Industry News Archives - Turno

Reopen Oahu’s vacation rentals for responsible tourism

Assaf Karmon — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 03:01:43 +0000

As a Hawaii based company we are compelled to speak up against unfair treatment of lawful vacation rentals. This is a letter we published on the Staradvertiser today

While the rest of Hawaii thoughtfully reopens, Oahu’s leadership plays favorites by keeping permitted vacation rentals closed.

Vacation rentals are more essential than ever in restarting economic activity and keeping residents safe as we reopen. They are the only accommoda- tion that enables true social distancing, and travelers seek this option for exactly that.

But as the CEO of Honolulu’s Turno, a cleaning tech and jobs platform, I am disappointed to see a vital community left out of this conversation: cleaners and property caretakers.

Vacation rentals are safer places to work, as employees can stay isolated. They can keep and maintain their own supplies, versus sharing them with a large staff. They can wait much longer to clean after checkout, compared to hotel rooms’ fast turnover.

It’s time to do the right thing like our neighbor islands and allow permitted vacation rentals to reopen.

Assaf Karmon

Downtown Honolulu

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City and County of Honolulu Considers Banning Most Vacation Rentals in Bill 89 and Bill 85

Assaf Karmon — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 02:08:12 +0000

While Turno is a global platform helping hosts on over 50 countries and in every US state, we are based in Honolulu, HI and we care deeply about our own community. Today we went before the planning committee to register our opposition to bill 89 and 85 that would wipe out all entire-home listings outside Waikiki and only allow a handful of “Hosted” listings in each neighborhood.

What’s in the bill?

You can read the whole bill here 031819 Commmittee on Planning Special Meeting Agenda

The highlights:

Only hosted listings, no second homes or investment properties. This mean the owner need to be living in the property to list parts of it.
Of those hosted listing, their number can not be over 1% of the housing stock, this is really low considering that some communities that are de facto resort areas, like the north shore, have a heavy concentration of vacation rentals hosted or otherwise. This also means that those hosts who want to continue sharing their home will have to compete in an arbitrary process to obtain a ‘golden ticket’ that would allow them to host. With a low cap on the number units many will be left out.
The county can levy draconian fines simply for displaying a listing on airbnb or other sites. These fines can reach $100,000 PER DAY and result in seizure of property is some of the bill versions. This is absolutely insane and probably not constitutional, this means the city will be able to seize your property with just a screenshot with no due process.

Why is this bill so bad?

It will reduce the number of vacation rentals dramatically. Since hotels in Hawaii are at full capacity this absolutely means fewer visitors spending less money on everything from shave-ice to luau tickets. Those who own businesses know that the difference between profit and loss depends on a few percentage in the bottom line, is some areas like the windward side and the north shore this means many will go out of business.
Jobs, Jobs , Jobs. According to a high quality study, more than 7,000 jobs are directly supported by the the almost $1.2 Billion generated by Airbnb/HomeAway guests visiting Oahu. If vacation rentals were one employer it would be the second largest employer in the state after the department of education and before Queens medical center. The city is essentially proposing to eliminate 7,000 jobs.
It won’t do any good while devastating the economy. One of the reasons cited by the bill proponents is the high cost of rent on the island. Rents will not go down due to this ban, the most likely result is that luxury beach homes will sit empty. Most are not suitable or desirable for long terms tenants. Similar bans in San Francisco and New York City have done nothing to the cost of rent.

Who is promoting this ban?

There were Three categories of people pushing the ban in the council meeting.

The powerful hotel lobby represented by posh lawyers – with vacation rentals out of the picture hotels would be able to raise prices by a few percentage points that would flow directly to the bottom line.
Hotel worker’s union – Arguing that vacation rentals hurt their job (exactly how? hotels are at full capacity and charging higher prices than ever). The real reason is probably the assumption that hotels increase in profitability would trickle down to them in the form of a tiny raise.
A handful of angry neighbors – With Thousands of rentals on the Island there are going to be some instances of less then perfect behavior by guests, some local residents even shared horror stories of how someone once knocked on their door by accident trying to find another house.

