The Kokua Coalition, Supporting Better Regulation for Oahu Vacation Rentals and Bed and Breakfasts.

VACATION RENTAL INDUSTRY
FAQ, FACTS, FIGURES AND LINKS

Click Here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding Vacation Rentals and B&Bs.

The Kauaian Institute Study (see link below)
February 2004 (revised)

“The $100 million segment serves over 300,000 visitors, generates 30% of lodging dollars, and supports 1600 jobs.”
38% of Kauai's repeat visitors stay in vacation rentals. Vacation rental patrons are twice as likely to visit local markets and craft fairs as the average visitor.
From 1990 to 2000, no town lost long-term rentals due to increased short term rentals.
Vacation rentals generate $102 million in revenue, which is 10% of visitor spending on the island.
6% of island jobs are in some way related to the vacation rental industry.
$7.4 million are paid in TAT by vacation rentals, 29% of island payments.
$4.0 million are paid in GET by vacation rentals, 8% of island payments.
84% of Kauai's vacation rental homes are professionally managed by a rental company.
In 2004 vacation rentals were occupied 57% of the time, on average.
Almost half of all new housing has been built for the vacation rental market, and barely 1000 of the 2050 new homes built since 2000 were for owner occupancy.
The estimated $20 million annual revenue generated by vacation homes is comparable to visitor spending on dinner shows.

Hawaii Tourism Authority & DBEDT (see link below)

• Nearly 2,000 Vacation Rentals exist on Oahu, supporting local communities and homeowners, providing local jobs and pumping millions into our economy every month. (see link below)

• 90% of the state's residents agree that visitors and their money are welcome all over the island, not just in resort areas. Over 70% say that Vacation Rentals are not a problem in their community.

• Tourism is perceived to have a positive impact on jobs (80%), resident amenities like shopping (70%) and average resident income (54%). 77% of the state's residents feel tourism brings more benefits than problems.

Additional Facts About Vacation Rentals and B&B's

• Over 150,000 unique people search for the term “Oahu Vacation Rental” and approximately 160,000 unique people search for the term “Waikiki Hotel” on the internet every year (Digital Point). Nearly as many people search for “Oahu Vacation Rental” as “Waikiki Hotel”. This demand is growing.

• Vacation Rentals REDUCE the amount of people in a neighborhood. Vacation Rentals are vacant approximately 40% of the year whereas long term rentals are vacant 5% of the year.

• Vacation Rentals REDUCE the amount of traffic in our communities. The average Oahu resident has 1.2 cars (Department of Transportation) whereas the average tourist has one car for every 3 visitors. Long term renters have nearly 4 times as many cars as Vacation Renters.

• Noise problems in our neighborhoods are NOT a direct result of Vacation Renters. Construction, barking dogs and crowing roosters represent more than 10 times as many complaints as vacation renters. The Department of Planning and Permitting has had less than 30 complaints filed in the last year against vacation rentals. That's less than .3% of all vacation rentals that have had a complaint issued against them.

LINKS:

State Vacation Rental and B&B Count

Kauai Vacation Rental Study ............ Update

Hawaii Vacation Rental Ordinances Summary

2002 Survey of Residents Sentiments on Tourism in Hawaii