Aloha,

We have been holding a series of meetings with State officials and members of Governor Ige's administration to discuss the possibility of a booster shot requirement to the Safe Travels program. Today, members of the HLTA Board and the Hawai'i Tourism, Business, & Community Coalition met with Lt. Governor Josh Green and Major General Kenneth Hara as well as HTA President & CEO John De Fries and HVCB President John Monahan to express our concerns regarding the booster requirement and reaffirm our commitment to the health of our guests, staff, and the greater community. 

It was an extremely productive meeting during which we conveyed our desire to move forward with supporting recommendations to emphasize public health guidance over further mandates. It is clear that we must stay the course and continue our efforts to get our people vaccinated and boosted while maintaining the strictest of health and safety standards at our places of business. Because, at the end of the day, Governor Ige will ultimately be making the final decision on this matter.

Everything is currently trending in our favor on this issue; case counts are going down, hospitalizations are decreasing, and our entire community is beginning to understand that we will have to learn to live with COVID-19 as we can begin to resume our lives. Continuing to rebuild the local tourism economy is the first step to restoring both international travel and large events, two significant sectors of our industry that have not yet begun the recovery process.

​You may have seen over the weekend that I sent out a short survey regarding HLTA members' vaccination and booster rates. The initial feedback was outstanding but the more data that we can get, the better we can illustrate to the State that our industry is leading the way in terms of vaccinating our people. If you have not yet filled out the survey, you can find it at this link. It will take just a few moments of your time, and you may opt to keep your business name confidential. ​

Aloha,

Yesterday, the Hawai'i State Legislature held its annual opening ceremonies to kick off the 2022 Legislative Session. Despite being relegated to a hybrid format with an empty gallery, the leaders of both chambers spoke of their optimism and their respective legislative priorities over the course of the next several months which include everything from economic recovery to homelessness, mental health, and the connection between tourism and conservation. It is clear that they have an ambitious agenda, and we will have to be on our toes for both measures that we support and those that we oppose.

In his remarks before the Senate, our friend Senator Kurt Fevella stated plainly what we all know to be true: Hawai'i's economic recovery and health will continue to rely upon the hospitality industry. He made clear that getting Hawai'i's back to steady, productive work is a critical priority, and no industry can do that as quickly as the tourism industry. In the current political and community climate, where the target on our backs seems to grow daily, it was refreshing to hear an elected official reiterate the importance of tourism. ​

​On the HLTA front, we have finalized our HLTA Government Affairs Position Statement for 2022. This document, which you can read in its entirety at the link above, details our legislative positions and priorities and will be distributed to each legislator in the coming days. Should you have any questions about the document or any of our positions, please feel free to contact my Vice President of Government & Community Affairs Jared Higashi via email at jhigashi@hawaiilodging.org. 

Aloha,

On December 22, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, to his credit, announced his veto of Maui County Council Bill 148 which would have established a two-year moratorium on the issuance of building permits for transient accommodations on Maui. This was a measure that we had opposed before the Council, and I had previously urged Mayor Victorino to wield his veto powers.

Tomorrow, the Council will meet for its first Full Council meeting of the new year where they are slated to take a vote to override the veto. Since Mayor Victorino's announcement, we have been working hard to secure the necessary votes to sustain his veto. These efforts culminated in the issuance of a letter that we helped to craft along with MHLA which was sent to each of the Maui County councilmembers yesterday. Co-signed by representatives from hospitality, business, labor, and trade organizations, the letter clearly articulates our position on Bill 148 and urges the Council to sustain.

After the letter began to circulate, additional organizations and individuals reached out to me to express their support and ask to sign on. Sensing that the momentum was on the upswing, I reproduced the letter with the additional signatories and sent it to each of the Maui County councilmembers earlier this afternoon. You can read the letter and view the signatories here.

This latest initiative underscores the strength that lies in collaboration and partnership—something that HLTA has embraced through our diverse coalitions across the state and we have been able to demonstrate some success with this collaborative strategy. While we face an uphill battle to sustain the mayor's veto, we need to continue to send a message to lawmakers that we are united in advocating for a strong, resilient, and sustainable economy.  ​