Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Hotel Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee converts proposed state hotel bill into $150,000 study after mixed testimony
Summary
Lawmakers moved House Bill 446 into a study with a recommended $150,000 appropriation after testimony highlighted concerns about unfair competition, cost, and alternatives such as industry-wide sustainability programs and visitor welcome centers.
The House Committee on Tourism on Jan. 28, 2025, amended House Bill 446 to require a study rather than immediate planning or construction of a state-owned hotel, and recommended a $150,000 appropriation for that study.
HB 446 would have required the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Travel Industry Management to collaborate on design, construction and operations of a state hotel, and would have required reports to the Legislature and an appropriation. Committee testimony raised questions about cost, market effects and whether the state should directly operate lodging.
Dan Spencer, director of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Travel Industry Management, testified that the school's faculty was "unanimously opposed" to the idea of a state hotel and to planning for one. Spencer said the proposal risked being perceived as "unfair competition by the lodging sector of the State's travel industry" and argued that state funds would better address priorities such as homelessness, traffic congestion and shoreline erosion. He also suggested alternatives, including statewide sustainability certification programs and visitor welcome centers.
Deputy Attorney General Candace Park told the committee she recommended identifying the bill as a law of statewide concern under Article X, Section 6 of the state constitution. The Hawaii Tourism Authority also submitted comments and made staff available to answer questions. Angela Melody Young, testifying for Roy Cares, proposed that the bill include a stakeholder advisory board if the partnership moves forward.
After hearing testimony, the chair said the committee would amend HB 446 into a study to address concerns about resources, staffing and feasibility, and would consider whether construction or purchase of an existing property would be more feasible. The committee's report will note the recommended $150,000 appropriation for the study. The motion to pass the bill as amended was adopted by the committee.
The committee did not adopt any immediate plan for construction or state operation of a hotel; the next step is the study the committee ordered.
