[Closed - new thread started] Will Hawaii Open by [OCTOBER???] [Please use this thread for all Hawaii Coronavirus discussions]

[amycurl]

No, not at all. But I am interested in the number of new, non-member TUGgers posting in this thread...hmm....

 

[Tamaradarann]

Is this a first on TUG, somebody asking for a free week of vacation? I personally find this request slightly offensive.

What I find offensive is that the people are asking for the free week that the current owners of the week won't use due to the 14 day quarantine that the requestors government imposed.

 

[vol_90]

What I find offensive is that the people are asking for the free week that the current owners of the week won't use due to the 14 day quarantine that the requestors government imposed.

Why find it offensive? Ignore if you don't like it. I have given away free weeks on TUG that I could not use and happy to know someone will make use of them. Relax!! No issues with someone asking. This is a message Board.….

 

[Yellowfin]

IMO it is offensive because someone is trying to benefit from the current situation, because a lot of owners have lost their businesses and jobs and they cannot use the weeks they are paying for. Also because the person is asking for a free week, is not offering any kind of compensation. It is one thing to give something for free, a totally different thing to ask for it.

 

[Tamaradarann]

IMO it is offensive because someone is trying to benefit from the current situation, because a lot of owners have lost their businesses and jobs and they cannot use the weeks they are paying for. Also because the person is asking for a free week, is not offering any kind of compensation. It is one thing to give something for free, a totally different thing to ask for it.

"IMO it is offensive because someone is trying to benefit from the current situation", I agree but more specifically my point specifically is that the current 14 day quarantine situation in Hawaii makes travel there prohibitive. While I don't disagree with the 14 day quarantine until a testing system can be established, the person asking for the free week is a citizen of the Government that has implemented the 14 day quarantine. While the requestor is NOT the Government of Hawaii the requestor most probably is in favor of the Government's actions and the benefit of keeping safe. IMO this is in the same mode of a company making a shortage of product that people need and then charging alot more for the product because it is so scarce.

 

[amy241]

IMO it is offensive because someone is trying to benefit from the current situation, because a lot of owners have lost their businesses and jobs and they cannot use the weeks they are paying for. Also because the person is asking for a free week, is not offering any kind of compensation. It is one thing to give something for free, a totally different thing to ask for it.

A lot of owners are also prohibited from using their units due to the 14 day quarantine which creates a huge disincentive for traveling there in the first place. We have been upset about it because we bought in at the Marriott Ko Olina in 2019 with usage to begin in 2020. We paid $10,500 for the week and about $2500 in MFs in January. We are all in it for about $13,000 at this point and haven’t even been able to use one day there yet. The quarantine effectively negates our ability to use the unit - even if the resort was open which I am not even sure of at this point. We would actually go and do the 14 day quarantine off site at a hotel since we are retired but I can’t count on hotels even being open to stay at. No hotels are going to open to allow a few guests to stay who may actually be willing to put the 14 days in isolation just to be able to enjoy the rest of their stay. Under these circumstances, I can’t make use of our week there. I think we would have to spend 14 days in a private vacation rental to be able to resume our plans.

 

[Yellowfin]

A lot of owners are also prohibited from using their units due to the 14 day quarantine which creates a huge disincentive for traveling there in the first place. We have been upset about it because we bought in at the Marriott Ko Olina in 2019 with usage to begin in 2020. We paid $10,500 for the week and about $2500 in MFs in January. We are all in it for about $13,000 at this point and haven’t even been able to use one day there yet. The quarantine effectively negates our ability to use the unit - even if the resort was open which I am not even sure of at this point. We would actually go and do the 14 day quarantine off site at a hotel since we are retired but I can’t count on hotels even being open to stay at. No hotels are going to open to allow a few guests to stay who may actually be willing to put the 14 days in isolation just to be able to enjoy the rest of their stay. Under these circumstances, I can’t make use of our week there. I think we would have to spend 14 days in a private vacation rental to be able to resume our plans.

.
Be optimistic, the local government will reimburse the property taxes for the months they keep the islands closed.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

A lot of owners are also prohibited from using their units due to the 14 day quarantine which creates a huge disincentive for traveling there in the first place. We have been upset about it because we bought in at the Marriott Ko Olina in 2019 with usage to begin in 2020. We paid $10,500 for the week and about $2500 in MFs in January. We are all in it for about $13,000 at this point and haven’t even been able to use one day there yet. The quarantine effectively negates our ability to use the unit - even if the resort was open which I am not even sure of at this point. We would actually go and do the 14 day quarantine off site at a hotel since we are retired but I can’t count on hotels even being open to stay at. No hotels are going to open to allow a few guests to stay who may actually be willing to put the 14 days in isolation just to be able to enjoy the rest of their stay. Under these circumstances, I can’t make use of our week there. I think we would have to spend 14 days in a private vacation rental to be able to resume our plans.

