Vacation rental operators are warning the Honolulu City Council that two bills it is considering could not only put them out of business, but deliver a severe blow to Oahu’s tourism industry.

The Council Zoning, Planning and Housing Committee is taking up two measures, Bill 85 (2018) and Bill 89 (2018), at its 10 a.m. meeting today at Honolulu Hale.

About 15 vacation rental supporters Thursday showed up at Honolulu Hale arguing that the bills would hurt the local economy.

Scott Brazwell of the Oahu Alternative Lodging Association argued the bills would set the city back 50,000 to 80,000 visitors per month, $1 billion per year and 7,000 jobs, citing numbers from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

“We support updating regulations, but Councilman (Ron) Menor’s versions of 85 and 89 are not the answer,” he said.

Some business owners already are feeling the effect of people leaving the industry.

Terry Lodge, CEO of IRC Hawaii, said clients who were hosting their homes decided to leave, forcing him to lay off staff.

“If we continue to lose businesses like mine and others that are here, that means we won’t be able to invest in the community we have,” he said. “We won’t be able to shop locally, we won’t be able to eat at some of the restaurants and alternatively everybody suffers.”

DBEDT showed that about 44,000 visitors rent out entire homes, or transient vacation units (TVUs), every month, while about 18,000 share a room in someone’s home.

The supporters were split between removing whole-home rental units while keeping “hosted” units that the homeowners occupy, and allowing both types to be allowed.

However, some said they would support legislation to weed out nonlocal vacation rental units operated by platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway.

Mary LaVoie-Olson, a Realtor, said she believes the industry will continue regardless, and locals should at least be “part of the action.”

“I support them embracing the travel trend that’s here,” she said. “They already let the genie out of the bottle. … You can’t stop commerce.”

Bill 89 would allow for 1,715 new permits for hosted short-term rental units, which are rented for less than 30 days, and prohibit homeowners from renting out TVUs.

Bill 85 would establish fines of at least $25,000 per day for operating or advertising illegal rental units and would allow neighbors to file a civil lawsuit against those running them.

Proponents of the bills argue that the current regulations for vacation rentals exacerbate the city’s housing shortage, increase housing costs and disrupt neighborhoods where those rentals operate.

There are 6,000 to 8,000 illegal vacation rental units on Oahu and only 816 legal ones, according to the Department of Planning and Permitting.