Friday, May 15, 2015

Musings: Sound Familiar?

In the dubious “good news” category, we learn that tourism numbers — and spending — are up on Kauai.

This has Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau, proclaiming:

What these numbers show is that we are starting to get back to peak-performance rates.

Peak performance? Only if you don't count the clogged roadways, the crowded beaches, the overflowing dump and cesspools, visitors staying in illegal, unsafe rentals, the out-of-control TVRs, the complete non-sustainability of the tourism industry, the soured locals, the disgruntled residents.

Sue goes on to gush:

Kauai is the Hawaii of old. The thing that people love about Kauai is that it is exotic and they can experience nature. Kauai is remote but still convenient.

Though not so convenient when you're stuck in the Kapaa traffic snarl, or the highway closes due to a crash and you miss your flight. And as a disgruntled Canadian visitor wrote in a letter to the editor yesterday, litter-strewn roadways, chicken abuse and being treated like shit is neither exotic, nor charming:

We found this experience to be very sad, the island that we had grown to love and respect had drastically changed, not by Mother Nature but by people that should know better and just take it for granted. Your culture is not for the tourists but is something you yourself own. Don’t be so quick to give it away.

Yes, you say if we don’t like it stay away, well, we have indeed made that decision. We will vacation where we are appreciated, not just tolerated. We get that the local people are frustrated, but it wasn’t us that sold your heritage.

It reminds me of a comment made by a man I met in India. He'd traveled the world, starting as a little boy. And the only place he was treated badly, he told me, was in Hawaii, where he'd been verbally abused for no reason he could ascertain, other than his white skin.

“I understand the colonialism thing, and why they feel unhappy with visitors,” he said. “But that didn't make it any easier to be on the receiving end of a really nasty tirade.”

And it was much the worse, he said, because he'd believed the tourism marketing myth about Hawaii's enduring aloha, extended to all. 

So 20,000 more people visited Kauai in the first three months of 2015 than the year before, and in keeping with the “more is better” mentality of the visitor industry, next year will be a success if it brings in 20,000 more than that.

Where does it end? Is the goal unlimited exposure, ever-growing numbers? How many visitors can Kauai support before it loses its exotic appeal and the stressed-out, priced-out locals lose their aloha?  Could it be we're already there?

Meanwhile, regular reader and frequent commenter Dawson sent me a link to a Los Angeles Times article that questions whether Santa Monica, or anyplace else, can enforce a ban on short-term rentals:

The explosion of tourist rental websites such as Airbnb is the latest challenge for governments struggling to keep up with technological disruption. With a unanimous vote of the City Council Tuesday night, Santa Monica set up a test case for how cities can rein in the so-called sharing economy.

Scott Shatford, who lists three units on Airbnb in Santa Monica, said he expects the more "entrepreneurial" short-term rental managers will find new ways to preserve their income.

"The profit margin is so great, and the demand is so great," he said. "If people recognize the dollars are there to do it, they'll figure out any possible method to make it work."

Santa Monica's restrictions aim to appease a coalition of irritated neighbors, affordable housing advocates and the hotel industry. But they are up against people and companies making good money renting out properties by the day.

Sound familiar?

AirBnB has even expanded to Cuba:

But the economic impact will be limited. Housing conditions in Cuba are particularly bad, and construction material difficult to come by, meaning only those who can afford it will be able to list, said Sebastian A. Arcos, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Sound familiar?

Congress is now starting to scrutinize this mushrooming industry, grilling AirBnB and Homeaway about "taxes, regulations and safety concerns,” the LA Times reports in a linked story:

"The sharing economy is here to stay and we should be working together on progressive rules that help regular Californians pay their bills and pursue their dreams," said Christopher Nulty, a spokesman for the [AirBnB] company.

Sound familiar? 

As Dawson astutely noted:

This movement has the potential to turn entire towns and regions into one giant hotel, disenfranchising huge numbers of locals.

If you live on the North Shore, or much of the Southside, that doesn't just sound familiar, it's the sad reality.