Actually, there are hotels that are open and are accommodating people during quarantine. That's the impetus behind the requirement that hotels room keys that are for single use only. The key works to go into quarantine. If you break quarantine you need to go to the front desk to get back into your room.

 

[Tamaradarann]

.
Be optimistic, the local government will reimburse the property taxes for the months they keep the islands closed.

Ok, I wasn't going to go there but this post made me do it. First of all I need to mention that I own a Condo on Oahu so I pay property taxes to the Hawaii Government whether I go there or not. I also own many timeshares, while they are not in Hawaii, I have spent over 1000 nights there so I have many dollars in TAT as well as sales taxes for everything I buy there during those trips.

Since the Hawaii Governments have been receiving a great reduction in revenue due to the coronavirus they may have to raise taxes. It will be a real slap in the face to timeshare owners and exchangers if they levy tax increases primarily on timeshare real estate taxes and TAT since their logic is that they didn't travel to Hawaii in 2020 and didn't pay the TAT and sales taxes that they would have if they came to Hawaii!!

 

[Yellowfin]

Ok, I wasn't going to go there but this post made me do it. First of all I need to mention that I own a Condo on Oahu so I pay property taxes to the Hawaii Government whether I go there or not. I also own many timeshares, while they are not in Hawaii, I have spent over 1000 nights there so I have many dollars in TAT as well as sales taxes for everything I buy there during those trips.

Since the Hawaii Governments have been receiving a great reduction in revenue due to the coronavirus they may have to raise taxes. It will be a real slap in the face to timeshare owners and exchangers if they levy tax increases primarily on timeshare real estate taxes and TAT since their logic is that they didn't travel to Hawaii in 2020 and didn't pay the TAT and sales taxes that they would have if they came to Hawaii!!

I do not disagree with most of what what you said, taxes can go up and in the long run we can expect that in many places, not just Hawaii.

But I would like to make a distinction between usage and access. If I have an internet subscription, I will have to pay whether I use it or not. But the moment the coverage stops in my area for an extended period of time due to the fault of the company, I would expect a refund for that period.

 

[amy241]

Actually, there are hotels that are open and are accommodating people during quarantine. That's the impetus behind the requirement that hotels room keys that are for single use only. The key works to go into quarantine. If you break quarantine you need to go to the front desk to get back into your room.

This is interesting as I had not realized any hotels were actually open right now - I thought most of the quarantine violators were in illegal short term rentals from what I have been reading. We had a 37 day trip planned departing April 24th that we had to cancel, holding first class seats on Hawaiian Air and visiting 3 different islands so we had island hops ticketed as well. Hawaiian Air would not refund so we pushed the trip forward and it is now departing November 22nd. We are thinking of adding 14 days to the front end of the trip as we are not sure a quarantine will be lifted even as late as November - but that will involve change fees to 2 separate sets of tickets as we are on JetBlue from FLL-PHX and Hawaiian Air from PHX-HNL. We are booked in the Hale Koa for the first 10 nights in HNL but I don’t think they are open presently so who knows if they will be open in November. It is hard to know what to do with so much uncertainty.

Does anyone know which hotels are presently open in Waikiki?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Does anyone know which hotels are presently open in Waikiki?

I would try Googling something such as "hotels open in Waikiki during quarantine". You might also do a search using a site such as Expedia or Kayak for the dates you are interested in. If a hotel is closed it wouldn't come up as available.

 

[Tamaradarann]

I do not disagree with most of what what you said, taxes can go up and in the long run we can expect that in many places, not just Hawaii.

But I would like to make a distinction between usage and access. If I have an internet subscription, I will have to pay whether I use it or not. But the moment the coverage stops in my area for an extended period of time due to the fault of the company, I would expect a refund for that period.

There is no question that taxes will be going up in the furture. Local, State as well as Federal Taxes. However, my point about the timeshare real estate taxes and the TAT is that Hawaii already taxes timeshares at a higher real estate rate than other condominiums and Hawaii is the only state in the United States that levies a TAT Transient Accomodations Tax. Therefore, if they increase those taxes disproportionately it would be adding insult to injury since not only did the Hawaii Government implement a 14 day quarantine to discourage(in reality prevent) tourists from coming, since tourists didn't come they didn't pay the TAT and GET(sales taxes) that they normally do to support Hawaii they need to make up their deficit by socking it to timeshares.

