Report: Number of Hawaiʻi vacation rental homes is rising

About one in 24 homes in Hawaiʻi is a vacation rental, which is contributing to the state’s shortage of affordable housing, according to a report by an advocacy group.

The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice released a report Wednesday, finding that the number of short-term vacation rental units has increased by 35 percent during the last two years, Hawaiʻi News Now reported .

The number of rental units in Hawaiʻi has increased from 17,000 in 2015 to 23,000 in 2017, according to the report.

“That rate of expansion of vacation rentals, taking that critical affordable housing away from our residents, really shocked me to be frank,” said Victor Geminiani, the center’s co-executive director.

Geminiani said the proliferation of vacation rentals is worsening the state’s housing crisis. More than half of the 23,000 vacation rentals in Hawaiʻi are owned by non-residents, he said.