And finally, someone keeps trying to leave slanderous comments about Ka'aina, claiming he was not educated in planning and is otherwise unqualified for his new job as Deputy Planning Director. I checked with Director Mike Dahilig: 

Ka`aina graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Political Economy, which has an emphasis on Urban Planning. He was hired by the Department of Planning in 2007 as a Planner I. Over the past 8 years, he has worked within the Regulatory Division reviewing an array of different projects and plans. He has served as the lead planner on several zoning ordinances, including but not limited to the Farm Worker Housing Ordinance and currently the Homestay Ordinance. Over the past eight years, he has risen to a Planner V, and ultimately Deputy Director, a position for which both his educational background and years of experience qualify him.

The minimum qualification for the Deputy Planning Direction requires “A Bachelor’s degree in planning, engineering, architecture, or related field and a minimum of five years of training and experience working in a planning department.” 

So 'nuff already.

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right on Joan. You tell it like it is.

Imperial Beach, California has an ordinance that disallows or controls vacation rentals by tying them to the health, safety and welfare of the community. Planning department?
On another note, a recent Advertiser article noted that visitor arrivals have steadily shrunken over the period of the last several years. The plastic smile and the plastic lei maybe are not so effective anymore?
As for as AirBnB, VRBO and other sites like it, the prosecuting attorneys office should be telling these guys to stop advertising Kauai properties unless they have the proper permits. It worked for Queens Bath.

Anonymous said...

Once again it is "blame tourism" for all of the traffic and social ills.
Au contraire, tourism is the economic lifeblood of the County. Tourism has the least environmental impacts of any major industry. Try Mining, Forestry, Oil, Fishing and even Big Ag.
Thousands of Kauai's people are employed thru tourism and there is no business that can replace it.
If Kauai had more roads the impacts would be felt less.
Once again, just like the anti-Ag folks who have no ties to the island the anti-tourist folks have no ties to the economic reality of Kauai.
Joan, it would be a wunnerful thing if we all could have our 5 acres, big house and didn't need a job. The reality is most people are raising their families, going to work and grabbing what little joy they can on God's Green Earth.
There are no advocates for the working man and woman. The crybabies from the NS get the attention. Whilst, the locals live in multi-generational households, rents go sky high and not a simple affordable, dry well lit new house on the horizon....and do not bring up the Eleele "affordable project" another dust ridden "project" that because of Government involvement will cost the taxpayer millions and let A&B off the hook...how can A&B as part of its housing requirement for the Billion dollar, ultra elite Kukuiulila project get to put the families 15 miles away -INSTEAD of in Poipu?
Don't knock tourism. we are not intellectual elites, wealthy or retired...we need jobs. And the Hotel is a lot better than the 12 hour sabedong dusty days in the fields.
Love the tourist, he puts rice in your f^ckin' bowl.

Anonymous said...

What Joan is talking about is balance. Residents are forgotten in the rush to kiss the tourist ass.

Anonymous said...

A little sexism going on in planning that promotes him over an equally if not more qualified female planner who has been given huge amounts of work load but little recognition. Hmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

Kaaina is a good planner, has gained hands on experience and only someones prejudice would think he is uneducated because he is local.Berkley is one of the best schools.

Anonymous said...

Well shucks, yes, let's blame tourism where appropriate.
Did anyone in the industry suggest to the Hyatt that suing to stop a proposed grass-fed dairy on agricultural land (more than a mile from their golf course on agricultural land) was a bad idea?
And for all that poster Anon7:34 thinks a hotel job cleaning maitai-puke-stained toilets is better than a farming job, I'm not sure everyone would agree.
And finally, really? The tourist puts the rice in your bowl? Agriculture has nothing to do with that?
Just what planet are you from?

Anonymous said...

If Kauai had more roads the impacts would be felt less.
Yeah like Oahu, who has too many lanes to count and has the worst traffic in the country. Building more roads is not the answer. and on another note, it is a balance we need, not no tourism, not no agriculture, but a balance.

