KA HALE NA HO`OKIPA
The House
Where Guests Are Welcome
Information about Bed & Breakfast Homestays,
Vacation Rentals, Eco-Resorts, Inns, Boutique Hotels,
and
Guided Camping Excursions
In Hawai`i
April & May, 2007
There is simply no way to gloss over the truth - September 11 wound up having a profound - and lasting - effect upon Hawai`i's visitor industry. Although it took nearly two years to recover, the visitor count since the end of 2003 has been the best ever all across Hawai`i. Well over seven million folks came to Hawai`i in 2005 and the total numbers for 2006 almost sustained that figure although there are some signs that the visitor sector of the overall economy might be cooling off in the long run
EDITOR'S NOTE: The 2006 Visitor Research Data as well as January & February, 2007 figures can be viewed at
Office of Tourism website. March figures should be out about April 20.
It's really important to understand that well before September 11, there were many of us who had been asking for most of our adult lives: Can we continue to grow the tourism industry at 5% - 7% rate each year? Visitors already outnumber residents more than six to one on an annual basis. How many more can we accommodate before we run out of potable water or before residents find their beaches and hiking trails overwhelmed with tourists every day?
There are questions which we all have to ask ourselves and which you as responsible travelers must do as well.
Granted, increased dollars spent on locally-owned businesses for gifts and tours and restaurants stay here flowing through the economy over and over. However, increased dollars for them do not necessarily translate into increased profits for businesses owned by overseas investors such as airlines and hotel chains. Their Money Men need the increased numbers even if the carrying capacity is strained to the limit.
That's when many of us started looking at different types of tourism which would attract a different type of visitor - upsacle, well-educated, and interested in learning first-hand what being in Hawai`i is all about.
Decades ago, decisions were made by policy-makers to set aside areas for visitors and to discourage interactions with local residents outside of these designated resort and commercial areas.
Because of those policies, today we're seeing a lot of anger & hostility directed towards visitors - not physically - by trying to restrict visitors to set-aside areas. Unfortunately, the New Visitor wants something much more than than that.
That won't happen unless we work together to change attitudes & beliefs held by local residents about who these New Visitors are. That is really going to be a major challenge for those of us who want to encourage the shift away from mass-market tourism to a more sustainable visitor culture.
Now, what does that mean for you? Of course, we want you to visit with us.
BUT...we do caution you to be sensitive to the fact that Hawai`i is NOT a budget travel destination - and never will be.
There are only two ways to get here and neither is cheap. This is reflected in the type & price of accommodations. In other words, we have no motels nor do we have many small urban or country inns or lots of bed and breakfasts like most other vacation areas which can be reached by car. You definitely cannot bring your RV here because there is no place to park it.
If you are planning to stay in Waikiki and go out on fossil-fueled day trips either in rental cars or large tour buses, then one of the most important things to remember about its hotels is that most are not on the beach or even directly across from it. However, none is more than a five-to-seven-minute walk away. Therefore, go for price rather than location if you must stay in Waikiki since hotel room rates will continue to rise.
An increasing number of travelers - especially repeat visitors - simply bypass O`ahu altogether because they assume that everything on O`ahu looks like high-rise Waikiki - which, of course, it doesn't. There is so much to do and see and experience here on O`ahu that you will be sorry to have skipped it. However, if it's your choice to go directly to Maui or Kaua`i or the Island of Hawai`i, this means you need to allow enough lead time for getting the kind of accommodations you want.
For those of you who are eager to experience the Other Hawai`i here on O`ahu, however, there are accommodation alternatives to staying in a high-rise hotel in Waikiki or a mega-resort here on O`ahu or on one of the Neighbor Islands.
A word of caution, however, about the situation on O`ahu. Bed & breakfast operations and vacation rentals are not welcome in most communities outside of Waikiki. There are teams of vigilantes who are going after these "illegal operations" with the idea of driving them out of business by reporting them to the authorities.
It's not that these operators want to run an illegal business - they are forced to because the last licensing period closed on December 28, 1989. That's not a typo - no licenses have been issued in over 17 years.
Current b&b operators, most of whom are in their 60s and 70s, now number fewer than 60 on O`ahu. Within five years, virtually all legal b&b operations on O`ahu will be gone forever unless there is a significant shift in public opinion. Transient vacation rental units will probably be around longer, but eventually, they'll be gone as well if the licensing process remains closed.
Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem, conservative estimates are that there are currently around 1,300 "illegal" b&b rooms & vacation rentals with many of them in areas like Kahala, Kailua, and the North Shore.
Therefore, if you want to stay in a b&b, be sure to ask if it is legal and licensed. If it is not and you still want to stay there, you might want to consider booking a hotel room in Waikiki just in case your first choice is shut down by the City in response to complaints filed by the b&b police. You can usually cancel without penalty with 48 hours notice.
The situation is different on the other islands where b&bs are seen as a signficant way of keeping out large-scale development.
Do let us help you plan a Very Special Trip anywhere in Hawai`i! Send us an e-mail and be sure to include the dates you'll be here, the island(s) you'd like to visit, and, most important, your budget, personal preferences, and needs. We'll get back to you with some recommendations and referrals.
Aloha!
Interested in getting to know local folks and learning more about Hawai`i's many unique cultures?
Want to get away from traffic and high-rises and spend your vacation beside a waterfall or on a secluded beach or at a working coffee farm?
Do making new friends and going on exciting adventures rate high in your vacation plans?
Is a safe place to stay just as important as convenience to shopping and urban night life?
Do you consider yourself a traveler interested in patronizing locally-owned businesses who in turn subscribe to responsible and ethical ecotourism principles?
And
Finally, would you like to save some money on lodging during your Hawaiian Dream Trip?
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If you've answered YES to any of these questions, then let us at KA HALE NA HO`OKIPA help you find just the right place to stay.
With this COMPLIMENTARY service offered to visitors, we can put you in touch with environmentally responsible small businesses located all across Hawai`i. All you have to do is send us an e-mail to GuideStar and tell us what island(s) you'd like to visit, the type of accommodations you want, your general budget, and your proposed travel dates.
NOTE: There is no charge to any reservation service or rental agency either. We offer this free service in order to attract visitors who will truly appreciate what Hawai`i has to offer.
However, many reservation services charge a small setup fee for using their services as well as collect a percentage of the nightly accommodations fee so please inquire as to what you will be paying for the service before you sign anything.
By the way, most of our referrals are members of the HAWAII ECOTOURISM ASSOCIATION, a professional association which supports strongly the principles of responsible, sustainable, and locally-owned & managed adventure travel, nature-based, cultural, health, and sports ecotourism.
The KA HALE NA HO`OKIPA Directory is an easy way for visitors like yourself who are planning a business trip or the vacation of a lifetime to find people like us without having to thrash through dozens of listings on search engines.
We look forward to working with you so that your dream vacation is NO KA `OI - The Best!
SHANNON & JAMES B. WOOD
PO BOX 6366
Kane`ohe, HI 96744
Voicemail: 808/247-6366 ext. 3#
E-Mail: GuideStar
Members
HAWAII SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS (Jim)
KANE`OHE BUSINESS GROUP (Jim)
KAILUA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (Shannon)
HAWAII ECOTOURISM ASSOCIATION (Both)
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