Hawaii County Council approves registration requirement for short-term vacation rentals

HILO — The Hawaii County Council voted 8-1 on June 4 to pass Bill 47, a county ordinance requiring most short-term vacation rentals (TBRs) and their hosting platforms to register with the county and comply with reporting and enforcement rules.

Supporters said the registration will give county officials data and enforcement tools they lack now and help address neighborhood impacts, while opponents warned the rules could harm small, home-based hosts and urged the council to wait for an economic study.

Bill 47 requires registration of most short-term rentals and gives county staff the authority to cancel registrations when properties are operating illegally. The ordinance sets a maximum civil penalty (with a required warning/cure period for two categories of platform violations), and the council amended the measure to (1) give platforms a 10-day cure period for a failure to register or to provide required monthly reports before fines escalate, and (2) extend the ordinance—s implementation window from 90 to 180 days to allow the Finance Department time to build the registration infrastructure.

Why it matters: County officials said they cannot track the scale and location of short-term rentals with the current rules. Proponents argued registration will provide reliable counts and reporting, which they said are necessary to enforce existing land-use rules and focus policy responses.

Who spoke: Dozens of residents and rental owners testified during the meeting. Opponents framed the bill as a threat to small homeowners who rely on hosted rentals for income. Linda Alritter, who identified herself as a kupuna and owner of an operating TBR in North Kohala, told the council: “The financial burden you are trying to force upon us is so stressful when we are only trying to survive here in Hawai'i.” Several other Hilo- and Kona-area hosts urged the council to wait for a county-commissioned economic impact study before finalizing new regulation.

Industry and platform comments: Expedia Group asked the council to adopt a narrowly targeted amendment that would treat delisting as a remedy when platforms repeatedly or intentionally fail to delist noncompliant listings. Mackenzie Chase of Expedia asked the council to accept a technical amendment clarifying when and how platforms are required to delist a unit after the county identifies a noncompliant listing; the council adopted a cure-period amendment addressing related enforcement timing.

Council reaction and outcome: Council Member Heather Kimball, lead sponsor of the ordinance, said the registration step is the first of several actions needed to give county staff reliable data and enforcement tools. The council adopted two sponsor amendments (10-day cure period for platform failures and a 180-day implementation timeframe) before taking final action.

Formal action: The council approved Bill 47 on second and final reading. The motion to pass Bill 47 (as amended) carried 8-1; the clerk recorded eight yes votes and one no vote. The ordinance will take effect after the listed administrative steps and the 180-day implementation window.

What's next: County staff will use the 180-day implementation window to build the registration system and provide outreach to hosts and platforms. The long-awaited economic study promised to inform future changes is expected to be circulated to council members for review and to guide potential follow-up legislation.

Sources: Hawaii County Council meeting transcript, June 4, 2025; public testimony and staff remarks included in the council record.