North Shore short term rental debacle boils over - winter pro circus threatened - Backpackers DONE?

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
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Petak Island
Here is the thing

The advent of AirBnB really changed the dynamic of short term rentals and the dynamic of neighborhoods.

No real legwork required, just go on the internet.

Anybody can do it...just like airplanes are the new city buses so is the short term rental market.

Going from stuff like people staying a week, two weeks, three weeks, etc to 1 day, 2 days.

They don't respect the neighborhoods and surroundings (many guests do, but even one guy going 40 mph down a residential street is too many)

People who settled in an area shouldn't have to see the dynamic go from "neighborhood" to "hotel and/or party zone" at a level that's comparable to a zoning change.

On the other hand if you decide to settle in an AirBnb hotspot and now complain you're a dummy.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
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for the life of me I don't understand why a non competing surfer would ever go there other than if it coincided with a family vacation. so many other cool places to go that are low key.

I can understand spending the winter there.

Otherwise no thanks, for the above reasons.

The only reason I go is because my wife has decided she likes to post up on the North Shore for a week every year, so I usually make 2 weeks out of it.

I have no idea how the residents put up with all the tourists. Seems like a terrible way to live.
 

JSC

Nep status
Mar 11, 2008
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This situation on the North Shore has been ongoing since the 1970's, when there was a increased demand for accommodation on the North Shore and no places to stay other than Ke Nui Hale and the Kuilima Resort, as zoning laws prohibited any sort of non-residential development.

There was demand, so people began renting rooms in their houses informally - now, of course the rental system is much more advanced and accessible from any computer or smartphone.

As long as there is demand for housing on the North Shore, there will be supply regardless of any local zoning regulations or laws.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
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Petak Island
The popularity of the North Shore all goes back to the early days of the mags, when there was not much of a world outside CA and HI, so pretty much every issue was chock full of photos from the North Shore. Easy access from CA and better waves than CA and tropical.

That said the waves are often great and it is a proving ground. But a total circus and much better waves elsewhere.
 

silentbutdeadly

Duke status
Sep 26, 2005
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Tower 13
You've been there? Why did you go?
Family vacation when I was a kid, honeymoon, and once when I was 20 visiting a friend who moved there after college. There was definitely an Aloha vibe but also a wtf are yuo doing here kind of vibe. but after seeing how many people flock there I get it, i'd be pissed too.
 
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kidfury

Duke status
Oct 14, 2017
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the solution is to buy a house there.

Though there are some Pupukea vrbos that are affordable for some.

One hotel on the N shore, and it's a little ways from the main spots and expensive.
 

bluemarlin04

Michael Peterson status
Aug 13, 2015
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for the life of me I don't understand why a non competing surfer would ever go there other than if it coincided with a family vacation. so many other cool places to go that are low key.
Yea but then they can’t go back to their sprinter vans in San Clemente and tell everyone about their trip to north shore even though they surfed the same size waves as where they came from
 

racer1

Tom Curren status
Apr 16, 2014
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The new parking lot at Lanis is way better for traffic. They just installed it a few weeks ago and I drove through without stopping at noon on Black Friday (should have been stuck there awhile). There's a one way parking lot and a cross walk now. We slowed down a bit, but never really stopped and I got to Vland quickly and got kegged on my first three waves.

But yeah, don't come here.
 
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PJ

Gerry Lopez status
Jan 27, 2002
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What I didn't get out of the article - the first tax that was going from 27K to 90K - was that a room tax based on occupancy or a yearly property tax?

As far as the illegal rentals - I know that when we stay in Honolulu we pay like $60 a day hotel tax which I actually feel good about paying. And taxes have to be able to pay for wear and tear on infrastructure and use of services like police and ambulance - If a taxing system was based on wear and tear from vacationing occupants of licensed properties only then some new tech allows a large increase in visits - the money to offset the wear and tear caused by those additional visitors has to come from somewhere. And there's been a lot of chatter here on the ERBB about the great increase in visits to Hawaii without a corresponding increase in money spent and whether that's a worthwhile thing for actual residents.
 

racer1

Tom Curren status
Apr 16, 2014
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The best time to come is late January through March, but the Pipe Masters is now late January, so I’d suggest Feb-March. It’s mostly uncrowded and you can get the wave(s) of you life.

Outside of the main spots there’s so many waves.
 

mundus

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Feb 26, 2018
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The best time to come is late January through March, but the Pipe Masters is now late January, so I’d suggest Feb-March. It’s mostly uncrowded and you can get the wave(s) of you life.

Outside of the main spots there’s so many waves.
Used to go in March, a bit risky but scored 2 out of 3 years, 90% of my surfs were lesser known spots
 
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