I read where the governor and mayor are planning to build more permanent housing for the Lahaina fire victims. All well and good but not enough to solve the problem.

I think all social media is nonsense so I’m not on it. But maybe someone who is or who knows someone can start a movement explaining the problem of our critical housing shortage here and the unwillingness of most short-term rental owners to convert their properties to long-term rentals.

The over 27,000 short-term rentals exist because of the ludicrous prices tourists are willing to pay. Maybe some social media-savvy person can encourage tourists to visit the island, but stay in hotels instead (particularly on the west side) as a way to help the Lahaina fire victims find housing.

That way, if enough tourists help out, the market will encourage short-term rental owners to convert to long-term rentals and maybe accept a ridiculous price instead of a ludicrous price for their properties. The county could still waive taxes for those owners who do to ease the transition.

When Lahaina is re-built and more properties are available, the owners can go back to soaking the tourists for everything they can get. But it’s better to have the market decide rather than some emergency proclamation or government paying ludicrous prices for these places instead of fixing roads or addressing the homeless problem.

Kevin Bridges

Kahului