HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.025 2016-20182 '13 P i
April 24, 2018
Council Member Karen t off, Chairperson
Planning Committee
1-lawaii County Council
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West Hawaii Civic enter
er
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75-5044 Ane .eohokalole Highway
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Kailua-Kona, H.196740
Dear Chairperson Eoff and Members of the Planning Committee,
My name is Stephanie Donoho, and l am the Administrative Director for the Kohala Coast Resort Association, a
position I have held since July of 2014. In addition, i served as the Tourism Specialist with the Department of
Research and Development for the County of Hawaii from 2006-2014. 1 am an advisory board member for the Island
of Hawaii 'visitors Bureau, a board member with the Hawaii Island Safety and Security .Professionals Association, and
a board member with the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce. I also had the privilege to serve as the interim
Executive Director for the Visitor Aloha Society of .Hawaii (VASH) in 2015 and served on their board of directors for
Many years. My experience in all of those positions during the last 14 years, informs my testimony today.
I would like to commend Council Member Eoff and Council Member Kanuha for bringing dill 108 forward for
discussion and deliberation. There has been a lot of concern amongst many residents of Hawaii .island that a lack of
oversight and management of this essential component of the visitor accommodations market has either led to or
exacerbated many of the challenges we face today. This hearing is an important first step, and we look fonvard
working closely with you as this bill moves forward.
The Kohala Coast Resort Association (KCI ) is in full support of Bill 108 regulating short term vacation rentals. „ 0
There are several reasons we support this bill: �' 3
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1) It will create a more equitable playing Meld in terms of taxation and regulations for all types of visitor
accommodations; �
2 It will Delp protect affirdable workforce and residential housing across the island;
3) It will aid Civil Defense in communicating with our visitors during natural disasters and emergencies; �
4) It will help us maintain and deliver on our brand promise as an island; °O
5) It will provide an oversight framework to make sure that all accommodations being of=fered are safe, secure,
and follow our required building codes,
6) It will help us avoid bait -and -switch scarps where one property is advertised, but another property (or hone at
all, or one that is unsafe) is delivered;
7) It will help us obtain more accurate visitor counts and distribution models island -wide; and
) It will provide more comprehensive data, so that economic forecasting can be More accurate, and planning for
key infrastructure improvements can be considered.
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We Would like to make a few recommendations for your consideration:
1) Every property that provides short term visitor accommodations should be covered by this bill, including those
hosted by a resident in his or her primary residence. This will allow us to have the most accurate data set for
visitor Counts and economic Impact statements.
2) Please format the registration process for this program so that it mirrors the 'visitor Plant Inventory survey
forms currently used by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. This will allow the Most seamless transition toad
those accommodations not currently included in the inventory, thus providing more accurate data.
3) Please require that information on safety and security be clearly posted and available in all short-term visitor
accommodations. For example, many short-term vacation rentals are in tsunarni zones, and visitors in those
areas need to understand the need to evacuate to higher ground during a tsunami threat.
4) Timely deliberation on this bill is essential. Decisions made on this bill could have significant impacts on other
County departments (for example, the potential of creating a short-term vacation rental property tax
classification) and the Council's process Deeds to dovetail with those departmental timelines, so that the
program can be launched as soon as possible.
The KCRA is a collection of Faster -planned resorts and hotels situated north of the Kona airport which represents
approximately 3,500 hotel accommodations and an equal number of resort residential units. KCRA member properties
employ more than 5,000 Hawaii Island residents. KCRA member properties annually pay more than 20 million in
TAT and 24 million in GET, as shown in our Economic Impact Report 2010-2015. Copies of that report have been
distributed to all members of the Hawaii Count), Council.
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Sincerely,
Stephanie Donoho
Administrative Director
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