Priced Out Of Paradise

The vacation rental industry has exponentially expanded with the growth of online home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb, Flipkey, and Homeaway. The number of Vacation Rental Units (VRUs) across Hawaii increased by 35 percent between 2015 and 2017, and VRU growth shows no signs of slowing down. While VRUs can increase visitor expenditures, bolster tax revenues, and help locals make ends meet, allowing their unfettered proliferation is ultimately detrimental. VRU-saturated cities across the world have begun to experience reduced affordable housing availability, increased housing costs, resident displacement, and threats to neighborhood quality of life. As a result, many are beginning to regulate VRUs. This report looks at key cities throughout the United States and identifies important VRU ordinances. From this data, the report offers recommendations on how to implement effective VRU ordinances.