Hawaii signs 'Green fee'; Saipan sees $1.4 million in tourism upgrades

This regional update includes news of a climate impact tax to be added to the hotel occupancy tax in Hawaii, a comparison of hotel taxes in the islands, and the $1.4 million upgrade of three tourism sites in Saipan, with a bid to come for interested contractors.

On May 27, Gov. Joshua B. Green of Hawaii signed into Law Act 96, establishing what his office said is “the first ever climate impact fee or ‘Green Fee’ in the United States.” The initiative will generate an estimated $100 million a year and will increase the cost for visitors to the Aloha State. For the first time, the tax will also cover cruise passengers.

Hawaii’s is also known for hotel “resort charges” — now ranging from about $35 to $50 per night — though some hotels, including the Ala Moana Hotel (popular with visitors from Guam) do not add a resort charge. Parking is typically an additional fee.

The Green Fee will add a .75% increase to Hawaii’s Transient Accommodations Tax in 2026, taking the TAT tax to 11%.

If the 11% tourist tax sounds familiar, that’s because visitors to Guam already pay 11% Hotel Occupancy Tax on the cost of a hotel room. Those monies go to Guam’s Tourist Attraction Fund, and were designed to support the Guam Visitor’s Bureau, destination marketing, cultural programs and more.

Guam’s HOT was introduced in 1993 and changed from 10% to 11% in 1995. In 2018, a measure to increase the tax to 13% nearly passed in the Guam Legislature but was rolled back.

But 11% is not the highest hotel tax in the region.

Visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands pay a 15% Hotel Occupancy Tax, which was increased from 10% in 2013. The hotel tax in the NMI was established in 1982.

In Palau, the hotel occupancy tax is 10% of the nightly room rate, or $10 per night, whichever is greater. The tax applies to both hotel rooms and vessel cabins. Additionally, Palau introduced the Palau Goods & Services Tax on Jan. 1, 2023, which is a 10% tax on most goods and services.