Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The Star-Advertiser’s lead article, “Lodging boom” (Nov. 6) gives us a one-sided, hugely favorable view of the current hotel construction boom. The article bemoans the lost hotel inventory over the past 20 years. But shouldn’t we see fewer hotel rooms as a positive development — especially for our local residents, who suffer in numerous ways from overtourism?
It is clear that the 10 million-plus visitors who arrive in our islands each year are far too many for us to sustain. There is praise for high-rise buildings being converted into new hotels. But shouldn’t we demand their conversion into affordable housing for local residents?
Today’s hotel inventory is vastly overbuilt. In retrospect, a building moratorium on new hotels should have been imposed decades ago. Given the rising local resentment of the tourism industry, we still can do it.
Noel Kent
Manoa
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), 529-4750 (fax), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter