Airbnb for June

[nikkistevej]

Looking to start booking the first part of our Aulani trip in June. We are staying in the Waikiki area or somewhere within a few miles, was thinking an Airbnb? I have never stayed in one, any tips or info I need to know?

 

[kyton]

There are very stringent laws on short term rentals on Oahu. http://www.honoluludpp.org/Portals/0/pdfs/HotIssues/NUC2018.pdf this is the list of legally permitted rentals for the whole island. Most accommodation within Waikiki is zoned for tourism however there are a few exceptions.

The biggest way to check legality is to ask if they have a NUC - according to the laws on rentals the ad is meant to clearly show this number so you can check it against the PDF.

Personally I would get the address and check on Trip Advisor forums as they have local members who can tell you definitively whether it is legally permitted or not.

 

[Daisy7425]

We have had great trips in VRBO, similar to airbnb (never stayed in HI using them, but have had many trips in the states with them). I haven't found much difference between the two and often when I browse both I see the same properties listed on both. For VRBO, spend a lot of time reading reviews. I don't recommend staying at a place with zero reviews. Note how long ago the reviews have been from (if nobody has stayed there in a year, for instance). In reading reviews, note some ridiculous reasons why people give fewer stars (too far from Starbucks or whatever), which should not impact your decision.

Note their cancellation/refund policy. From my experience, it seems like VRBO offers a handful of return policies and each host/owner can select which one they want for their property - or else a state/city mandates the policy. But I have seen great variance in cancellation/refund policies.

Check out the calendars for the properties and that can be helpful in giving you an idea of how popular the property is. Some locations publish their prices per night so if you are flexible, you could save money that way.

The pros of rental properties like these are obvious but the cons can sometimes be tricky. Note how you pick up the key or enter the property. It is not as easy as checking in a hotel. One time we had to meet the property owner who showed us around. Other times, there is a lock box with a code. When you leave the property, you might have to put the towels/sheets in the washing machine and start a load of dishes, for example. Again, not as easy as staying at a hotel - but the experience and price and larger areas can make it worth it.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[corgi_monster]

Staying in ANY short term rental, legal or otherwise, on Oahu is a really, really bad idea for the foreseeable future.

Short term rentals can be shut down at a minute's notice. They are not allowed to operate if Oahu falls back to tier 1. We are currently in tier 2 but our cases are climbing. If there is a surge the week before your arrival and the numbers see even a small bump, you'll have to book an expensive last-minute hotel room. Here is the list of what is open/closed under each tier: https://www.oneoahu.org/reopening-strategy

 

[nikkistevej]

Thanks for all your responses, doing more research. Seems kind of scary, maybe we will book a hotel LOL

 

[Gracies Moms]

There are very stringent laws on short term rentals on Oahu. http://www.honoluludpp.org/Portals/0/pdfs/HotIssues/NUC2018.pdf this is the list of legally permitted rentals for the whole island. Most accommodation within Waikiki is zoned for tourism however there are a few exceptions.

The biggest way to check legality is to ask if they have a NUC - according to the laws on rentals the ad is meant to clearly show this number so you can check it against the PDF.

Personally I would get the address and check on Trip Advisor forums as they have local members who can tell you definitively whether it is legally permitted or not.

Could you explain more about the NUC? How does it affect the rental process? How does it affect me, the renter?

 

[corgi_monster]

Could you explain more about the NUC? How does it affect the rental process? How does it affect me, the renter?

All sleeping quarters, including private homes, apartments, condos, bedrooms in homes, campers, tents, etc. on Oahu cannot be legally rented for less than 30 days. There are two exceptions to this law - 1) units built on resort-zoned land and 2) homes with the NUC.

NUC and B&B permits have not been issued since the late 80's and they are extremely rare. If you see a property on AirBnB, you should ask for the physical address and cross-reference with the NUC list above to make sure you are renting a legal unit. If the unit is not listed on the NUC list, you can try checking the zoning on the GIS map http://honolulugis.org/

Generally, most Waikiki units between Kuhio Ave. and the beach are legal because they are built on resort-zoned land, as are the ones in the Ilikai and Ala Moana hotel. Most units between Kuhio and Ala Wai Blvd. are not legal and cannot be rented. The legal units between Kuhio and Ala Wai Blvd. (such as Waikiki Banyan) have NUC numbers.

Other resort areas include the apartments next to Aulani (but not the residential areas across the main street), Turtle Bay, Kahala hotel area, and Makaha Valley.

Starting soon, short term rentals will be required to publish their TMK (tax map key) and TAT (transient accommodation tax) number in order to be listed on sites like AirBnB. If the unit has a TAT, it is legal and you do not have to check zoning or for a NUC.

 

[kyton]

Corgi_Monster I’m so glad you posted that info! There are so many people who just rent via AirBNB / VRBO etc without realising (or ignoring) the legalities involved. Oahu has such a chronic shortage of rentals for residents - which is directly affected by these illegal short term rentals.

Every visit I look into different places to stay but being aware of these laws, we always end up staying at hotels so as to not add to the problem as tempting as it is to stay somewhere like a home in Kailua / North Shore etc.

 

[jimmymc]

In Waikiki, you're probably best just finding a hotel. Prices are usually reasonable, and an Airbnb doesn't get you much.

 

[nkereina]

I second the suggestion of just going with a hotel. It will be a lot less legwork, you'll have more flexibility in the event changes or cancellations need to be made (not uncommon in the current environment), and there is a wide range of pricing in Waikiki. If you want a cheaper price point, avoid beachfront. We stayed at the Waikiki Marriott which is across the street from the beach. There's also another block up on the street that runs parallel that has affordable options as well.

Note how you pick up the key or enter the property. It is not as easy as checking in a hotel. One time we had to meet the property owner who showed us around. Other times, there is a lock box with a code.

Checking for logistics is a good tip and something a lot of people probably don't consider. We rented an AirBnB in Tampa once and the host, which was a realty company renting on behalf of the property owner, had to meet us to show us everything. He was an hour and a half late due to traffic. Everything he showed us was unnecessary. And worst of all, the unit had a lockbox on it so he didn't even have to hand us off a physical key.

 

[mel2014]

As a counterpoint, I think Airbnb is a viable if not superior option.

I'll report back after our upcoming trip, but we're staying in an Airbnb 1 bedroom unit at the Waikiki Banyan. We have a hotel booked as a back up, but we deliberately selected a unit that allows cancellation with a full refund up to 5 days before and a 50% refund up 3:00 pm on the day of stay. There is no way we could get the same space, view, and bed arrangement in a comparably-priced hotel. The hotel/motel offerings in the same price range (before factoring resort fees and parking costs, which raised the costs substantially) were generally low-rise, low-rated motels with 2 double beds (I was really surprised at the number of hotels that only offer two doubles or a single king, rather than two queens; I guess they wanted to maximize the number of rooms and built small). The condo isn't renovated or super-fancy, but it allowed us to balance our budget with the high cost of the Aulani. There are some nice ocean view units in the same building that had similar flexible cancellation policies.

The condo has a self-check-in with a door code and the host has been very responsive to any questions we had.

I think the keys to a good Airbnb experience are to understand the cancellation policy, verify the legitimacy of the rental, and to make sure you are renting from a host with many positive reviews (I don't rent from anyone with a rating below 4 and typically want to see at least 20 reviews).

 

[kyton]

Waikiki and a rental is normally a safe option - there are a few anomalies but on the vast majority Waikiki has zoned tourism rentals as ok.

It’s when people start talking about renting elsewhere on Oahu via a AirBNB / VRBO etc that the problems arise. Not many people know about NUC - they simply see the vendor post a listing that looks fine however the housing shortage plus local government cracking down could lead to you arriving to no accomodation.