Anonymous said...

so, it's okay for planning to approve a new 500 unit hotel/condo/time share project on the east side AND the re-opening of coco plams. . .but one guest house on ag land rented to two people 20+ times a year is not allowed?! tell me how this makes sense for our overcrowded roads, disgruntled locals, stressed beaches and public facilities, etc.

Anonymous said...

Fuck tourism and all it represents. Service related jobs that pay low wages and depend on the cyclical nature of the industry. Most need 2 jobs or more to pay the bills that are being driven upwards by the lack of affordable housing due in large part to TVRS. After 20 plus years I got out thank god from a thankless industry that sucks the lifeblood out of you especially if one is kānaka and you witness the daily prostitution of our culture. Tourists not all but many act entitled because they spend their money here. Maybe they should dig deeper and get to understand the history and the whys of this place they claim to love so much because land and power in Hawaii is not a pretty picture and explains much of the discontent. Tourism looks pretty on its face but the honest truth of it is sordid involving greed and government collusion. Don't blame the locals. Blame the likes of Sue Kanoho who have sold us out along with cronyism politics. Exotic is what Sue sells....its a myth.

Dawson said...


7:34AM wrote:
"If Kauai had more roads the impacts would be felt less."

The reality is that if Kauai had more roads, the tourism industry would expand and fill them with traffic.

Anywhere on the planet that the tourism industry takes root it grows like a weed, crowding out local lifestyles, culture, land, scenery and economy. Study after study shows that unregulated tourism devours the very values that make an area attractive to tourists in the first place.

Without strict regulation by a vigilant local government, tourism becomes as extractive and destructive as mining and logging -- and like those industries, is as praised and protected by those who reap its short-term profits.

Anonymous said...

Keep the tourist in the tourist areas and I will love them, have them take over our neighborhoods and we have a problem. Love the tourist? Tell that to a local guy who lost his fishing grounds and see the response.

Anonymous said...

I believe that it is Planning Director Mike Dahilig's intent to provide administrative experience and training to not only Ka'aina but to the other qualified female planner mentioned. That is why the position is "interim."

Anonymous said...

8:58 am - You obviously don't know Sue. So until you take the time to get to know her and understand how much she does try to balance her job of marketing the island with doing it in the right and responsible way, you should tone it down a bit. We are lucky to have Sue in that position versus someone who sees the job as only bringing more visitors. Again, if you knew her and all that she does you would never make the comments you made. Don't take pot shots when you don't have the full story.

Anonymous said...

Aloha Joan. Keep up the great work that you do. Everyone has and will voice their opinions. Our "forefathers" gave us this right. Aloha is a powerful word. We should "all" practice this. The other day as I was waiting at a "T" intersection, as traffic was starting to back up this tourist on the main drag let a local make a left turn in front of him. The local driver in the back honked his horn at the tourist. I thought only Oahu people honk horns. We should all be aware of our surroundings.

Anonymous said...

localism sucks

Anonymous said...

If you're not from here.

Anonymous said...

Braddah Kaaina is da man!! Mahaloz cuz for helping out Aurai Fitness. Local boys represent AURAI!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Its about zoning, dummy. Build resorts in the resort zone, Waipouli, CoCo Palms etc. The Ag zone is for farmers and ranchers. The residential zone is where people live. Tourist rentals are illegal in these areas but are everywhere because of lax enforcement and greedy owners. Finally, the County is saying STOP.

Anyone have a problem with that?

Anonymous said...

I think mainland haloes are in shock when they come here. Maybe for the first time ever, they find themselves in a place where the white man is in the minority and the brown skins rule. Here, the pushy mainland style gets you cracks.

Face it, the blue eyes resent it.

Imua, keiki o ka aina

Manuahi said...

"Once again, just like the anti-Ag folks who have no ties to the island the anti-tourist folks have no ties to the economic reality of Kauai."

