LIHU‘E — In just over a year, illegal vacation rentals on Kaua‘i have gone from about 1,500 in 2017 to less than 50, officials reported last week.
And that’s due to two partnerships with Expedia Group and Airbnb that put illegal operations on notice in August 2020, not allowing operators to upload their rentals without proper tax-map identification.
“Our successful collaboration with Expedia Group highlights what can be done when we work together to protect our community while welcoming responsible vacation owners and their guests,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said Thursday.
The June 2020 partnership between the county and Expedia, which owns Vrbo, was the first of its kind in the state, and helped the county track and regulate vacation rentals while allowing property owners in compliance to continue to operate.
“I’m proud of county staff who’ve worked tirelessly to implement an effective and efficient enforcement program,” Planning Director Kaʻaina Hull said in a release. “Our partnership with Mayor Kawakami and the team at Expedia Group has drastically curtailed illegal rentals without draining valuable county resources.”
Besides the requirement of including TMK identification, the agreements require Expedia Group and Airbnb to provide monthly reports of all properties on its sites and remove listings that county staff identify as illegal.
According to county Public Information Officer Kim Tamaoka, illegal vacation-rental operations outside of the Vacation Destination Area have a negative impact in residential and rural neighborhoods not designed for transient accommodations and uses.
These impacts include but are not limited to increases in traffic volumes, noise nuisances during evening and early morning hours, increased strains on public services and infrastructure, and further erosion of neighborhood character and environment, she said.
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Laurel Smith, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0424 or lsmith@thegardenisland.com.
