Column: Who really benefits from illegal vacation rentals?

30,139. That’s the number of short-term vacation rentals currently in operation in Hawaii, according to the most recent report issued by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). That figure includes roughly 10,000 vacation rentals on Oahu and Maui each, thousands of which operate in violation of the law.

There are, no doubt, some local residents who occasionally rent out an empty bedroom to pay their bills. However, the data is extremely clear: these “mom and pop” operations are not what is driving the startling proliferation of vacation rentals.

The HTA report reveals that of the 30,139 total listings across the state, only 2,741 are for shared rooms or private rooms. The other 27,000-plus listings are for entire homes. These are not your bed-and-breakfast style home-sharing gigs. They are illicit hotels, owned and operated by wealthy investors and corporations, the majority of whom don’t even live in the state.

Research by the data analytics firm Inside Airbnb further drives home this point. Inside Airbnb found that approximately 75 percent of Airbnb hosts across the state operate multiple units. Some “hosts” operate dozens, or even hundreds of units; a quick glance at the list of Hawaii’s “top hosts” reveals exactly who is running the state’s illegal vacation rentals and the nature of their operations.

“Red Awning,” a California-based company, has 224 Airbnb listings on Maui, and advertises its “hotel-like services.” “Evolve Vacation Rental,” a Colorado-based company, has 150 listings across all four counties, and boasts that it has helped make investors across North America more than $350 million in rental income “from their second homes.”

That eye-popping $350 million figure is not exaggerated. Local estimates suggest that the average Airbnb unit brings in more than three times as much revenue as a long-term rental, and, with the lowest property taxes in the nation, Hawaii is an ideal location for investors looking to get in on the vacation rental cash cow. That isn’t going to change anytime soon. In the absence of regulation, the number of homes taken off the long-term housing market for use as vacation rentals will continue to skyrocket.

This is an urgent reality, because proliferation is reaching a breaking point. In Haleiwa and Kahuku, 1 in every 4 housing units is used as a vacation rental. Let that sink in. The situation is even more dire in Lahaina, where 1 in 3 homes has been converted into a vacation rental; in Koloa, the figure is 4 in 10. Neighborhoods will soon become unrecognizable. Some already are.

The costs associated with this sort of vacation rental takeover are well-documented and weighty. Multiple studies confirm that vacation rental expansion drives up the cost of housing. In some destination cities, Airbnb alone may be responsible for annual rent increases of hundreds of dollars. This is only logical: as investors snap up more and more housing, less and less is available for long-term residents. This dynamic is particularly relevant in Hawaii, where the affordable housing crisis has reached unprecedented proportions. The last thing we need is more expensive housing.

It may be appropriate to issue a limited number of new bed-and-breakfast permits to residents who really are just trying to get by. Nevertheless, the fundamental question posed by vacation rentals is this: Will we prioritize investors’ ability to wring profits out of their second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) homes, or will we preserve our neighborhoods for the benefit of those who actually live in them? The choice is ours.

Isaiah Feldman-Schwartz is a legal analyst at the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice.