HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0739.402 2016-2018 Murashige, Laura
From: HLTA <jhigashi@hawaiilodging.org>
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2018 6:18 PM.
To: Council Testimony
Cc: mhannemann@hawaiilodging.org;jhigashi@hawaiilodging.org
Subject: HLTA: County Council testimony for bill 108. 11/20/2018
Attachments: image002 jpg;ATT00001.htm; HLTA Testimony_Bill 108_11.20.18_County Council.pdf;
ATT00002.htm
Testimony of the Hawai'i Lodging&Tourism Association
Name: Mufi Hannemann
Title: President& CEO
Hearing: Hawai`i County Council (Full Council),November 20, 2018
a (`
Agenda Item: Bill 108 (Draft 6) ca
=c)
Position: Support
• c (
Testimony: Attached ▪ _
▪ __
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Mahalo!
Best,
Jared
Comm. No: 1`� I.42.
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date NOV 21 2018
r."rtw"
"«te:'`•'.'.e , /b '" r..�
.q
• � �'� : :: °r ' �j.r� . yy''„ r �• r
..a„ y•, ""t`*.7x„ $iV •: • itNiy , ' ,,,, ,, �1� ,r ` �t
LW cx.
_- "v,st�/Z 'S'', � `�J{�Av ' b „,M'•
��"•:„�q f� ,f't ' X".sa•�• :": £l.,i�, ���TFi5�^ r.am� ' " '"a ,� 'ir :` � • �• ;a�. �' ,s;�, �<r3:•H ; ; t. y( ... • ,
. ..
II.GG
�'=k= C .,;q," ,r'�J'Fi�x��„ f'.t...,.N's:.i.7 !.,» t� ar ',.'::‘ ,17
. j
t' ,17 I" iiii £
{ .','r -ak er;,;A ha''':':�a 3'% "�'i _ ••car yx. _,:� .. ; t>a., kr �% ,,�,,,.
< 1 F�=_:, , x"Y,/.."]', t,, ',`MJF
,
•
•
1 sr., r w '...:,• ,�.,s' i,. ,. s. { '-=t,. ,i{{"� "!,£m' A.,n`' i',Y .. ''''-',:::::,:::::1
,.t.�t
I ff� ;,'k3:E.,iPs, 'o-' " .a ^,l, ,�,�, ,; m'" L c '•'"�" '.fit' >s�:ai
irp*:;A ' ;€:."4 '€4 , ,'''' , -, 0 . .:.: r„:„.. .. lifi ,,,,,,,,*- , , : , i 1 : i4,,,, „i ' , =,'• :- • --% .,**,*-AA',„-•",
)t ,� ,.fel, If 1•' 7$ i S 4'i,, 1 '�','i•.j
%; y �,InNf '",�i "" �'.Y.".%i Si.? 'F �'J !�'r< rr ��' 1'i 1 •
�.
< f
•
• 'r 1 !
y E '. &W ?..•••••.;•-.,';,•'-'. 7 " .:,s — '`'. • E .._t;.� E._.+ _ '4,,,,' f` __ �r i! ;
I` i`i'x .�� a , .P',a�, �;'i__
s',r <'y'. �',tII1Y
.,LY, ," <Mnd" `A. '.
• IG,k'I$; s�:,''F.'`zFv y„ ; r":a:.�`w`'" �•
', ,' A�`rw„ ,,� ., `,„„ ,-••t
; 'v • ;k, • • t
F�'.,1.`:.'Kr ,w'' ay '%icy'. x,%`� i. }” ,fr>.t �a:'N>� _; s ;,'}.p .2 .:,4,?kpl.;:
a •
,i,,,ati0,,••••!;;;01--4•„.,4•0,' ::;r„'b,, , '"Sv y}�•,.k'. • ,z ! • •�` '''',;']!;!e,',, }' :i-t:i
;*; ,tea
xi.
, ..� pG„' s , sus.. :..r �'>
, .'r,,,t1�tE;
HAWAII LODGING ' U ISM
ASSOCIATION
Testimony of
Mufi Hannemann
President&CEO
Hawai`i Lodging &Tourism Association
County ofHawai`i
County Council
November 20, 2018
Bill 108 (Draft 6)–Relating to Short Term Vacation Rentals
Chair Poindexter and members of the Hawaii County Council, mahalo for the opportunity to
offer this testimony on behalf of the Hawai`i Lodging &Tourism Association.
The Hawai`i Lodging &Tourism Association—nearly 700 members strong, of which 170 are
lodging properties accounting for over 50,000 rooms and representing nearly 40,000 workers—supports
Bill 108. One of the major advocacy priorities of the Hawai`i Lodging &Tourism Association is to
create parity between the short term online rental market and traditional visitor industry
accommodations.
It is the goal of the hospitality industry, which we represent,to ensure a level playing field for all
visitor accommodations, from the traditional hospitality businesses to the alternative accommodations
offered online. There are an estimated 25,000 alternative accommodations in the Hawaiian Islands
competing with hotels, resorts, timeshares, and bed-and-breakfasts, except that the majority of them are
most likely avoiding proper tax registrations, county zoning laws, and are skirting our 10.25 percent
Transient Accommodations Tax, and our General Excise Tax.
Through Bill 108 (Draft 6) we are glad to see that the Hawai`i County is being proactive in
addressing the many concerns from the visitor industry and community at large. In the wake of the
State's inability to agree on a measure in the past three legislative sessions, we applaud the counties for
moving forward.
In regards to the issue of transient vacation rentals the goal of the HLTA is to address the points
of transparency, registration, accountability, and enforcement. We commend the County Council and
planning commissions for addressing these concerns through the likes of registration forms that require
verification of both State GET and TAT licenses, listing an on-island contact for each vacation rental,
requiring print and internet advertisements to include posting registration or non-conforming use
certificate numbers, require site plans to be submitted to the Department of Planning, and having TVRs
adhere to a"good neighbor"policy. Following recent disasters that befell the Pahoa region on Hawai`i
Island and the floods that occurred in northern Kaua`i,we see the importance of having an inventory of
vacation rentals in all neighborhoods, and in turn having local contacts for each unit that our state's
Havvti'i:Lodging&":i:"ourism Association
2270 Kalakaua Avenue,Suite 1702,t'lonoluiu,IraWai'i 96815 •Phone:(808)923-0407• Fax:(808)924-3843
i� im <r s is g r
31110)�(!?llLl41'tlt;it)l{�il1A;,t)I�S,,,'�j'ti�'Yl,IliP�tialllt)tl�lll�,.(),��
visitors could potentially be at.
In the City&County of Honolulu they are looking to mold a very comprehensive TVR measure
which will address limiting the TVR inventory as we enforce those that are not in compliance. We
believe the current measure, Bill 108, is a positive step in the right direction. We commend the County
Council, the Planning Department, and Commissions, and the Mayor's Administration for all the
deliberations that have ensued over this issue. We look forward to using this as a foundation to
addressing the concerns of the visitor industry and the community.
Mahalo.
Page 1 of 1
Jared Higashi
Director of Government& Community Affairs
Hawai'i Lodging &Tourism Association
2270 Kalakaua Avenue, Suite 1702
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 923-0407
www.hawaiilodging.orq
@hawaiilodging#HLTA
Education I Advocacy I Philanthropy
file:11/C:/Users/lmurashige.HAWAIICOUNTY/AppDatalLocal/MicrOsoft/WindOwS/Tem... 11/21/2018