What can you do to stop this terrible bill?

Call or email (calling is more effective but email works too) the following council members, make sure to be polite and respectful.

Ikaika Anderson 808.768.5003 ianderson@honolulu.gov

Ron Menor 808.768.5009 rmenor@honolulu.gov

Heidi Tsuneyoshi 808.768.5002 htsuneyoshi@honolulu.gov

Michael Formby 808.768.5004 mformby@honolulu.gov

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Who Airbnb Restrictions Poorly Affect

The Turno Team — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 23:22:04 +0000

Airbnbs have proven to be beneficial not only for the local economy but also for its citizens. Often properties are located in lesser-visited areas of town that usually do not see tourists. This benefited those small towns that normally did not have income of tourists. With regulations on vacation rentals increasing, these benefits may be at stake.

When we consider the tourists who visit these less well-known areas of town, it can be of a huge benefit to both business owners, hosts and guests alike. With vacation rental regulations not allowing rentals to operate in these areas, these individuals incomes and livelihoods are affected. In this article, we’ll explore the many reasons Airbnb is good for the local economy and its people.

Service Providers

Local service providers, such as Airbnb cleaners, benefit from the boom in the vacation rental industry in many ways. By having the option of vacation rental cleaning, these service providers have the opportunity of fair pay and a wider option of jobs available. Without properties such as vacation rentals, cleaners would be restricted between choosing to work for a hotel or for a cleaning company that does home visits. Most hotels have a fixed rate for their cleaners. This may be less than what they could earn by visiting private rentals.

Now sites like Airbnb are mainstream, cleaners have the option to work on their own and choose which properties they wish to conduct business with. Through sites like Programa de Afiliación para Anfitriones, cleaners can easily connect with vacation rental hosts in their area to increase their clients.

Hosts and Guests

In addition to the economic impacts they have, Airbnbs are also advantageous for both hosts and the guests. For guests, vacation rentals pave the way to explore less touristy areas, save money and accommodate large families. According to the Airbnb Economic Impact research, 79% of travelers want to explore specific neighborhoods and 91% of travelers want to “live like a local”. Another big benefit for guests choosing a vacation rental over a hotel is the price. Airbnbs tend to offer better value for money compared with a hotel in the same location. Additionally, they can also offer a wider price range and cater to larger families more comfortably than hotels do.

Airbnb reported huge benefits for hosts, in that hosting has helped make ends meet for many families. Their statistics show that 52% of hosts have a low to moderate income, that 48% of host income is used to pay for regular household expenses like rent and groceries and it has permitted 53% of families to afford their own home.

Of the total guest spending that was found for the research in San Francisco, $12.7 million went directly to local hosts’ households. Hosts in New York see much more activity in outer boroughs. These are areas that do not typically benefit from tourism spending otherwise. In Paris, almost half of hosts stated that they rely on Airbnb income to pay for household expenses. Further 20% of hosts say that this new source of income has allowed them to pursue professional or personal interests. This in turn helps to support a strong, creative and innovative society.

Local Economy

More often than not, hotels and hostels are based in the center of towns and cities where guests have shops and dining nearby. These tourists typically stay and socialize in these central areas. They do not bring as much business to other less-visited areas of town. Vacation rentals, in contrast, are a huge factor that brings visitors to other parts of town that could benefit from this tourist revenue.

According to Airbnb, 74% of properties are situated outside of the main hotel district. Of the large majority of Airbnbs which are outside of main hotel districts, guests spend 42% of their money in the neighborhoods where they are staying. There is a clear correlation between the location of vacation rentals and where they go out to eat, drink. As a result, we can deduce that properties like those listed on Airbnb can directly benefit the local economy. Without them, guests would spend this 42% in city centers where hotels are.

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