HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.175 2016-2018From:
To:
Mark McElrea
Council Testimony
Subject:
RE: Bill 108
Date:
Thursday, June 14, 2018 3:05:32 PM
Dear Committee on Planning Hawaii County,
i would like to share my story hosting an Airbnb and let you know that we are all not greedy
off -islanders making money at the harm of the public. I host a unit that is below my dwelling
place. It is downstairs in the same building. It is fully coded but has it's own entrance. The
income I make from the unit offsets my monthly bills and makes it possible for me to live on
the Big Island. I'm retired. I,chose to make my place a vacation home for several reasons. one
is I like meeting people and this has allowed me to that opportunity. The second and most
important reason is several months of the year the unit is occupied by my aging parents or my
own child and her family. A permanent resident would take this away from me and force me
to have somebody occupying my extra unit full time, or I would be forced into economic
hardship for the benefit of a non -family member. An Airbnb is the perfect solution for me. I
firmly believe that most Airbnb hosts would use an agency if that was the only way to keep
our way of life and the extra expense could jeopardize that choice. I hope you do not succumb
to an easy out to make the state's revenue shortfall up by attacking a very small segment of the
population, a segment that has been vilified with very little input and substance to back up
many outrageous claims. Mahalo-Mark McElrea
Regards,
Mark McElrea
Kailua-kona, HI 96740
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