It's about to become harder to find an Airbnb in Honolulu

Last week, the city of Honolulu, Oahu, passed a new law that will reduce the number of Airbnb-type units available for rental. As written in the Honolulu Civil Beat, “the law, Bill 89, grants the city enforcement power over illegal home rentals that officials and residents say have overwhelmed residential neighborhoods with tourists. Unlike the alternative Bill 85, which Caldwell vetoed, the new law allows for about 1,700 hosted bed and breakfast units that are restricted by density, limited to two bedrooms per unit and governed by other rules.”

Tourist areas like Waikiki, Ko Olina and Turtle Bay will be exempt, but other parts of the hugely popular Hawaiian capital will see thousands of rental units disappear from the market. Starting August 1, it will be illegal to advertise a rental (including on Airbnb or HomeAway) without a permit, which only 770 units have. Starting October 1, 2020, up to 1,700 registering rental units will be issued permits that will allow the owners to rent them out. From then on, all other, non-permitted units will still be unable to advertise. As T + L writes, “the bill will not punish travelers who choose to stay in illegal b&bs. It’s aimed at fining owners who advertise illegal rentals.”

What that means as a traveler to Honolulu, then, is that there will be soon be way fewer rentals on Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, and the like. Which means if you want to travel to Honolulu, you’re going to have to book even earlier.

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