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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0675.533 2022-2024September 30, 2024 Councilmember Ashley L. Kierkiewicz t_n,ag County of Hawai'i Hawai'i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 .. Re: Bill 121, Draft 4 Dear Chair Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba, and members of the Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Development, On behalf of Expedia Group, a family of brands that includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and short-term rental leader Vrbo, I am writing to share comments on Bill 121, Draft 4 and our support of Section 7 of the bill, pertaining to hosting platforms, as currently drafted. Expedia Group welcomes balanced regulation and management of short-term rentals and has worked with municipalities around the world to craft, enact, and enforce laws to regulate vacation rentals. Bill 121, Draft 4 will allow county officials to review the tax map key (TMK) number and transient accommodation tax (TAT) ID number associated with transient accommodation rentals (TARS) so county staff can compare listing information to the county's data for registered TARS. Expedia Group shares similar reporting with other counties in Hawai'i, which has helped counties like Kaua'i to drive a high rate of compliance with its short-term rental laws. The legislation would also set a consistent standard across the industry by passing a law applying to all hosting platforms. While we support maintaining the current definition of "transient" as referring to occupancy of thirty consecutive days or less, we greatly appreciate the amendments included in Drafts 3 and 4 of Bill 121 that would allow existing, 30+ day, unhosted rentals to get a non -conforming use certificate (NUC). Thank you for addressing the conflict that would have been created for 30-179 day, unhosted rentals and providing an opportunity for these properties to obtain a NUC. We recommend changing the exemptions in the definition of "transient" in Chapter 25-1-5 to match the exemptions for transient accommodations tax in the Hawaii Revised Statutes in Chapter 237D-3, which rely on the characteristics of a structure rather than a person, e.g., exempting a student dormitory rather than lodging occupied by a student. Under the current draft, any full-time students, military personnel, or temporary health-care employees would not be subject to transient accommodations regulations, even if the stay was personal and recreational. These exemptions offer limited benefit as there is no way for'most booking services and hosting platforms to confirm the identity of a traveler to show that they qualify for exemptions, weakening the efficacy of the ordinance overall. 0 -f, 1 1 1 1 Expedia Groin Way West I Seattle, WA, 98119 1 USA I T + 1 206 481 72001 " C nmd P No. 0 _ �- �� " expediagroup.com Ref. To: � Ref. Date OCT — 2 2024 Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments. We appreciate all of Hawaii County Council's thoughtful work to craft balanced legislation. Changes to date, including the amendments adopted in July and September, show the sponsors' commitment to crafting sensible, practical legislation. We look forward to working with Hawaii County Council and the Planning Department as Bill 121 deliberations continue. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is any additional information we can provide, Mahalo, Mackenzie Chase Regional Manager, Hawaii Expedia Group 0 1 1 1 1 Expedia Group Way West I Seattle, WA, 98119 ( USA I T +1 206 481 72001 F +l 206 481 7240 expediagroup.com