Letter: Vacation rentals squeeze out locals

Your Sunday headline, “Vacation rentals gain popularity with visitors” (Star-Advertiser, Jan. 6), needs a corollary: “Where does it leave local residents?”

The article quotes North Shore resident Kathleen Pahinui, who said the proliferation of vacation rentals has left locals in a dire situation. That should be the headline.

People are living on the street because they can’t find housing. Residents are leaving the state because the cost of housing has squeezed them out. Families are doubling and tripling up because there is no place else to go.

One of the main drivers to this dire situation is vacation rentals. Airbnb lies when it says it is helping folks earn extra money to stay in their homes. Many if not most of their rentals are owned by non-residents who are slowly but surely removing available housing from the market for people who live in Hawaii, work in Hawaii, contribute to the community and want to remain here.

Vacation rentals are a cancer and government officials need to face that fact and control them. Are tourists’ preferences more important than the needs of Hawaii’s people? Think about it.

Mollie Foti

Kailua

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