Hawaii News Now reported yesterday on the problem of hotels in Kaanapali pushing out the public by setting up beach chairs in advance.
Mahealani Richardson reported:
Maui beachgoers say they’re being pushed out — by beach chairs and cabanas.
“When we get to the beach, the hotels have lined up umbrellas, beach chairs, cabanas. Just taking over the whole beach and this is public beach,” said Lahaina resident Kai Nishiki.
Hotels are not allowed to pre-set chairs and cabanas on any public beach.
Now the state Land Department is investigating after multiple complaints.
Hmmmm. No need to fly over to Maui to find the same thing.
The Kahala Hotel has been doing the same thing recently. The hotel had stopped the practice in response to public pressure when its application for a long-term easement to use the beach was pending. But the chairs started going out early in the morning a couple of weeks ago.
Chairs last week at the Kahala Hotel about 7:30 a.m.
Chairs in place before dawn this morning.
The hotel is obviously busier than normal during this holiday period. But it’s equally obvious that the guests who were going to use those beach chairs were not around at this time of the morning.
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so, if half dozen “regular” folks came to hang on the beach, could they move some chairs back to use the space? maybe worth pushing envelope to see if hotel tells them they cannot, when legally, it’s the hotel who cannot…
The situation here (Maui) is completely out of control. Not only are the beaches fronting the resorts monopolized by those resorts, public beach parks (specifically Kalama Park in Kihei) have also been largely taken over by private businesses catering to tourists. Pleas by citizens to local and state officials for relief have been ignored.
I see both sides. Not many locals actually want to lay on the beach at 7;30 in the morning , they are usually in the water. Sure, the hotels are pushing the envelope trying to accommodate guests that they charge to use the chairs. Perhaps the state needs to step in and take a big enough cut to make it painful to violate the law. Frankly on Maui, the local owners who want to set up a food truck alongside the road are chased off while the Kingdom of Hawaii is allowed to set up their Huli Huli chicken cookers just about any place they want with impunity. Maybe the Huli Huli guys need to set up on Kaanapali Beach next to the beach chairs . It would be interesting to see who gets the boot first. For sure, the hotels would not appreciate the competition to their $20 poolside hamburgers !