Hawaii's 'Green Fee' to raise hotel, cruiseship charges in January

By Elizabeth ʻUfi for Pacific Business News

Staying at hotel in Hawaii is about to get even more expensive. Beginning next year, visitors staying at a Hawaii hotel or short-term rental will have to pay an added .75% climate-impact fee to the state's existing transient accommodations tax, raising the state visitor tax bill to nearly 11%.

This means a $100 hotel room for one night would now cost an additional 75 cents, with the total charge being $115.5 including the increased TAT from $10.25 to $11 and $4.50 from base general excise tax and county surcharge fees.

The fee is the first-ever climate impact fee, coined the "Green Fee", signed into law by Gov. Josh Green on Tuesday. He said revenue from the fee is projected to generate $100 million annually and would be intended to fund climate protection and environmental resilience efforts, such as wildfire prevention and sea-level rise adaptation.

Click here to read the full story published by Pacific Business News on May 28.