Popular sunny destination to slash 10,000 vacation rentals in affordable housing push

In his State of the State address on Monday, Greene, a Democrat, announced that 10,000 rentals would be removed from the market.

"We also have to return more homes to local families - including short-term rentals that have taken too many units off the market," said Greene.

"In the coming years," he added, "we will support the counties as they bring more short-term rentals back into the housing market - so that more homes go to local families, not absentee investors."

There were nearly 9 million visitors to the state in the first 11 months of 2025, according to preliminary statistics from Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

Tourism numbers were slightly down by .2% compared to the same time period in 2024.

Visitor spending in the month of November rose 15.9%, with the Aloha State raking in $1.77 billion, according to DBEDT.

On Dec. 31, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal. 

Toni Schwartz, spokesperson for the Hawaii attorney general's office, told The Associated Press the office "remain[s] confident that Act 96 is lawful and will be vindicated when the appeal is heard on the merits."