Vacation rental bans firmly in place on Kauai and the Big Island

The shutdown of vacation rentals on Kauai and Hawaii island remains in effect, despite improvements to flood-damaged areas of the Garden Island and an easing of the lava flow on the Big Island.

The volcanic eruption that began May 3 in Lower Puna on the Big Island may have slowed, but not enough for Hawaii County to lift a May 12 order requiring all vacation rental owners in the area to cease operations.

On Friday the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that “eruptive activity” from fissure 8 at the lower East Rift Zone remained at reduced levels and that seismic activity remained low.

Regardless, the county’s ban on vacation rentals still stood for Leilani Estates to Kapoho, accessible by Highway 132; Kalapana via Highway 137; and Pahoa to Pohoiki, including the Black Sands Beach subdivision, accessible by Highway 130.

Kauai’s emergency rule, which went into effect May 4 after a 2-mile stretch of Kuhio Highway was damaged by severe flooding that swept away homes and roads in April, also continues in Haena, Lumahai and Wainiha. However, some vacation rental operators recently got relief when the county clarified that the order doesn’t prohibit them from renting to displaced residents.

Kelly Wooten, Hawaii County Civil Defense eruption information specialist, said in a statement, “Vacation rentals are still not allowed in restricted areas in lower Puna. This will continue until the areas are no longer restricted.”

Sarah Blane, chief of staff for Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., said Kauai’s emergency rule is intended to keep nonresidents out of restricted areas while highway and other repairs are underway.

Blane said Kauai’s emergency rule runs through Sept. 9 but is anticipated to be extended because the state Department of Transportation has said that it doesn’t expect to complete Kuhio Highway repairs until the end of October.

“It is my intention to continue this emergency rule until the roadwork repairs on Kuhio Highway, from Waikoko to Wainiha, are completed and the highway is deemed safe for normal travel,” Carvalho said in a statement.“I would like to thank everyone for your continued patience and aloha as we work diligently with all partnering agencies in these repairs, while at the same time, always keeping safety as our top priority.”

Airbnb complies with bans

Airbnb, an online vacation rental booking site, said it complied with the orders by blocking host calendars in the affected parts of Hawaii island and Kauai.

“Especially in times of disaster, Airbnb takes welfare and safety of both residents and visitors very seriously,” said Matt Middlebrook, head of public policy for Airbnb Hawaii, in a statement. “That is why we have been actively working with state and county officials on Hawaii island and Kauai to ensure listings abide by the vacation rental moratoriums resulting from the flooding on Kauai and Kilauea volcano eruption.”

Since the bans went into effect, Airbnb said it deactivated booking calendars from some 30 of its hosts on Kauai and 162 on Hawaii island. The company said that’s largely the reason its Hawaii island cancellations hit 20 percent through July. Airbnb could not readily provide updated Kauai cancellations; however, the company had reported earlier that 14 percent of its Kauai bookings were canceled between April 14 and June 18.

While Airbnb has prevented hosts in affected areas from taking bookings during banned dates, a check of other vacation rental platforms indicates that there may be a number of listings in Lower Puna that are still active.

On Kauai, where there is only one way in and out of the restricted zone, a majority of banned owners and operators appear to be complying across all platforms. However, the occasional exception can be found.

“It is our hope that the counties will uniformly enforce their bans to protect resources and infrastructure in the communities impacted by these disasters,” Middlebrook said.

Wooten said the penalty for violating Hawaii island’s vacation rental order is the same as the penalty for being in a restricted area without county permission.

Wooten said Airbnb is the only major vacation rental site that made a commitment to enforcing the ban, but there haven’t been any citations issued regarding rentals in the restricted areas.

Blane said Kauai has investigated reports of vacation rental violators and has issued warnings to operators who were caught violating the ban. If emergency rule violators are found guilty of a misdemeanor, they could face a $5,000 fine or up to a year of imprisonment.

The county also made it easier to enforce the ban this month by requiring car stickers for those residents who need to bypass checkpoints, she said.

“We were getting complaints that paper placards were being stolen or transferred. We’re exchanging paper placards for stickers that go on the windshield,” Blane said.