 

[csodjd]

I do not disagree with most of what what you said, taxes can go up and in the long run we can expect that in many places, not just Hawaii.

But I would like to make a distinction between usage and access. If I have an internet subscription, I will have to pay whether I use it or not. But the moment the coverage stops in my area for an extended period of time due to the fault of the company, I would expect a refund for that period.

That's a Pandora's box. What happens if there is a hurricane and the government shuts down everything including the airports for several days. Or if there is a volcano eruption that blocks access to some hotels or timeshares? Or a big earthquake and, say, Lagoon Tower is badly damaged and the government deems it unsafe. Who has assumed the risk of those kind of events? Certainly the government hasn't made any promises. Doesn't the OWNER assume the risk?

 

[lynne]

There is no question that taxes will be going up in the furture. Local, State as well as Federal Taxes. However, my point about the timeshare real estate taxes and the TAT is that Hawaii already taxes timeshares at a higher real estate rate than other condominiums and Hawaii is the only state in the United States that levies a TAT Transient Accomodations Tax. Therefore, if they increase those taxes disproportionately it would be adding insult to injury since not only did the Hawaii Government implement a 14 day quarantine to discourage(in reality prevent) tourists from coming, since tourists didn't come they didn't pay the TAT and GET(sales taxes) that they normally do to support Hawaii they need to make up their deficit by socking it to timeshares.

Just to clarify a bit, the TAT is assessed at the same rate for all properties rented for 180 days or less. This tax is currently 10.25% for all rental accommodations. The GET for rental properties as well as all goods and services are 4.5% with the exception that Maui did not include the additional .5% surcharge.

Property taxes are an entirely different structure where they are assessed by county and within county, by type of property. There is no difference in Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii County between timeshares and hotel/resort rates. Maui is the only county to assign a special category for timeshare property tax rates differentiating it from Hotel/Resort.

Hawai’i County Tax Rates Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020
Tax Rate Per $1,000 Net Taxable Building / Tax Rate Per $1000 Net Taxable Land

PROPERTY CLASS
0 Affordable Rental Housing $6.15 / $6.15
1 Residential $11.10 / $11.10
2 Apartment $11.70 / $11.70
3 Commercial $10.70 / $10.70
4 Industrial $10.70 / $10.70
5 Agricultural and Native Forest $9.35 / $9.35
6 Conservation $11.55 / $11.55
7 Hotel/Resort $11.55 / $11.55
9 Homeowner $6.15 / $6.15

HONOLULU COUNTY OAHU PROPERTY TAX RATES July 2019-June 2020 (Amount of Tax Per $1000 of Net Taxable Value)
Residential	$3.50
Hotel and Resort	$13.90
Commercial	$12.40
Industrial	$12.40
Agricultural	$5.70
Preservation	$5.70
Public Service	$0.00
Residential A – Tier 1 (Applied to the net taxable value of the property up to $1,000,000)	$4.50
Residential A – Tier 2 (Applied to the net taxable value of the property in excess of $1,000,000)	$10.50
Vacant Agricultural	$8.50

2019 – 2020 Maui Property Tax Rates
The 2019 – 2020 Maui Property Tax Rates have been released. There was a slight increase in rates for many of the classifications from the previous year.
These real property tax rates are shown per $1000 of net taxable assessed valuation. The rates shown below are effective July 1, 2019, thru June 30, 2020.
The Residential Tax Rate is $5.60
The Apartment Tax Rate is $6.31
The Commercial Tax Rate is $7.39
The Industrial Tax Rate is $7.48
The Agricultural Tax Rate is $5.94
The Conservation Tax Rate is $6.43
The Hotel and Resort Tax Rate is $11.00
The Time Share Tax Rate is $14.40
The Homeowner Tax Rate is $2.90
The Commercialized Residential Rate is $4.60
The Short Term Rental Rate is $10.75

2019 Tax Rates Kauai

(Per $1,000 Net Assessed Valuation)	Tax Rate
Homestead	$ 3.05
Residential	$ 6.05
Residential Investor	$ 8.05
Vacation Rental	$ 9.85
Hotel and Resort	$10.85
Commercial	$ 8.10
Commercialized Home Use	$ 5.05
Industrial	$ 8.10
Agricultural	$ 6.75
Conservation	$ 6.75

 

[jacknsara]

I'm a teacher living out here in Maui with my husband and daughter. And we see how quiet things are out here now and the need for things to open back up soon. If anyone out there is going to loose out on their week or time out there due to the quarantine and you would like to donate it to us we would be appreciative for the opportunity to get out of our house for a bit.

