Airbnb sent me an email and asked me to express my opposition to bill 89 in Oahu, Hawaii. My reply is below.
I don't support bill 89 and I doubt the bill will go anywhere. The biggest problem in my opinion is that Airbnb doesn't work with local governments to enforce laws that require Hosts to be licensed and up to date on TAT & GET taxes. I follow local laws and pay the required taxes on time, but I'm forced to compete with unlicensed hosts that have lower overhead because Airbnb lets anyone with a pulse advertise their vacation rental on their web site. Local governments are developing new laws and establishing huge fines because they have no control over who advertises and rents their property as a short term vacation rental. Because Airbnb won't work with local governments, honest hosts like myself, have to deal with new laws, new fees, etc...…., and I still end up competing with unlicensed hosts. Airbnb is the problem in my opinion. Airbnb seems to only be concerned with their bottom line and doesn't appear to be concerned about hosts that try to operate legally.
I'm about done with the vacation rental business, unless I see some major changes from Airbnb and other online companies immediately.
I'd like to receive a reply letting me know how Airbnb plans to move forward. Getting hosts to fight airbnb's battles with local governments is the wrong approach in my opinion.
