Maui Vacation Rental Association releases public opinion survey on short-term rentals

A vacation rental advocacy group has released a statewide poll it says shows that Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed ban on short-term rentals is “unpopular” with most Hawai‘i registered voters.

The online survey conducted May 23-26 by SMS Research & Marketing Services on behalf of the Maui Vacation Rental Association polled 500 registered voters in the state, including 57, or 11.4%, in Maui County.

The survey questions were broad. The survey did not ask respondents, specifically, about Bissen’s proposed bill to phase out approximately 7,000 of 13,000 vacation rentals located in apartment-zoned districts meant for residential use.

The most direct question about vacation rentals was titled “Policy Preference for STRs.” The question asked: “Residents have different viewpoints about government policies regarding short-term rentals. Some people believe all short-term rentals should be banned, some people support legal short-term rentals and believe illegal rentals should be banned, and others feel there should be no restrictions at all on these types of properties. Which of these come closest to your view on policies towards short-term rentals?”

Most respondents, 73%, said they “support legal short-term rentals and believe illegal rentals should be banned.” Ten percent of respondents said they believe all short-term rentals should be banned, and 10% said they oppose restrictions on them. Six percent said they didn’t know.

When Maui Now asked about the survey’s broad questions and how they don’t address Bissen’s proposal, specifically, MVRA Executive Director Caitlin Miller said: “Because each county has its unique set of zoning laws, the goal of this poll was to gauge whether voters support banning existing, legal short-term rentals, such as the units on the Minatoya List in Maui. The results couldn’t be clearer — voters are resoundingly against banning legal short-term rentals.”

“The Minatoya List units have been legal for decades,” she said. “They’ve been protected under the County’s own legal advice, codified as such under the zoning ordinances, and owners have always paid taxes as legal short-term rentals. Mayor Bissen’s bill now aims to change the rules and ban these legal short-term rentals — and that is clearly unpopular.”

On Thursday afternoon, County of Maui spokesperson Laksmi Abraham said: “While we welcome all feedback, Maui Vacation Rental Association’s poll citing 57 Maui respondents does not represent the sentiment of Maui Nui as a whole. Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi Planning commission members heard their communities and recently voted to advance the proposal to phase out specific transient vacation rentals in apartment districts. As the proposal moves to Council, we look forward to diverse testimonies and studies that reflect what’s best for all Maui County residents and the future of our community.”

The phase-out bill has been recommended for approval by the Maui and Molokaʻi planning commissions, with no position taken by the Lānaʻi Planning Commission. The measure now advances to the Maui County Council for final review.

It’s not known when economic impact studies and planning commission reports and minutes will be completed before the bill comes before the Council for its review.

According to the MVRA, regulation of short-term rentals is “not among the issues that Hawaiʻi voters consider most pressing.”

For a question titled “Magnitude of County issues,” the survey asked: “Residents have expressed concerns about various problems in Hawai‘i. How much of a problem, if at all, do you think each of the following is on (your island)? Would you say a big problem, a moderate problem, a small problem, or not at all?”

For each “magnitude of county issues” question, the breakdown was:

• Cost of living: 75%, a big problem; 18%, a moderate problem; 6%, a small problem; and 1%, none.
• Homelessness: 67%, a big problem; 23%, a moderate problem; 6%, a small problem; and 4%, none.
• Political corruption: 34%, a big problem; 36%, a moderate problem; 20%, a small problem; and 10%, either none or don’t know.
• Short-term rentals: 28%, a big problem; 32%, a moderate problem; 26%, a small problem; and 13%, either none or don’t know.

A frequently cited reason for not restricting vacation rentals has been the impact on government revenue. A study commissioned and released in June by the Travel Technology Association forecast that, following Maui’s proposed ban on short-term rentals in apartment districts, Maui County would lose $53 million to $91.8 million in annual real property, transient accommodations and general excise taxes.

The MVRA-commissioned poll asked: “Drops in visitors to Hawai‘i have put pressure on State and County government finances in the past. Would you say that you are very concerned, somewhat concerned, not that concerned, or not at all concerned about State and County governments’ current ability to fund services and programs?”

The responses were: 56% “somewhat concerned,” 21% “very concerned,” 14% “not that concerned,” 5% “not concerned at all,” and 3% “don’t know.”

The poll also gauged statewide support for short-term rentals, asking: “Generally speaking, do you support or oppose allowing property owners to rent out their housing units as short-term rentals?”

Forty-two percent of respondents said they “somewhat support” short-term rentals. Another 28% “somewhat oppose” them, followed by 18% “strongly support” and 12% “strongly oppose” them.

When 302 respondents were asked why they support vacation rentals, they could give multiple reasons: 56% said “it’s their property to do as they wish”; 54% said “they provide lower-cost alternatives to hotels”; 51% said “can keep money in hands of locals”; 37% said “more/better selection of accommodations”; 32% said “generates tax revenue for the state”; 26% said “produces jobs for locals”; and 2% said “other reasons.”

In a news release statement, Miller said: “By phasing out existing, legal short-term rentals as Mayor Bissen seeks to do, leaders in Maui and Hawaiʻi are gambling both their political careers and the economic well-being of their communities. The poll confirms that the overwhelming majority of Hawaiʻi voters don’t support overly restrictive short-term rental policies, while numerous studies illustrate how such policies jeopardize billions in economic activity and tens of millions in tax revenue. Since counties can’t legally mandate short-term rentals be converted to long-term housing, it’s shocking to watch local leaders pursue risky, unpopular policy proposals without any guarantee that they will address housing concerns.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a version posted earlier.