Ken Baily says raise the hotel tax.  No problem. Our rate isn't even in the top 10 in the country.  What he fails to understand is Hawaii has one of the highest, if not highest, cost of living in the country.  Our average hotel room costs $268/day.  Look at some of the other cities mentioned, Houston $175, Indianapolis $135, Chicago $163, Columbus $136.  Yes, their hotel tax rates are higher than ours, but they have more flexibility because their room costs are very reasonable.  Defund and stop the rail and stop coming up with stupid ways to pay for it because we will never be able to pay for it.