Exactly 7:34. The hotels & resorts aren't just hiring house & groundskeepers, but also all sorts of middle income jobs like marketing directors, event planners, accountants, etc. These businesses help to provide the otherwise missing jobs that Kauai natives can take. Resorts & hotels also give all sorts of opportunities for small business ownership. 8:44 & 8:58 - Try doing some research before you rant out well-known falsehoods. Ignoramuses! And it ain't the tourists that are dumping trash out their car windows all over the place. The sad thing is the loss of pride in some folks and those who choose not to make something of themselves. Smoke up, losers! Your welfare check's in the mail...or maybe not. You can always rip off your neighbor's house. It's the transplant retirees that come here many of whom are against anything (like jobs) for kama'aina if it also changes their vision of the island paradise they've bought into.

Anonymous said...

@ 2:02 pm - yes, i have a problem with that . . .ag land for farmers and ranchers??!! county let that horse out of the barn 30 years ago. who can afford to farm or ranch on ag land with prices as they are?! that's a joke. county planning did a poor job of planning for farmers and ranchers. and i still say approving more development on the east side will do more harm to our infrastructure, which was the point of joan's blog post. . . stressed roads and crowded beaches and disgruntled locals.

Anonymous said...

Whew 2:02 PM !

About time someone made it simple for the ones that can't figure it out.

Anonymous said...

The mystery of the Planning Department and their "interpretation" of rules.
Longs Drug Store in Waipoli is on RESORT zoned land. Resort zoning allows for commercial uses in conjunction and supporting a resort.
Nope. Apparatchiks decide that full blown commercial use is an appropriate use.
So if the Planners can change Resort to full blown commercial...this means that all rules, regs and laws are BS.
Not a Hotel room on the Longs Property, but lots of Xanax for the drivers that get stressed out as they take an hour to go 1 and 1/2 miles. But then again, the STATE highways could leave the Cones up until 2 PM and alleviate the Lihue Bound traffic. But that would be a labor cost.... So while over ten per cent of our cops/foreman get over a hundred Thousand per year and our Councilman Hooser dismisses his duties to go to Switzerland, we sit in traffic.
It is enough to make me go to Longs and get a Tim Bynum Rice Cooker, rent out an illegal unit, sue the County and smoke a Fattie (soon to be supplied by that very same Bynum...is Da Hoos in a partnership with Tim in the Sativa Schmoke Shoppe? he sure is fast and furious to get High Octane Doobies on the street.

Anonymous said...

Research hah! I lived it for 20 years and in mid-management. Got sick and tired of selling bs aloha to those who have no clue what that means including all of upper management. Aloha meant kissing the ass that feeds you, that's all that mattered even if the abusive jerk checking you in treated you like a piece of shit.

For people in sales & marketing it is all about the numbers. It is always about increasing visitor arrivals, outdoing the previous year regardless of impacts to infrastructure and natural resources. That is Sue's job and I don't need to know her personally to know that. Her use of the word "exotic" shows her cluelessness. This is no exotic paradise for most of us.

Anonymous said...

The reason why tourism is so destructive to Kaua'i is because of its externalized costs: the industry makes huge profits, but does so by exploiting low-wage workers and overtaxing the infrastructure of the island. Those who are irritated by tourism should consider fighting along class lines: organize as wage-workers for MUCH higher wages and benefits for those who work in the industry. Don't hate tourists - fight the industry to recuperate some of the loot. The hotels, rental car companies, airlines, etc., are sitting ducks: where else are they going to go? Cleveland? They need Hawai'i more than Hawai'i needs them.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Tim Bynum, does anyone else think it's odd that in CB's article on Ron Kouchi TB was quoted saying nice things about Ron? Where did that come from? Didn't know they were so friendly. Tim suddenly re-emerges from his self-imposed exile after his thumping in November. I wonder why?

Anonymous said...

We'll see if Dahilig follows through on that. She deserved the promotion considering the scope of her work and performance.

Anonymous said...

