Around Hawaii a dispute has been bubbling between vacation rental owners and their neighbors in residential neighborhoods. The rentals create noise, traffic and crowds, according to the opponents. On Maui, which has perhaps the greatest percentage of rentals in the islands per capita, the dispute has been particularly acrimonious. Earlier this month, Maui County announced it would start levying fines against any vacation rental owners or agencies that are renting unpermitted vacation homes. These threats have come in the past but the county made it clear that they meant business this time. As of last week, all vacation rental activity on Maui has frozen. I called a couple of agencies and they told me they had halted renting out properties. This new action essentially freezes out families seeking to rent in parts of Maui where there are no hotels and few condos. Note -- this is not impacting condominiums, which have a different set of rules. No one knows what the outcome of this dispute will be so, for now, it's probably wise to stick to hotels (Sheraton Maui, Four Seasons, Grand Wailea, Napili Kai Beach Club, etc) or condos (Wailea Ekahi) that have permits to engage in vacation rentals. I'll keep you posted as this develops. It's entirely possible this could spread to Oahu, which would totally freeze the Kailua / Windward vacation rental market.

Related Links: Wailea Ekahi Rental

—Alex, 07/18/07