Wanting Hawaii visitors to return and making it financially attractive are very different matters.
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Wanting Hawaii visitors to return and making it financially attractive are very different matters.
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I know so many good people, many of them volunteers on the island doing work with the seals and also those working up in Koke’e doing battle with invasive plant species, who are just not able to afford to come anymore. Not everyone who comes to Kauai plops on the beach and drinks mai-tai’s. So, thanks for pricing so many good folks out of the opportunity to help Your community.
After spending thousands of $$$ for a vacay in Hawaii, it is my business if I want to “plop on the beach and drink a mai-tai”
Honolulu rates may be up only 14%, according to the report, but the hotels I used to stay at on Waikiki Beach were up around 40%. So, I’m not believing the total story for Oahu.
The prices are up and services down A lot of the hotels are not offering daily maid service, it must be requested. So on top of the ridiculous rate increases what are they doing with the money saved on services? Hawaii is really showing just how greedy they have gotten but in the end it will bite the on the a$$. Be careful what you ask and wish for you just may get it!
I wholeheartedly agree that prices have risen while service quality has declined. However, it’s not “Hawaii” itself that’s exhibiting greed; rather, it’s the non-Hawaii based hotel chains that are inflating prices and reaping substantial profits. A significant portion of our vacation rentals are now owned by corporations or individuals residing outside the state.
I visit Maui at least twice a year and have developed many friendships with locals over the years – especially in the diving industry. I so want to support the local economy during this deeply troubling time, but the hotel costs make this problematic at best. It is the largest expense in any vacation and increases like the ones that are occurring now don’t remotely offset the drop in airfares. Does no one within the hotel industry understand the law of supply and demand? Costs are supposed to go down as demand decreases. Go figure. I’ll wait until some sanity in pricing is evident. Hate to take that position, but I’d rather send additional charity dollars to serve the locals than be strong armed by global hotel chains.
I’m a returning visitor & have no desire to pay those hotel prices. I have not been back since 2019 & won’t. You even read on recent reviews about the hotel service lacking. Pay More- Get Less! Only the rich or fools are playing this game. There are too many nice places on the Mainland & they will get my travel dollars until these price gougers back down.
I’m a fan of San Diego, lots of scenery, beaches. A tremendous variety of places/prices to stay (you can drive 100s of miles to a hotel if you want to). Killer Mexican food.
What locations are you recommending?
The “Maui County Locals” are achieving the goals so many express openly and, in a lot of cases, with extreme disdain of “tourist” impacts. Now the decrease in “tourists” is leading to attempts to maintain operation staffing and pay levels by raising prices to compensate for the lost “tourist” revenue. This is a vicious cycle leading quickly to a very predictable severe economic down turn for the area.
Based upon the Federal House of Representatives’ performance so far a “federal bailout” is very unlikely.
Perhaps the state govenor can get Kuaui and other better off areas to share the success with Maui. Possibly by an additional proclomation and decree?
If they want to exclude the middle class they are succeeding. I actually priced a trip for April and out of curiosity I used the exact same factors as the trip we took in 21 with the same flights, hotel, car rental and booking agent. It went from 4300 which included insurance to 9900 without. Sorry out of my league and it offends my sensibilities. I’m afraid my trip next month maybe my last.
A trip we booked in April for next month will be our last for awhile. So sad that it now cost nearly $10,000.00 for a week for two when you add everything up.
Merrimans- $500.00 for dinner. Plantation golf- $840.00 for two. 5 hours of fishing- $650.00.
It just doesn’t make any sense any longer.
Peace and love to all on Maui.
Aloha, and many thanks to BOH for their work.
Maui hotels need to dramatically reduce rates by a dollar amount or by adding value like a fifth night free or include a car or dining credit.
I hope that Maui can come out of the crisis peacefully, it is a wonderful place to live and or to visit. 💖
Hawaii Tourism committee, better figure something out fast because Hawaiian will lose tourism to Mexico and Europe !!!! Price gouging of the hotels
Aloha
We just cancelled a four week condo reservation on Kauai because of cost. We started coming to the islands in 1994 and now feel this may be the end of these trips. The reason is the never ending ridiculous taxes and fees.
We have seen somewhat excessive price increases throughout our economy the last 3 years as evidenced by record profits reported by
a long list of large businesses. When we go to Kauai next month, our lodging, airfare and car rental will be about $9,000 which is about 50% increase over what we paid in October 2019.
One pundit called it “greedflation.”
