Mufi's Message 5.13.19

Charity Walk Updates - We Are On A Roll! ​

​As the Oahu Charity Walk gets closer and closer, I know that everyone’s efforts are in full gear.  The Oahu Chapter held their “Dine-Around” fundraiser on Tuesday evening.  Their sold out-event featured Momosan at the ‘Alohilani Resort, Seoul Jung at the Waikiki Resort Hotel, and wrapped up at SWIM Bar at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa.  Mahalo to Oahu Chapter’s Matt Grauso, Glenn Vergara, Bonnie Kiyabu, Earl Cachola & Jodi Uehara for their planning efforts.  A Dine-Around takes some serious coordination, and we appreciate your hard work for such a great cause.
 
Congratulations to Molokai and Lanai islands, who held their Charity Walks on May
4th.  Molokai brought in a total of $23,311: their top fundraiser were the Farmers of Molokai High and Middle School, which collected a noteworthy sum of $8,200.
 
Lanai raised an impressive $62,214, with the Lanai Cat Sanctuary once again claiming the top fundraiser spot with $37,510! 
 
It appears that cat lovers from around the country donated to the nonprofit.  They received hundreds of donations, sourced from far and wide: from Cupertino, California, to College Station, Texas, and even Buffalo, New York.  This is a perfect example of a non-profit organization who has successfully leveraged the full potential of our crowdfunding platform.
 
Try it: share your Charity Walk Team Page to your Facebook, leave it in your email signature, or post it to your Instagram.  You can also donate to any of the islands via the links below... 
 
My staff was present for the Walks on Hawaii Island, Kauai, and Maui Islands respectively this past Saturday and were totally overwhelmed and impressed! A bunch of heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS are in order:  
 
Congratulations to HLTA Hawaii Island Chapter Chair Craig Anderson and Charity Walk Chair Steve Yannarell who beat their goal of $325,000 – their total raised was $338,000! Last year, Hawaii Island raised $315,000 to benefit 61 charities.
 
Kauai Island set an ambitious goal of $435,000 – and exceeded their goal, as well! Through their efforts, including a “Slippah Drop,” they brought in a total of $442,404. Congratulations to HLTA Kauai Chapter Executive Director Morgan Lopez, and to Chip Bahouth, Kauai Charity Walk Co-Chair.  Happy Birthday and congratulations to Jacob Vogelgesang, our other Charity Walk Co-Chair, who I hope had a great birthday raising funds to support Kauai nonprofits!
 
Maui Island of course, continued its trend of raising over $1 million dollars, for their third year in a row: the Maui Island total was $1,123,209 ! Congratulations to Maui County Charity Walk Chair Tets Yamazaki, and MHLA Executive Director Lisa Paulson.
 
The after-Walk totals thus far  are:
Molokai: $23,311
Lanai:  $62,214
Maui: $1,123,209
Kauai:  $442,404
Hawaii Island: $338,000
 
Congratulations to all our neighbor island chapters and fundraisers – you have done a phenomenal job.
 
Now all that’s left is for Oahu to beat its record: be sure to register or donate now.  If you have not done so yet, register to participate in both our first-ever Hawaii’s 1K Slippah Walk, and Charity Walk – see you Saturday at Magic Island!

Click here  to watch Robert Kekaula talk about Hawaii's 1K Slippah Walk: 7am at Magic Island. Bring your slippahs and join us as we break the Guinness World Record for most walkers in slippahs - register here. ​

Advocacy Update: Transient Vacation Rentals 
and Real Property Tax Rates ​

​This past Wednesday marked a busy day for the Honolulu City Council.  Waikiki Councilmember Tommy Waters attended his first council meeting while Windward Councilmember Ikaika Anderson was inaugurated as Council Chair.

Given the contentious issue of transient vacation rental regulations before the full council, Honolulu Hale was filled to the brim with opponents and proponents to Bill 89 (2018) and Bill 85 (2018), both taking a hard look at regulating the short-term rental market.
 
With both measures going up for their third and final reading, testimonies poured in: from residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, community leaders, and government officials alike -which took the discussion well into the evening.  I was joined by State Senator Kurt Fevella, in advocating for Bill 89, which would limit whole-home TVRs to the zones they are currently legal in (hotel, resort, mixed use resort in the Waikiki Special District), and would allow for a very controlled expansion of owner/manager-occupied Bed & Breakfast units. Also urging the Council to take action were two other State Senators - Sharon Moriwaki and  Laura Thielen and State Representative Sam Kong. 
 
