178 thoughts on “Updated Hawaii Hotel Prices Avg. To $913 | Hawaii Vacation Rentals Avg. $251”

  1. I have been a devoted VRBO user for years and am now a newly AIRBNB user. Being 64 and often a solo traveler I do not fit the demographic…who cares! I love condos, Ohana cottages, and homes on Maui, Hawaii and Lanai. No going back to stifling hotels. By the way, SF, Boston, WAashington DC, Seattle, Portland,OR, and NYC are fun places to try out a variety of neighborhoods. Just the space is nice but a kitchen for breakfast, and BBQ’s for the fresh fish of HI are magnificent pluses. It was the early 2005 that I tried VRBO and now find short stays in even luxury hotels unsatisfying…I like my own home away from home.

  2. We much prefer a condo, cottage or home to a hotel for stays longer than a couple of days. Cooking wih local seafood and eating local fruit and produce from farmers’ markets gives a real taste of the islands you’ll never get in a hotel or restaurant. Food is just fuel for some people who are happy with the same things they eat at home but expanding your outlook is a significant reason to travel and Hawaii’s many cultures give multiple opportunities to sample a variety of foods, cooking them yourselves or from small local spots you’d never find if you stayed in a resort area or a hotel.

  3. We go to Maui every other year and rent a very nice and reasonable villa in Kapalua. We normally eat breakfast and maybe lunch in the villa and go out to dinner on some nights. I booked a room for one night for my son’s birthday at the Grand Wailea and with the high room fee itself along with daily resort fees, taxes, valet parking and then all the tipping we will need to do, it is really pretty ridiculous. Of course, we are paying for the use of the (very crowded) pools etc but not sure if it’s worth it. Which makes me wonder…Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah, my son’s birthday! 😀

  4. It’s hard to compare pricing between hotels and vacation rentals… the vacation rentals come with weird pricing structure (each according to its property owner) and cleaning fees that can be ridiculous ($50 cleaning fee for a 1 bedroom for a 1 night stay).

    As a vacation rental manager in the past, I can attest that advertising is prohibitively expensive for the property owner, and you may get a better deal by dealing with the owners directly. Also, VRBO, HomeAway, VacationRentals, and a few other sites are all owned by one BIG company that almost has a monopoly for online vacation rental traffic. They charge property owners in excess of $1000 to advertise on their “family of sites”, and the more we pay, the higher our property gets listed on their site.

  5. We had a marvelous two-week stay in a house on the Big Island in Hawaiian Paradise Park, booked through VRBO in 2011. The home was lovely and we were really comfortable there. We never ate breakfast out once while we were there, instead preferring to stock up on the things we wanted and eat in–I still remember the fresh papaya and pineapple that I had every morning on the lanai. The owner provided detailed maps of the Big Island, along with a cooler, and some days we would pack a picnic and head out–in two weeks, we covered 1400 miles!! Some dinners we had in, some out, we were able to do as we pleased. Friends went with us, staying with relatives of theirs for the middle of the visit, so we had time both alone and with them. There’s no way that a two-week hotel stay could possibly compare with that.

    1. We have stayed in two different homes in Paradise Park and we just love the neighborhood and area! We very well may have stayed in the same house you rented. Both our rentals there were just fabulous and so affordable too!

  6. bEING A BUDGET TRAVLER,I STILL USE HOTELS ON OHAU. bUT IT’S THE BEST,WAIKIKI PRINCE. cLOSE TO BEACH AND BUS LINES. plus I HAVE all year to pay after a small deposit. All the money up front for me is hard to do. So until the Prince becomes too exspensive,I will continue to stay there.

  7. We have used VRBO for many years and with the exception of one condo at Turtle Bay have always had a wonderful experience. We have returned to the same 1 bedroom apartment on Oahu’s North Shore at least ten times. It’s a walk-out basement apartment with a private pool and we NEVER lock the door. Best of all, it’s below $100 a night. We travel to Hawaii annually and the only time we have ever stayed at a hotel was when we could not make our onward connection.

  8. My husband and I own a wonderful home in Kona that we rent out on VRBO. We’ve done really well with it too because we have a great rate and are in a great location. However, buyer beware . . . . . VRBO/HomeAway is now owned by Expedia and they have just recently started charging renters a fee to use their site. We are no longer going to advertise on their site after our subscription is up. We are sad about it as we have always appreciated the ease of use and fair pricing to use their site, but now with these new owners they want to double dip and that is just not good business. Our renters are down now too. Thankfully we had most of our now bookings already booked before the new fee went into effect. From what I’ve read on comments on their Facebook site there are going to be a lot of owners bail on them. They just got too greedy!

    1. I had no idea, good to know about Expedia. Thank you. I’ve rented most our rentals through real estate companies. Sometimes they are less expensive for the same house/condo that VRBO

    2. I’ll second the comment about VRBO and their new way of doing business. We paid plenty to be listed on the site and now they want to charge us and the users fees on top of our “membership”. I don’t like the wall they are putting between us and our guests nor this greedy new method. I asked for a refund of our unused membership but was denied. So, we too, will be leaving that site and not looking back.

      Any vacation owner who is one you will want to deal with will have their own web site, want to communicate with you and will care about who is in their home. Owning a vacation rental is not a hands-off, turnkey business…at least if one cares about their guests, their experience and the property.

      I think for most travelers, a vacation rental can provide a unique and enjoyable experience. Before we bought our own condo, we stayed in many and these experiences helped us decide what we should and could offer. Hotels also care greatly about the guest experience, just in a different way that has its own place and time. Let your unique needs determine which is best for you.

  9. My wife and I own a couple of timeshares on Kauai. Unfortunately, due to our performance and filming schedule, our timeshares are not always available when we have free time. For several years, we’ve booked an AirBnB and have met wonderful local folks. We’ve never had a problem using this method. The cost of Hawaiian hotels has gotten out of hand, which led us to the alternate booking. Unless the hotel prices can be more competitive, we will continue with other methods to continue our enjoyment of the island.

  10. We’ve only stayed in hotels in Honolulu. All other island stays have been in either condo’s, cottages, or Westin timeshares on Maui (rented from owners with too many weeks to use). You honestly cannot beat the value. On Maui, we stayed multiple times at ocean front locations (Napili Bay), and Ocean view (Westin Villa’s) for not much more than $220/night, including fees. On Kauai, we’ve booked condo’s and car via Suite-Paradise and have never been disappointed. Hotels would costs us double that amount for a non-view room with no kitchen or washer, plus “resort” fees.

    1. We are family of 5. Cost wise – for us – when the kids were young and it’s only for a night or two, hotels are cheaper. Downside is everyone is in one room, one bathroom. Now that the kids are older and ahem – me and my husband want privacy – we get condos or homes on VRBO or airbnb. It’s cheaper for us and for longer stays makes more sense. Having a kitchen, fridge, and access to living like a local makes more sense.

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