-third of all property taxes collected island wide, according to Hawaii County's Real Property Tax office. Thank you for your consideration of our comments and suggested amendments to Bill 121. We encourage your support of Bills 121, 122, and 123 to better manage TARs across Hawaii Island. Sincerely, Stephanie Donoho Administrative Director, Kohala Coast Resort Association Craig Anderson, VP Operations, Mauna Kea Resort —President Pat Fitzgerald, CEO, Hualalai Investors — Vice President Charlie Parker, General Manager, Four Seasons Hualalai — Secretary Christ Sessions, DOSM, Fairmont Orchid — Board of Directors Daniel Scott, Managing Director Rosewood Kona Village — Board of Directors Scott Head, VP Resort Operations, Waikoloa Land Company — Board of Directors David Givens, General Manager, Hilton Waikoloa Village — Board of Directors Rob Gunthner, Area VP Resort Operations, Hilton Grand Vacations — Board of Directors Pete Alles, Regional VP and GM, Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection — Board of Directors Michael Howe, Resort Manager, Waikoloa Beach Marriott — Board of Directors PO Box 6991, Kamuela, HI 96743 * (808) 747-5762 * kohalacoastresortassn(&gmail.com * www.kohalacoastresorts.com Market Characteristics Go to D... SELECT MARKET* Provider Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States o... r (4) airbnb, booking, Filters Property Type Instant Bo... Sleeps 2'e`lr <u ��,ilw,�. - (3) True, Fals.. - Is Managed Is Active Rooms (2) True, False • False 4JU True _ Revenue LTM Average Da... Average Ac. $213M $275.05 6,947 Provider Listing Distribution ■ airbnb booking 9 homeaway I vrbo ■ Selected Market Boundary Min ... Max... Beds Number Of Revi... Min Stay L... Max... Bath... Rating x 0 100 Booked Nig... Hosts Properties 775,094 4,546 19,655 Rooms 419 0 — 1.31 k (6.67%) 1 1 — 6.63k (33.7245) 10 2 — 6.78k (34.471, ) V N 3 — 3.45k (1 7.531,) 4 — W 5 — 1.01 k (5.129%) 344 (1.7510 6 — 83 (0.42%) u„1v 7 — 31 (0.1696) �f'0 8 — I5 (0.0846) 9 — 1 (0.0146) 10 — 4 (0.02%) 11-1(0.01%) Fill 12-1(0.014,) M ,,11 1 rr,-1 Sleeps 0— 196(1.0m"') 1 — 153 (0.789,) N 2-3.69k(5.42%)) 3 — 1.07k (5.4256) 4 — 5.431k (27.63%) 5 — 871 (4,4396) 6 — 7 — 5.21 (26.43%) 259 (1.32%) 8 — 1.51 k (7.68%) 9 — 89 (0.450,) 10 — 594 (3.02N 11 — 41 (0.2145) 12 I — 252 (1.2855) I m Woad Property Types aparthotel barn boutique hotel bus campervan Casa particular chalet condo cottage earth house farm stay guest suite homestay hotel house igloo lodge minsu other recreational ve... resort village shipping contai... tent tipi townhouse vacation home yurt 0 5k Bathrooms 0 - 1.35k (6.8596) 1 - 8.04k (40.8896) ,I �c2 - 7.08k (36.04%) 61 3 - 2.25k (1 1.44%) 4 - 596(3,0396) N 5 - 197 (1.00%) 6 - 113 (0.57%) 1"1 7 - 22 (0.11 %) 6.081 ■ 8 - 12 (0.06%) 11-2(0.01%) k Min Length Stay 1 - 5.97k (30.3996) 2 - 3.62k (18.43%) 3 - 3.13k (15.90%) 4 - 1.33k (6.79%) 44 5 - 1.38k (7.0196) 6 - 179 (0.9196) 7 - 677 (3.44%) 41, 8-7(0.04%) 9-5(0.0396) ° 10 - 33 (0.1796) 12 - 3 (0.02%) 14 - 45 (0.23%) 15 - 3 (0.0296) Hosts, Gross Revenue and Properties by Portf... Gross Revenue N Hosts $0.00 $400,000,000,000.00 Gross Revenue M P(ODertles 1--1 2--3 4--9 w N 10--19 ut O 0 LL O 20 -- 45 a 50--91 100 -- 267 8170 -- 8170 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 Hosts, Properties Is Super Host False True ■ null null - 4.92® %false - 6.... true - 8.59k (43.... Max Length Stay 1 - 7 (0.0496) 2 - 13 (0.0796) 3 - 38 (0.19%) F] 4-22(0.11%) 5 - 54 (0,2716) 6 - 59 (0.30%) 7 - 333 (1.69%) ■ 8 - 24 (0.) 