Off the News: High interest in vacation rentals

There are two takeaways from the March tourism tally showing higher occupancy rates in the vacation-rental niche over the hotel category. One is that the growing interest in the nontraditional vacation experience is not likely to abate, so accommodating it will be the only rational policy.

But the other is that interest could outpace neighborhoods’ capacity, very quickly. And that means, on Oahu at least, the process of implementing rules to limit the count of legal rentals must move on pace.

City tackles its carbon footprint

Given recent news of solar energy projects, private and utility-scale, it’s surprising to learn that Honolulu’s carbon footprint has been getting bigger, not smaller, each year.

But with that data from an annual sustainability report, it’s good to see the city’s newly aggressive stance. The Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency is focusing on top zones for improvement — energy, ground transportation and waste. Not much smokestack emission here to compound the problem, at least.