What goes through your mind when you see Kamaʻāina savings? A sudden glee or a punch in the gut because of how much your trip cost.
What goes through your mind when you see Kamaʻāina savings? A sudden glee or a punch in the gut because of how much your trip cost.
If you pay property taxes & have a current statement then even though you don’t have a Hawaii driver’s license you should get kamaaina discounts. Mahalo
Anytime there is special discounted treatment given to certain people or groups of people on normal everyday charges in cost is discriminatory! It does not and should not matter whether the person is a native of the area or not, nor how much they might be paying in housing rental or ownership costs, or whether they might be paying all sorts of taxes to the governments in the area, it is still discriminatory
Getting mad that some businesses give discounts to people who don’t hardly use their products is just silly and shows a misunderstanding of capitalism.
Why can locals sometimes pay less for a hotel room? The same reason visitors pay less for your home bedroom by Not living in Hawaii. If we wanted to pay less for our own homes and cost of living, we’d live where tourists come from, and pay more to stay here, down the street. So if I live here and for some rare reason want to sleep down the street In Waikiki (in a hotel and not ON the street like the other houseless there), I might get a discount. Business who give kamaaina discounts don’t profit from these net rates. Why get mad at them?
Mahalo for planting and reaping colonialism.
Anytime there is preferential treatment given to certain people or groups of people on normal everyday charges in cost is discriminatory! It does not and should not matter whether the person is a native of the area or not, nor how much they might be paying in housing rental or ownership costs, or whether they might be paying all sorts of taxes to the governments in the area, it is still discriminatory
Thanks for including my comments in this article. I don’t see it as “discriminatory” if a state (or city) takes care of their local population vs non-residents. Those who say that they don’t get any discounts in their state, have the option to move ….
I think Kamaina discounts are wonderful for those who qualify. I am a mainlander who once moved to Oahu and thoroughly enjoyed the discounts. I moved back to the mainland and lost that benefit, but that was OK. I moved to Florida where residents can get discounts at theme parks, cruise lines, etc. Nothing unfair about that. I don’t care what a business calls a discount, if the locals can take advantage of it then good for them and I have no ill will towards others who qualify for discounts that I do not.
Having been coming to maui since 1980, and finally retiring here 9 years ago, I can speak to the question of discounts for kama’aina. It’s a marketing expense. The purpose is to bring in more local traffic. And it is prominent in the restaurant business where 10%-15% is most common, except on alcohol. The same purpose could be said of the hotel business, but the discount is more difficult to assess since it should not be compared to rack rate.
I remember a period where we needed a resident card for participation, but now just a HI DL or ID works. We use the discount to help offset the size of our tips, and began doing that during COVID when we made it a weekly objective to find another resaurant to support. And we continue the practice.
The inequities in Hawaii continue & are getting worse !! I frankly will never come back because of the hostility towards visitors. Hawaiians are biting the hand that feeds them. No other tropical vacation spots I’ve visited treat their visitors with such disrespect, & try to nickel & dime them in order to discourage them from coming back. If Hawaiians were so concerned about their homeland, how about taking care of the out-of-control homeless problem ?! Take care of your own First & stop the hostility towards visitors.
Kama’āina discounts are a joke!!!
As a frequent visitor to the islands, I get reemed on prices for everything!!! It does not matter how many trips I make or where I spend my money, everything in the tourism industry gets a mark up just because it’s Hawaii… There are no other places that you get a hometown discount where there is tourism, Only Hawaii…
It’s not tough to get a Hawaii ID or drivers license if you have friends or family on island you can claim as your own address… As long as they are willing to let you of course…
Kaamaina pay state income, GET and real estate taxes. So it is fair for them to get small discount, if you ask me.
I’m not much into birthrights. I’ve also lived in expensive touristy areas and not gotten a break and that didn’t feel that great either. I may be hyper sensitive due to the upcoming “King” Charlie deal.
As a resident I appreciate the Kama’aina discount. It’s a “thank you” by businesses to locals. Yes it is expensive to live here and oftentimes the jobs don’t pay that well so getting a bit of a discount is good. We oftentimes spend money on a business that might not get much tourist dollars or we go on days that tourists may not. The discount is not different than restaurants offering free meals to kids with a paid adult meal. those of us who choose not to have children, aren’t afforded any discount.
Kamaaina rates certainly aren’t what they used to be. During a recent stay at my townhouse in KoOlina
I had the opportunity to have lunch several times at the nearby Four Seasons Hotel, I was expecting several family members to stay at my townhouse so, I enquired as to the Kamaaina rate there and thought I would treat myself to a night or two, I was told that the rate was $1900 a night for a rack room. Needless to say, I declined.
Mahalo nui loa for keeping everyone up to date on the happenings of all things good and bad about Hawai’i but I can’t believe visitors are complaining about residents getting a small kine break…Kama’aina discounts. Maybe they should complain about Military discounts too?? Complaining that “someone” should have told them to leave nothing in their rental cars due to break ins or they shouldn’t hike on kapu trails because they then need rescuing…Ridiculous! The lesser 48 states (Alaska excused, lol) need to get a grip and find a different reason to be jelly of those living in Hawai’i and whining about it!
Mentioned briefly in your reporting, there is a very simple answer to your question. Visitors come for a short stay. Permanent residents are 365 customers. No Hawaii business, especially tourist oriented, would stay in business if they didn’t offer benefits to locals. Tourist visits are seasonal. Residents open their wallets every day of the year.
What a strange question. Are Senior Citizen or AAA member discount discriminatory? Why don’t we pay higher wages to match Hawaii cost of living and increase flight, hotel, restaurant, bar and rental car prices and not have kama’aina discounts? No I did not think that would be popular.
As you rightly observe they are not kama’aina anyway but residents.
Thank you for all your informative articles!
This is just my opinion, also based on the fact that I live in Las Vegas and there are a few things we can get local rates on.
Hawaiians pay so much for everything (as you mentioned) and they aren’t there just on vacation. I believe they are entitled to whatever businesses want to offer them a local discount. I don’t see that as discriminatory at all.
After 30+ years of traveling to Hawaii and getting some understanding about just how expensive it is fro everyone, whether local or tourist, I have absolutely No issue with locals getting a break on pricing. If I “choose” to visit the Islands it is because I can afford it and the hotels and restaurants also know that hence the pricing that is getting close to being unaffordable even for tourists let alone the locals.
I visit Hawaii regularly on business and think the people living in Hawaii, especially the Kamaʻāina, deserve every break they can get.
I lived in St. Augustine, FL, for six years. They have a “locals” discount there. Floridians also have deep cruise discounts and Disney discounts.