An easy start is a tax that applies to any stay of 5 (or whatever) nights or less. Another would be a tax on visitors from a foreign country. The idea is make it more expensive to come, which will result in fewer visitors. In San Francisco restaurants have a "benefits" tax that they add to the bills to pay for healthcare benefits for their employees. Hawaii could impose a "benefits" tax that generates revenue that they can then use for the benefit of residents.
That may be wishful thinking. I cannot imagine that you can put all those hotels in mothballs for a year and expect there to be employees ready to go when they decide to open. They'll have long earlier been forced into different jobsor moved back to the mainland or wherever. That's not even considering whether an airline like Hawaiian would even exist in a year, or most of the restaurants that cater to tourists.
How exactly does he plan to put "quality over quantity" into action? It seems difficult and subjective. How does he decide if someone is quality?
It is indeed an odd policy currently where they have virtually zero infections. No new ones statewide yesterday. The only two in recent days were residents arriving from the mainland, and, of course, they had to be quarantined. So what are they "evaluating" for 14 days I wonder? At this point they have the best infection situation and control in the US. June will just be more of May... any new cases will have arrived from a flight in, and since all arriving have to be quarantined, spread is almost impossible (except within the home of the arriving person).
By "quality" I think they just mean will or does spend more. I suspect they have great data on spending with profiles of who spends, where they come from, how long they stay, where they stay, etc. I'm sure they know the "buyers" (tourists) of their "products" (tourism) well. Using that kind of data they can adjust marketing, taxes, etc., to encourage what they want and discourage what they don't.
I know what the Mayor means by 'quality" but there doesn't seem to be any practical way to quantify and regulate that. I mean does he think people are going to show their W2 and bring their receipts from their previous stay before they can book a vacation? And for people implying that tourists who save up their money for their special trip to Hawai'i are all bumpkins who trash the island are ignorant. [redacted] People who litter come in all shapes, sizes and bank accounts. Don't even get me going on the people in their fancy sports cars flicking cigarette butts.
By enacting policy mechanisms that attempt to encourage the type of visitor they want, and discourage the type of visitor they don't. For example, if they wanted to encourage longer stays, they could change the form of TAT (or add a new lodging tax) that charged a non-trival amount on a per-stay basis, not a per-night basis.
Partly that's because those states/countries couldn't easily seal off their land borders to others and/or it's just too late. Hawaii doesn't have either of those problems. It might not be the choice I'd hope for as potential visitors, but I can't say that it's irrational.
I'd say definitely not irrational in March/April.
Well the easy answer is, the government would say, it's up to the TS entity to deal with that. They aren't infringing on anyone's rights. They are issuing a public health order. Moreover, unless you have a fixed week, your vested property right is not a right to any given week, just to a week in a year. I suspect the TS entities could "do the math" and meet the demand and ensure you get your week, though it may not be the week you want. But that's just like today. I'd love to pick my week at the MOC, but I have to try and grab it at 6:00am 12 months to the day or its gone. So I don't see any "taking" issues. No more so than red flagging a dangerous building.
The resort I own on Maui has fixed weeks. They shut down for the entire month of May. They suggested that owners bank their weeks with one of the exchange companies. I'm sure the trade company they work with the most, Trading Places Maui, is scrambling to find other weeks for owners.
