Honolulu, which estimates it has 800 legal short-term rentals and over 8,000 illegal ones, will have a new tool for keeping track and for enforcing its rules as Airbnb and Expedia agreed to provide key information.
Up to now, it’s been hard for the city to enforce its limits because proving in court that a property is illegally rented has been difficult, and due to the nature of the rental, is likely to already be over.
Under the agreement, similar to some in other cities, the agencies will require hosts to include their Transient Tax Accommodation number and a ‘tax map key’ identifying the location. The numbers will be visible to website users, and the agencies have agreed to remove all listings that don’t have the numbers.
Similar agreements were signed earlier this year covering Kauai.