06% 10 - 112 (0.57%) 11 - 4 (0.02%) 12-19(0.10%) 13 - 7 (0.04%) Gross Revenue by Properties Under Managem.., $750M 100 -- 267 10 -- 19 1--1 20 -- 45 2-3 4--9 50--91 8170--8170 $5500 Property Operator Groups by Revenue by Port,,. Portfolio Bin PORTFO.,. Group Hosts SIZE Gross Revenue Properties 2 3,228 1 -- 1 $61,948,623.41 3,228 3 888 2--3 $97,856,290.27 2,025 4 310 4 -- 9 $153,965,754.18 1,686 5 54 10 -- 19 $145,683,568.01 730 6 43 20 -- 45 $576,382,144.11 1,334 7 12 50 -- 91 $752,687,862.38 777 8 11 100 -- 267 $5,499,339,246.20 1,640 9 0 8170 -- ... $545,833,050,991.13 8,235 I :i AIITheRooms. Summary for Hawaii County, null Supply, Demand & Revenue KPIs at a glance r. to Data Di... The market overview lets you analyze the key performance metrics of the selected market in a quick snapshot. The key metrics are aggregated by month. Use the SELECT MARKET dropdown to toggle between purchased markets. Use the PLATFORM dropdown to toggle between Airbnb, VRBO, and booking.com. The Timeframe menu allows you to view the data for various periods. SELECT MARKET* Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States of America - county ADR $325.28 Monthly Metrics Booked Nights 59,049 TIMEFRAME PLATFORM* 8 Last 12 months (02/2023 ... Airbnb Revenue $19,207,436.48 Mo... Revenue ADR RevP... Occup... Active S... Available S... Mean Stay L... Booked... Month N... Sum of Available ... 202... $19,207,4... $32... $4,06... 40.31% 7,298 4,725 5 59,049 January 146488 202... $19,481,2... $31... $3,81... 39.31% 7,224 5,103 5 62,182 December 158200 202... $16,165,2... $27... $3,02... 37.15% 7,167 5,351 5 59,647 November 160539 202... $16,716,5... $26... $3,03... 36.58% 7,188 5,510 5 62,486 October 170818 202... $15,306,5... $25... $2,68... 35.77% 7,145 5,695 5 61,119 September 170855 202... $17,907,4... $27... $3,23... 38.2296 7,003 5,535 5 65,585 August 171591 202... $17,091,3... $28... $3,25... 37.19% 6,991 5,248 5 60,507 July 162679 202... $16,514,5... $26... $3,06... 38.S7% 6,794 5,393 5 62,402 June 161785 202... $17,352,0... $24... $3,12... 40.30% 6,808 5,557 5 69,422 May 172264 202... $17,836,4... $26... $3,41... 43.65% 6,717 5,226 5 68,425 April 156776 202... $20,803,4... $27... $4,20... 49.17% 6,557 4,951 5 75,453 March 153466 202... $18,804,8... $27... $3,97... 51.960% 6,425 4,730 5 68,817 February 132452 SUMMARY $213,187,011.92 40.68% 6,943 $275.61 $3,407.67 1 a 1 ova" - 1 G culul nn , Sum of Revenue - Avg of Occupancy - Avg of Active Supply - Avg of ADR - Avg of RevPAL Key Summary Metrics for Hawaii County $20,000,000.00 $1 s,000,000.00 v 3 C Ul 7 a $10,000,000.00 $5,000,000.00 $0.00 2023-02 Market Revenue 2023.04 2023.0 2023-M 2023.10 202112 Month $213,187,011.92 Gross Market Revenue 775,094 Total Nights Booked