During my testimony, I pointed to the fact that this is one of the few and rare occasions that business and labor have come together, because the issue of illegal TVRs has gotten out of control.  I made it clear that Honolulu needs to act now, and that we cannot afford to procrastinate and prolong decisive action. In our neighboring counties, great strides have been made to address the continuous TVR issue.  Last year in Maui County, for example, the situation was so dire that the local community voted to impose stricter fines on illegal TVRs.
 
After six hours of public testimony, the council broke for an executive session to discuss the many points brought up through the afternoon, including a number of floor amendments. A motion was made to recommit the measures back to the committee on zoning, planning, and housing for further deliberation. 
 
As the measures head back to committee, we will stay vigilant in our stance: the City needs to face this problem head on, as it has gotten way out of control.I remain optimistic that something positive will emerge eventually. 
 
On Tuesday May 14th, the Honolulu Committee on Budget will be holding a special hearing on budget measures, which includes the proposal to increase the real property tax rate for the hotel and resort classification through Resolution 19-55.  I would like to encourage all the Honolulu stakeholders, to remain resolute in our opposition to any increase to the RPT rate and make every effort to testify in person or submit testimony.  
 
Also in the realm of real property tax rates, I joined our Maui lodging members this past Friday to speak to their county council on the ramifications their proposed Hotel/Resort RPT increase would have on the visitor industry.  
 
The current Council proposal is to increase the hotel and resort class from $9.37 per $1,000 to $11.00 per $1,000, a staggering 17% increase.  Standing in opposition to the proposal was Maui's visitor industry, as they packed the auditorium festively attired in their Visitor Industry Charity Walk team shirts.
 
During my time at the podium, I respectfully asked the council to consider cutting as much "fat" off the budget before looking at revenue enhancement measures.  I stated that their new RPT proposal would certainly place an undue burden on the lodging industry as they already cover 42% of the County's total revenues from real property taxes.  I also brought up the fact that more visitor arrivals to our islands does not equate to more money, which has been a common misconception of the general public.  Of late, not only has our visitor spending been on the decline, but we are seeing more of our tourists staying at illegal transient vacation rentals. That last point resonated with several Councilmembers who stated  a willingness to me after the hearing  to work with our industry to enact stricter and stronger regulation on Maui. 
 
After a series of testifiers, the County Council ultimately voted on a resolution to pass the new real property tax rates with Councilmember Riki Hokama dissenting . It was interesting to note that several councilmembers expressed reservations with their votes but felt compelled to approve the budget due to the budget deadlines that had to be met. They also supported the idea of setting up a tax review committee to examine whether there was a need to overhaul their property tax rates. 

The measure now gets inserted into the County's budget where it will go through two public readings and eventually to the Mayor for his signature, or veto. 

Entrepreneurship Program

​As you may have noticed by now, HLTA has been working very closely with the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority on several initiatives of late. For instance , I participated in one of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival and Hawaii Agricultural Foundation’s newest initiative, the High School Entrepreneurship Program that began last week. Denise Yamaguchi of the HFWF has been in discussion with Chris Tatum and yours truly to foster this latest collaboration. 
 
This program seeks to work with public high school academies and career technical education (CTE) programs, to incorporate real-world business experiences into their educational curriculum.  The program stems from the HTA, the HFWF, and the Hawai‘i Ag Foundation, with a  focus primarily centered on culinary arts and agriculture.
 
The mission of the program will be to bring a business perspective to the classroom, incorporating key fundamentals from departments such as marketing, operations, and budgeting into the classroom learning experience.  The students will then get the opportunity to test these skills in the highly popular HFWH’s Keiki in the Kitchen, and the Made in Hawai‘i Market Place for Kids by Kids events.  Funding provided by the HTA will assist with statewide teacher training, development of a structured curriculum, and start-up funds for each class business. 
 
The program began with a teacher training session at the Department of Education’s OCIS offices in Kaimuki.  To help kick-off their efforts I attended as a guest speaker, and offered remarks on behalf of HTA and HLTA , to the many teachers who were representing high schools from across the state.  In tribute to this new- found partnership with the HFWF, and the Hawai‘i Ag Foundation, I spoke to the synergism that exists between the hospitality industry and the many different agricultural , food , business and marketing sectors it touches.  With programs such as the High School Entrepreneurship Program, we will continue to support growth in our tourism diversification efforts and the development of our State’s future leaders.