Mahalo, Joan, for setting the record straight on Ka'aina Hull - whom I find to be personable and one of the most responsive people I have EVER dealt with in the Planning Dept.! There is NO QUESTION he is intelligent and qualified for the job - we should consider ourselves lucky he has taken the job as he could make a hell of a lot more in the private sector!
As for our on-going traffic problems - I think it's time to think about "capacity". I never thought I'd say that, but the reality is we only have so many roads and they can only carry so many cars. Currently, there are not enough roads and they are overused - resulting in poor maintenance and many of us complaining when road repairs are done because traffic is limited to one lane. I just experienced that on the westside on Wed. The comp,eye closing of roads following an accident is a big issue - what if there's another emergency?
Mahalo, Pat Hunter-Williams

Anonymous said...

Here are a few blog comments from around the Country that show how locals everywhere blame the transplants for their problems.

"But let's face it. We get a lot of the wrong kind of people moving to Los Angeles, too. We see them every day, clogging our bars, taking our parking spots and hitting on our women."

"Call it an influx or an invasion. However you phrase it, Portland is under siege from transplants ... The devastating effects include higher rent, heavier traffic and (gasp!) long lines at most desirable brunch spots."

"I don't like tho how transplants have pretty much taken over the neighborhood I grew up in and are trying to turn it into some yuppified paradise. That sucks. One annoying thing is when transplants move here and after a few months are declaring themselves "New Yorker's"."

"The NYC Born & Raised bunch are vocal, venerable, and self-serious -- I would fear the all-seeing fanaticism of their wrath."

"So, what do the Colorado locals get out of all the wonderful "progress" from these people showing up? Well, they will get higher property values--high enough that people who actually have to work for a living may not be able to afford to live in their own community anymore. The locals will also get to see a lot of ag land lost to development, because many of the new folks just HAVE to own their "little piece of Heaven" away from existing communities."

Anonymous said...

3:28. drive around wailua homesteads Kapaa and kapahi . see the open land owned by local ranchers and farmers? in some cases for several generations. See nearby parcels being bought, CPRd and sold again to to people who rent illegally to tourists then are quick to complain about dust, noise, flies,odor, chemicals, stuff that are endemic to farms and ranches. Thats what zoning is for, buddy. Comprende?

Anonymous said...

7:34 said, "The reality is that if Kauai had more roads, the tourism industry would expand and fill them with traffic."

That's total bullshit. Do you really think that hotel developers are waiting for the roads to be built so they can develop? No, they'll develop anyway so we need to make sure our County and State governments expand our roads to handle the traffic. Throw out the incompetent idiots on the Council who have been there for years and haven't done squat to solve the traffic problems. If they can't do it, vote some people in there that are competent and can. And no Joann, the f--king bus won't solve the prooblem.

Anonymous said...

It is a well known fact that building more roads only facilitates more development. Fuck you with your highway expansion. We like our island rural. go the fuck to oahu if you want 16 lanes.

Anonymous said...

@5:36. He wants the medical MJ license.

Anonymous said...

Finally not too common sense. Thank You for breaking it down in lame man's terms.

Anonymous said...

Usually good qualified people who do good work on Kauai don't last because someone's family member is graduating and needs a job. That someone gots the connects and the other local family is just a hard working family that's chasing a dream (of making Kauai a better place for today and future generations).

The good ol boys and gals club wants all the money, power, and respect of the people and are willing to do dirt on them for people to realize that it's their family and friends club dynasty and others are not welcomed.

Anonymous said...

In this Administration, if candidate is Hawaiian or Portuguese, it's big points. If a Kamemeha School graduate it's extra points! Bit blatantly unbalanced but you can do anything if you're in power.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh...5:35 PM Isn't that what you pay your union for?

Anonymous said...

All this TVR stuff and tourist complaining. Meanwhile, Mr Pflueger waltzes away without any penalty. Talk about island corruption. The Mayor of the time bought off, no damaged property repaired, no apology - 47 million $$ in lawyer fees he paid to stay out of prison... a sad event in Kauai history. Grading around the dam for future home sites, filling in the emergency spillway (definite contribution to the dam failure). How about some finger pointing and digging into a catastrophe that caused lives and exposes the political corruption instead of TVR's? Might be revealing... http://www.hawaiireporter.com/familes-still-waiting-for-justice-8-years-after-ka-loko-dam-breach-killed-their-loved-ones

Anonymous said...

