Vacation Rentals in Hawaii

[TA Dina]

As many of you know I was in Hawaii the last few weeks doing some training and hotel inspections. While I was there I found out some interesting news that I think might be relevant to share here.

There has been an ongoing battle over vacation rentals on all of the islands for quite a while. The neighborhoods are very upset over having homes on their streets or condos in their buildings rented on a weekly basis. It's obviously not stopped the rentals from happening however the fight is definately escalating. There are some homes that were grandfathered in years ago and are allowed to continue renting. Most however, are illegal rentals. And the neighbors are p*ssed!!

There are alot of homes/condos for rent all over the internet right now. And some are a good value. However you MUST be careful about who you're renting from. I've heard horror stories about owners who list their properties with several different mgmt companies resulting in double/triple bookings. People show up to check in only to find another group in their unit.

I've seen neighbors call the police and literally chase tourists from their streets. We had the police actually force us to leave one neighborhood and we were only touring homes that rent legitimately. They heard we were travel agents and didn't even want us on their street.

And if you do find a company that rents something to you, read the fine print carefully. The one company I work with has a VERY strict contract. NO visitors to your unit without approval. NO parties. NO locals visiting. So basically meaning if you're there and your family is at the resort down the road....NO they cannot come to your place for a family dinner one night. The legit mgmt companies will have the contact info of the neighbors so if something goes wrong, the neighbors will call them, and they will show up at your door, and they will evict you on the spot. Or charge your cc an enormous fee for breaking the contract rules.

I know it sounds extreme but it is happening and it's happening on all the islands. So I thought it was worth sharing as it could save you some headaches as well as alot of money in the end.

Be careful!

[roo66]

Thanks for that im sure the info you have provided will be very useful to those of us that are planning an hawaiian wedding.Its not as simple as it first looked but thats ok forwarned is to be forarmed .once again thanks

[Sandra E.]

Thank you Dina! I can't believe all of this is going on!

[Alyssa]

Wow that is scary! I am glad I am not staying at any condos or homes - that would be so stressful!

[Jtds2713]

Thank you TA Dina! I have heard this happening too. Thanks for the heads up. This could really ruin a vacation, or in our case, our honeymoon, so we appreciate the word of caution!

Jess