RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS.

Housing Taxes

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: TAM, AMATO, BELATTI, GRANDINETTI, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, KILA, KUSCH, MARTEN, MATAYOSHI, QUINLAN, SOUZA, TARNAS, TODD
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is January 1, 2026.

Making Hotel Prices Clearer

This bill requires hotels, online travel agencies, and short-term rental platforms to show all fees and taxes upfront when listing prices for temporary stays.

What This Bill Does

Requires transient accommodations brokers and other entities to include all resort fees in the price they list.
Requires these places to also add all government-imposed taxes and fees into the total cost before a customer books their stay.
Establishes penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation.

Who It Names or Affects

Hotels and motels
Online travel agencies
Short-term rental platforms

Terms To Know

Resort fee: A charge added to a hotel room rate for services like internet, gym access, or parking.
Transient accommodations broker: Someone who helps people find and book temporary places to stay, like hotels or vacation rentals.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if the law is broken after its effective date.
It's unclear how this will affect existing contracts or agreements made before the new rules start.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires transient accommodations providers to display all resort fees and taxes upfront, ensuring full transparency in pricing.

Transient accommodations brokers must include all required resort fees in the rental rate they offer, list, advertise, or display.
All applicable taxes and fees imposed by government on a stay must be included in the total price before a consumer reserves transient accommodations.
Violations of these requirements can result in civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation.

The amendment specifies an effective date of January 1, 3000, which seems unrealistic and likely indicates a placeholder or error.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-04 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kong, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-04 H
Reported from TOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 128) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.
2025-01-30 H
The committee on TOU recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tam, Templo, Holt, Hussey, Ilagan, Todd, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2025-01-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by TOU on Thursday, 01-30-25 9:00AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-23 H
Referred to TOU, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 3
2025-01-23 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-21 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS.
Transient Accommodations; Rates; Transparency; Unfair Method of Competition; Unfair or Deceptive Acts; Penalties
Requires transient accommodations brokers and any other persons or entities to offer, list, advertise, or display a transient accommodations rental rate that includes all resort fees required for the furnishing of transient accommodations. Requires transient accommodations brokers and any other persons or entities to include all applicable taxes and fees imposed by a government on the stay in the total price to be paid before the consumer reserves the furnishing of transient accommodations. Establishes penalties. Effective 1/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB973

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

973

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to transient accommodations
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that fully
transparent pricing--from the outset of a consumer's Hawaii transient
accommodations booking journey--is paramount to enjoying a proper experience of
aloha.
�
Numerous hotel brands have
already voluntarily implemented transparent pricing practices by displaying
resort and other mandatory fees up front, rather than only before a booking's
finalization.

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The legislature further finds that
consumers should have access to the same pricing transparency, regardless of the
transient accommodations type or channel of distribution.
�
The legislature also finds that the establishment
of a single standard for a mandatory display of fees across the tourism
ecosystem's entirety--from hotels, motels, and short-term rental accommodations
to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and short-term rental platforms--will
not only prevent consumers from being misled but also ensure a level playing
field across the tourism industry.

����
Therefore, the purpose of this Act
is to require transient accommodations brokers and any other persons or
entities to:

����
(1)
�
Offer, list,
advertise, or display a transient accommodations rental rate that includes all
resort fees required for the furnishing of transient accommodations; and

����
(2)
�
Include all
applicable taxes and fees imposed by a government on the stay in the total
price to be paid before a consumer reserves the furnishing of transient
accommodations.

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 481B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�481B-
�
Transient
accommodations; fee transparency.
�
(a)
�
No transient accommodations broker or any
other person or entity shall offer, list, advertise, or display a transient
accommodations rental rate that does not include all resort fees required for
the furnishing of transient accommodations.

����
(b)
�
Transient
accommodations brokers and all other persons or entities shall include all
applicable taxes and fees imposed by a government on the stay in the total
price to be paid before a consumer reserves the furnishing of transient
accommodations.

����
(c)
�
Transient accommodations brokers and all
other persons or entities that knew or should have known that they offered,
listed, advertised, or displayed a transient accommodations rental rate in
violation of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding
$10,000 for each violation.

����
(d)
�
An action to enforce this section may be
brought by the attorney general or a prosecuting attorney of any county.

����
(e)
�
The duties and obligations imposed by this
section shall:

����
(1)
�
Be in addition
to any other duties or obligations imposed by law; and

����
(2)
�
Not be
construed to relieve any person or entity from any other duties or obligations
imposed by law.

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(f)
�
As used in this section:

����
"Resort fee" has the
same meaning as in section 237D-1.

����
"Taxes and fees imposed by a
government on the stay" means taxes levied under chapter 237, taxes levied
under chapter 237D, and any applicable transient accommodations taxes levied by
a county.

����
"Transient
accommodations" has the same meaning as in section 237D-1.

����
"Transient accommodations
broker" has the same meaning as in section 237D-1.

����
"Transient accommodations
rental rate" means the rate, before the inclusion of taxes and fees
imposed by a government on the stay, at which transient accommodations are to
be furnished to a consumer.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
If any provision of this Act, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Act are severable.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.

����
SECTION 5.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 6.
�
This Act shall take effect on January 1,
2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Transient
Accommodations; Rates; Transparency; Unfair Method of Competition; Unfair or
Deceptive Acts; Penalties

Description:

Requires transient accommodations brokers and any other
persons or entities to offer, list, advertise, or display a transient
accommodations rental rate that includes all resort fees required for the
furnishing of transient accommodations.
�

Requires transient accommodations brokers and any other persons or
entities to include all applicable taxes and fees imposed by a government on
the stay in the total price to be paid before the consumer reserves the
furnishing of transient accommodations.
�

Establishes penalties.
�
Effective
1/1/2026.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.