Tourism, including TVRs, B&Bs, hotels, timeshares, airlines, car rentals, guidebooks, restaurants, helicopter companies, tour boats, and on and on, is our economic oxy. Real estate, which depends on tourism to feed its demand, is our economic meth. We're hooked and we'll keep taking more and more until we OD.

Anonymous said...

agreed.

that's why we're talking rehab.

Dawson said...


10:30AM wrote:
Tourism, including TVRs, B&Bs, hotels, timeshares, airlines, car rentals, guidebooks, restaurants, helicopter companies, tour boats, and on and on, is our economic oxy. Real estate, which depends on tourism to feed its demand, is our economic meth. We're hooked and we'll keep taking more and more until we OD.

That quote should be on a giant billboard at Lihue Airport in letters 50 feet high, visible to every arriving tourist!

Anonymous said...

Crowded beaches? There are plenty of beautiful, open stretches of beach all over this island. If you are willing to walk 5-10 minutes, you can have many of them all to yourself.

It amazes me how people here not only feel entitled to keep everyone else out, but feel like they can claim public spaces as their private property too.

Manuahi said...

May 16, 2015 at 1:49 PM
"It amazes me how people here not only feel entitled to keep everyone else out, but feel like they can claim public spaces as their private property too."

True! And they love to treat private property as public as well.

Dawson said...

1:49PM wrote:
"It amazes me how people here not only feel entitled to keep everyone else out, but feel like they can claim public spaces as their private property too."

Oh, you mean the real estate developers, movie stars and illegal TVR owners who landscape their property past the high water line?




Anonymous said...

No us locals that have lived on the beach for generations and are played by assholes who think their yard is a park.

Anonymous said...

7:26 asshole, yessir

Anonymous said...

yeah but, we gotta love tourism right? we been told that for so long, from small kid time. becuz like 7:34 sez, tourism is the money machine for hawaii. but think about dis. we give the best aina, the best beaches, ocean, let them use our culture, our local people who work for cheap pay, all the best stuff to aloha tourism. if Hawaii gave another business the same aloha, guarantee that would be the Numba #1 money machine. maybe we should try.

Anonymous said...

The anti air bnb message comes from the same people who want to ban new housing also. These are the people who are ultimately making housing more expensive for middle class families.

Anonymous said...

"we give the best aina, the best beaches, ocean, let them use our culture, our local people who work for cheap pay..."
...
"We see them every day, clogging our bars, taking our parking spots and hitting on our women.""
...
"Our local people" "Our beaches" "Our ocean." "Our parking spots" "our women." Notice a pattern? My how possessive we get over things that are not ours to begin with. Funny, Native Hawaiians did not have any of those possessory concepts.

More uneducated xenophobic pilikia from the drawbridge crowd in the "hate 0 hate".

World populations are rapidly expanding. Get used to sharing.

Anonymous said...

Neva had to. Then the haoles came.

Dawson said...

3:55PM wrote:
"World populations are rapidly expanding. Get used to sharing."

Tourism extracts the culture, space and soul from every place it takes over, and rapidly expands until there's nothing left to share. Get used to having your birthplace auctioned off to the highest bidder, and a tourist boot up your ass as you're kicked off the beach where your forefathers fished.

Jan T said...

Sue Kanoho, who gets beat up in this post, is one of the few people in our community and one of the only people in the visitor industry who's talking about limits to growth. It's a responsible position and one that supports planning and a healthy community alongside a healthy visitor industry.

Anonymous said...

oh really? where can we see what she said?

Anonymous said...

It's alarming that the Kauai and state of Hawaii tourism officials were late in announcing that the ship that was docked in the 4 major Hawaiian islands was spreading the norovirus.

Only after the ship left and spread the disease to the locals that there was a little announcement that the ship was contaminated with the norovirus but lied to the public that it was contained.

Anonymous said...

can there be a healthy community and healthy visitor industry? its been pretty one sided from what we can see.