Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii vacation rental operators protest proposed ban

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Video by Mark Ladao / mladao@staradvertiser.com
Local vacation rental advocates and small business owners are opposing Honolulu City Council member Ron Menor's two proposals to ban vacation rentals.
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Scott Brazwell of the Oahu Alternative Lodging Association joined local vacation rental advocates and small business owners at a news conference on Thursday to oppose Councilman Ron Menor's proposals to ban vacation rentals.
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Mary Lavoie, left, joined local vacation rental advocates and small business owners at a news conference on Thursday. Vacation rental operators are warning Honolulu City Council members that two bills they are considering could not only put them out of business, but trigger a severe blow to Oahu’s tourism industry.
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Bret James, left, Bill Page, Huong Hoang and Mary Lavoie joined local vacation rental advocates and small business owners at a news conference on Thursday.
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The vacation rental operators and advocates that showed up on Thursday were split between removing just whole-home rental units, or transient vacation units, and keeping “hosted” units that the owners occupy, while others wanted both to be allowed.
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They said they would support legislation that would weed out non-local vacation rental units operated by non-local platforms such as AirBnB, VRBO and HomeAway. Some believe that the industry will continue regardless, and locals should at least be “part of the action.”
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Alorah Kwok of Hawaiian Villa Rentals spoke to local vacation rental advocates and small business owners at a news conference on Thursday.
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Terry Lodge of IRC Hawaii spoke to local vacation rental advocates and small business owners at a news conference on Thursday. There are between 6,000 and 8,000 illegal vacation units on Oahu and only 816 legal ones, according to the Department of Planning and Permitting.