Popular sunny destination to slash 10,000 vacation rentals in affordable housing push

Hawaii Gov. Josh Greene is shaking up the way Americans are visiting the Aloha State by doubling down on the regulation of vacation rentals.

In his State of the State address on Monday, Greene, a Democrat, announced that 10,000 rentals would be removed from the market.

"We also have to return more homes to local families - including short-term rentals that have taken too many units off the market," said Greene.

HIGH TOURIST TAX IN HAWAII DESIGNED TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGED BY LAWSUIT

"In the coming years," he added, "we will support the counties as they bring more short-term rentals back into the housing market - so that more homes go to local families, not absentee investors."

In May 2024, the governor signed legislation allowing counties to regulate short-term rentals with the goal of providing more affordable housing.

Most recently, the Maui County Council passed a bill on Dec. 15 to phase out thousands of "transient vacation rentals" in apartment districts for the longer term, following the recovery from the devastating wildfires in 2023.

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There were nearly 9 million visitors to the state in the first 11 months of 2025, according to preliminary statistics from Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

Tourism numbers were slightly down by .2% compared to the same time period in 2024.

Visitor spending in the month of November rose 15.9%, with the Aloha State raking in $1.77 billion, according to DBEDT.

Hawaii's "Green Fee" bill was set to raise tourist taxes quite substantially to help fund "climate change" mitigation this year - but a judge has halted the provision. 

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), along with a cruise ship supplier, filed a lawsuit in early September challenging state tax and county finance officials in the Aloha State, as Fox News Digital previously reported.

On Dec. 31, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal. 

It temporarily blocks enforcement of the cruise-ship tax while the appeals proceed, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) was going to raise fees on tourists who stay at Hawaii hotels - while imposing a new 11% tax on cruises, according to the text of the bill.

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Toni Schwartz, spokesperson for the Hawaii attorney general's office, told The Associated Press the office "remain[s] confident that Act 96 is lawful and will be vindicated when the appeal is heard on the merits."