Aloha,
Perhaps this request is an opportunity to discuss a larger issue. Most or all of us are impacted by covid-19; I have no special sympathy for Hawaiian locals who are not descendants of subjects (citizens) of the Hawaiian Kingdom (for more on what that means, seach youtube for “dr keanu sai” e.g.

). President Clinton and the U.S. Congress apologized to those Hawaiians for the illegal U.S. overthrow (

). While Dr. Sai presents well-researched logical and legal arguments that Hawaii remains illegally occupied territory, I see no pragmatic chance that the Hawaiian Kingdom will re-emerge with independence. However, the resentment is likely to fester from generation to generation.
For those descendants of subjects who provide assurance of responsibility for preserving timeshare facilities, why not allow them use of otherwise vacant capacity during the quarantine period. Why not extend such a measure of good will. I don’t expect it to result in any of those folks changing their minds. Whether they like it or not, they are Americans, but they suffer in Hawaii as many minorities do on the mainland. As long as they don’t damage timeshare property, why not share some aloha?
I would also extend the same consideration to the extended ohana of the resort staffs who are impacted by current conditions (e.g. layoffs).
Jack

 

[Luanne]

I'm a teacher living out here in Maui with my husband and daughter. And we see how quiet things are out here now and the need for things to open back up soon. If anyone out there is going to loose out on their week or time out there due to the quarantine and you would like to donate it to us we would be appreciative for the opportunity to get out of our house for a bit.

Okay, I'll admit this is picky, but as a teacher I would think you would know the proper use of "loose" vs "lose". Just call me the grammar, or spelling, police.

 

[csodjd]

IMO it is offensive because someone is trying to benefit from the current situation, because a lot of owners have lost their businesses and jobs and they cannot use the weeks they are paying for. Also because the person is asking for a free week, is not offering any kind of compensation. It is one thing to give something for free, a totally different thing to ask for it.

If I had a week going to waste I'd be happy to let someone that could get some use out of it use it. A nice bottle of wine for thank you would be compensation enough.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Just to clarify a bit, the TAT is assessed at the same rate for all properties rented for 180 days or less. This tax is currently 10.25% for all rental accommodations. The GET for rental properties as well as all goods and services are 4.5% with the exception that Maui did not include the additional .5% surcharge.

Property taxes are an entirely different structure where they are assessed by county and within county, by type of property. There is no difference in Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii County between timeshares and hotel/resort rates. Maui is the only county to assign a special category for timeshare property tax rates differentiating it from Hotel/Resort.

Hawai’i County Tax Rates Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020
Tax Rate Per $1,000 Net Taxable Building / Tax Rate Per $1000 Net Taxable Land

PROPERTY CLASS
0 Affordable Rental Housing $6.15 / $6.15
1 Residential $11.10 / $11.10
2 Apartment $11.70 / $11.70
3 Commercial $10.70 / $10.70
4 Industrial $10.70 / $10.70
5 Agricultural and Native Forest $9.35 / $9.35
6 Conservation $11.55 / $11.55
7 Hotel/Resort $11.55 / $11.55
9 Homeowner $6.15 / $6.15

HONOLULU COUNTY OAHU PROPERTY TAX RATES July 2019-June 2020 (Amount of Tax Per $1000 of Net Taxable Value)
Residential	$3.50
Hotel and Resort	$13.90
Commercial	$12.40
Industrial	$12.40
Agricultural	$5.70
Preservation	$5.70
Public Service	$0.00
Residential A – Tier 1 (Applied to the net taxable value of the property up to $1,000,000)	$4.50
Residential A – Tier 2 (Applied to the net taxable value of the property in excess of $1,000,000)	$10.50
Vacant Agricultural	$8.50

2019 – 2020 Maui Property Tax Rates
The 2019 – 2020 Maui Property Tax Rates have been released. There was a slight increase in rates for many of the classifications from the previous year.
These real property tax rates are shown per $1000 of net taxable assessed valuation. The rates shown below are effective July 1, 2019, thru June 30, 2020.
The Residential Tax Rate is $5.60
The Apartment Tax Rate is $6.31
The Commercial Tax Rate is $7.39
The Industrial Tax Rate is $7.48
The Agricultural Tax Rate is $5.94
The Conservation Tax Rate is $6.43
The Hotel and Resort Tax Rate is $11.00
The Time Share Tax Rate is $14.40
The Homeowner Tax Rate is $2.90
The Commercialized Residential Rate is $4.60
The Short Term Rental Rate is $10.75

