Hawaii moves to crack down on campsite rentals on Airbnb
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A tent sits on Waimanalo Beach, one of the state’s world-class beaches, in Waimanalo, Hawaii today. A bill is being considered by Hawaii lawmakers this session to crack down on a growing market in the state: vacation rental brokers who offer up tents to tourists on the island’s beaches and public parks.
Hawaii lawmakers are taking aim at a burgeoning vacation rental market: online brokers offering up tents to tourists on the islands’ world-class beaches and public parks.
The state Senate passed legislation today cracking down on a growing trend of campsites advertised as vacation rentals on online lodging services such as Airbnb. The websites allow people to list and book private housing, and some are touting luxury campsites with comfy pillows, mattresses and access to paradise for $40 to $100 a night.
With tag lines promising “Luxury Glamping in Paradise!” or a way to “See Maui on a Budget,” the ads feature campsites in state parks, in backyards or on beaches that are not necessarily legal. The popularity of “glamping,” or glamorous camping, has grown as more people seek luxury amenities in the outdoors.
Pitching a tent on a beach that does not allow camping is illegal, and Honolulu bans reserving a space in a county park and then reselling the camping permit.
“Some of these campsites are not campsites. They’re just beach areas,” said state Sen. Laura Thielen, whose district on Oahu is featured in some of the ads. “The challenge is: How do you crack down on that?”
The bill makes it harder for online lodging services to list campsites by requiring them to verify that the listings are legal before they are posted. It now goes back to the state House of Representatives.
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The popularity of short-term tent rentals is not limited to Hawaii, and adventurous travelers can book tents online near San Francisco or Seattle for as little as $30 a night. Officials in other areas, like New York, have taken aim at illegal short-term rentals, but Hawaii’s emphasis on campsites appears to be unique.
Listings that offer camping on Hawaii’s public lands violate the standards and expectations that Airbnb has for hosts in Hawaii, Cynthia Wang, the company’s public policy manager, said in an emailed statement.
Online ads that violate the service’s terms and conditions can be flagged for violations and removed, but the person placing the ad sometimes advertises the property again under a different name.
“It’s really hard to shut them down because they can pop back up again with something new,” Thielen said.
Some fear short-term campsite rentals also are chipping away at local residents’ ability to take their own inexpensive camping trips with their families.
“It’s for the local people to enjoy with their families, not to be retailed out and resold,” said state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim.
15 responses to “Hawaii moves to crack down on campsite rentals on Airbnb”
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This is just ridiculous. Whoever’s pulling these scams should be given the chance to sublease their bunk in their cell at Halawa.
The probably could for $200 a night.
It’s also an opportunity for you to charge admission for the use of your bathroom-toilet, say, for $10.00 per ten (10) minutes per visit (“T.P” additional charge)… (also, consider surcharges for “hand-soap”, paper towels, etc.)
I must say. Creative!
Even better than the guys selling bottled water and tshirts atop diamond head. LOL.
If you want to stop it, then DO IT. So sick of our incompetent state.
I’m going to start renting out my parked car as a glamorous rental space. A great way to be a part of the city in a safe environment.
So you mean all those people sleeping on the beach aren’t homeless, just tourists.
And so the legislature passes tax legislation allowing booking sites to have an easier time circumventing our laws. Of course. Makes total sense.
I watched Senate floor debate on legislation to correct this problem and was impressed with Senators Laura Thielen, Donna Mercado Kim and others who were extremely well-informed and spoke with great passion about the displacement of local families from public beaches. Tourism is the main economic engine in Hawaii, but it comes at great cost, overwhelming local residents. I, for one, appreciate our legislators on this issue.
i going start renting sidewalk camping on airbnb. i going make some big$$$
It’s also a sign of the times, people need to make money to pay for the high price of living in this world….ie supporting the 1%.
More cheap vacations for the poor who can subsist on less expensive accommodations and food, just cost of round-trip airfares.
“SANITATION”? If it’s O.K. for Tourists to campout on beaches, etc.; why can’t THE HOMELESS do the same? Moreover, how do you distinguish who is a “Tourist” and who are THE HOMELESS? I imagine that “MOOFIOSO” promoted this idea in his capacity as the anointed CEO of the Hawaiʻi Lodging & Tourism Association.
““It’s for the local people to enjoy with their families, not to be retailed out and resold,” said state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim” With the STATE, City and County outlawing any “Trespassing(?)” on Government controlled/owned lands how can “local people” “enjoy”? I am grateful that I lived and experienced Hawaii before all the “Bureaucracies”; and very sad that my Grandchildren will never know what those FREEDOMS were like…
They’re “protecting” the beach LoL