2019 Tax Rates Kauai

(Per $1,000 Net Assessed Valuation)	Tax Rate
Homestead	$ 3.05
Residential	$ 6.05
Residential Investor	$ 8.05
Vacation Rental	$ 9.85
Hotel and Resort	$10.85
Commercial	$ 8.10
Commercialized Home Use	$ 5.05
Industrial	$ 8.10
Agricultural	$ 6.75
Conservation	$ 6.75

Thanks for the clarification, your details support my points. The property taxes are already higher for timeshares and hotels than for homeowner properties. Therefore, increasing those already higher property taxes on timeshares and hotels disproportionately more than homeowner properties due to the lost revenue due to the coronavirus after implementing a 14 day quarantine which discouraged(really prevented) owners from using the timeshare property that they pay property taxes on would be adding insult to injury.

In addition, timeshares stays in other states do not incur a TAT Transient Accomodation Tax for each night one stays as we do in Hawaii. Again increasing that tax after implementing a 14 day quarantine due to the lost revenue due to the coronavirus after implementing a 14 day quarantine which discouraged(really prevented) timeshare stays disproportionately more than other taxes would be adding insult to injury.

 

[csodjd]

Thanks for the clarification, your details support my points. The property taxes are already higher for timeshares and hotels than for homeowner properties. Therefore, increasing those already higher property taxes on timeshares and hotels disproportionately more than homeowner properties due to the lost revenue due to the coronavirus after implementing a 14 day quarantine which discouraged(really prevented) owners from using the timeshare property that they pay property taxes on would be adding insult to injury.

That's true. However, if you're going to raise taxes, as a politician, do you raise taxes on those that vote, or on those that cannot vote?

 

[DavidnRobin]

PLEASE SEE TITLE OF THREAD.
perhaps take your arguments/opinions to another thread - especially the TUG newbies.

To that end...
HI should implement C-19 testing protocol for those arriving in HI.
(e.g. certificate of testing within so many days of arrival). I’d be surprised if this isn’t happening (hopefully it is being planned)
As an island state - they can do this.
Some countries are doing this for C-19 already.

For years travelers have to show immunization certification for certain diseases - so this would be similar.

If you are living on HI - you should be contacting your Legislators about this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DeniseM]

Regarding gifting your timeshare to a Hawaiian resident: My experience is that most resorts do not want people checking in, and many are sending letters to owners discouraging them from coming, even if they have a reservation. Some, like the Hilton Hawaiian Village, are closing down for a period of time. Also, most resorts have closed down their amenities, so even if a local resident was staying there, the pools, restaurants, etc are closed to them. So I think there could be issues with gifting your week to a stranger. YMMV

* I have gifted my timeshares to strangers before, but not under such difficult circumstances.

 

[slip]

Pools and restaurants will be opening June 5th with restrictions. I think it will be important for inter-island flights to start without the quarantine. That will open up some hotels and timeshares.

 

[csodjd]

Pools and restaurants will be opening June 5th with restrictions. I think it will be important for inter-island flights to start without the quarantine. That will open up some hotels and timeshares.

There's a bit of a chicken-egg problem. Your post made me wonder, what does Hilton Hawaiian Village say/allow right now? So I logged in and this is the message for my "upcoming" (October) reservation:

The ** part was the notable part. I have to assume it would take them at least 30 days to open once they decide to do so, perhaps more.

Then I put in some dates. The system shows nothing before July 1, but starting July 1 it will ALLOW me to book a room at any of their Hawaii timeshare properties. It has the same message, but no other information that I can find.

 

[Tamaradarann]

That's true. However, if you're going to raise taxes, as a politician, do you raise taxes on those that vote, or on those that cannot vote?

I totally understand the politics and agree with what you are saying if taken as an isolated statement without context. However, the direction of this discussion took started with Monica 808, who lives in Maui, asking if anyone has a week that they would be losing due to the coronavirus and would like to donate it to her and her family. There were comments made pro and con on doing it.

I mentioned that I found the request offensive in view of the fact that a prime reason that the owner of a timeshare would not be using their timeshare and would be losing it would be because Monica 808's Government imposed a 14 day quarantine so that tourists would not come to Hawaii. So now she was asking to benefit from that retriction implement by her Government.

Yellowfin then made a comment that perhaps the local government would remimburse taxes for the months that they are keeping the islands closed to tourist with the quarantine.

That assertion, which I am sure won't happen, prompted me to make the comment that if the Hawaii Government raised property taxes more on timeshares and hotels than on other properties due to the lost revenue from the corona virus it would be adding insult to injury after implementing the 14 day quarentine which prevented people from using their timeshares.