These ridiculous hotel prices and the fees they tack on are the reason we haven’t returned. We used to come to Hawaii once a year. No more, between the high hotel rates, high rental car prices, fees coming at you left and right and the many derogatory comments about visitors, we’ll go spend our hard earned money elsewhere.
Prices for food and accommodation in Hawaii are pricing themselves right off the tourist page! If you want tourists please don’t go gouging us – most of us cannot afford to go at some of these rates. This will be my last year and only because everything was already paid for.
It seems they misunderstand the concept of “supply and demand”. It’s like they’re thinking, “We have plenty of supply, And we’re going to demand more for it.” I hope they figure it out soon before they lose even more money.
In another word: ridiculous. If the tourist board thinks Europeans will react any differently to being treated like ATM machines, they should think again. The Carribean is closer and Florida is popular. My maintenance fees for my Hawaii timeshare are now a bargain. Never thought I’d say that. And excuse me, I need to pay a climate fee for Hawaii to hire firefighters?
My take on island accommodation prices, legal thievery.
I’m afraid your conclusions are right about future visits. I returned from the Big Island yesterday and pretty much decided I wasn’t going back. My hotel was over $400 a night, which was the most I personally have ever paid anywhere. Food prices are high, gas prices are high and airfare is high. Just as important is the fact that it’s an ordeal getting there. My trip from Arizona took 16 hours door to door. So after 36 years and stays on 5 of the islands, I will sadly be looking for another place to vacation. Aloha.
you raise proces over 50% and wonder why people dont want to go back?
Hotel and car rental prices are all out of hand (practically price gouging!)
Plus it is not the Hawaii we loved as before, as it is now overcrowded, traffic and what happened to the International Market is a joke by turning it into a mall.
Many of my friends (me included) decided to go elsewhere as there are lots of other options and more affordable.
They are all over-priced for the value. Resort fees and parking fees added on top of the room prices. Then the Governor wants $50 added on top of all that!
Way over the top.
Apparently, Maui only wants rich, sensitive visitors that dine out multiple times daily and buy lots of gifts and souvenirs during their stay.
MH;
Don’t forget, “stay off the beaches, stay in their resorts and don’t park their rental cars in the Costco parking lot”.
We had really cheap flights for Kauai and I just can’t justify the hotel prices and cost for the tours and things we wanted to do. I watched for a while and decided it’s too expensive. Cheaper travel in other places and countries. We haven’t been and would love to see Kauai, but not right now.
Gibson also said the lack of return visitors is concerning, calling them “The best guests for Hawaii.” How often have you seen comments from BOH commentors saying they are return visitors (some for decades) – sometimes yearly, some every 6 mos and the stays are usually for several weeks or months. How many businesses rely on and feel it is good practice to have repeat business? HI is alienating its visitor base. They should be encouraging returns.
They are about to price themselves out of returning visitors and this started before the fires!! We are off to Puerto Vallarta and Cancun!!
I have great respect for the culture and the environment. Great care needs to be taken during planning, implementation, and production to retain the natural beauty, the environment, and the way of life.
And, I suspect that not far offshore are thermal vents that could be tapped to provide free electricity without the unpleasant wind turbines covering the mountain slopes.
Perhaps the University of Hawaii could create new cyber or digital disciplines to attract investment, on remote stretches of Molokai perhaps, and create many jobs for locals. A huge side benefit could be that young locals could train at UH in technology for good jobs post grad. Think this is a good idea? I do. I have been coming to Hawaii since the 1970’s and watch progress at paint drying speed.
Hawaii needs to think out of the box. The state government, financial institutions, cultural and business leaders need to come together to determine potential new revenue sources. They must analyze what resources (human, natural, economic, educational, agricultural, etc.) are available on, around, and under the islands that may change their reliance on tourism.
For example, land management has been ignored for years, as we see on landing in Maui and driving past oasis resorts. One better use would be to grow exotic flowers for shipment worldwide. Think it can’t be done, ask Colombia. It is a huge revenue source that beautifies their country.
Pure greed… wanting to have your cake and eat it. 🤦♀️
Hawaii is Overbuilt, Overpriced, and Too Crowded. Langkawi in Malaysia is much closer to what Hawaii used to be. Paradise.
Condo and other vacation rentals see strong demand from (low spending( visitors who stay longer and enjoy having a kitchen for meals. These are the folks that jam the Costco store’s parking lots with rental cars. The Hawaii Hotel Association has always been a strong lobby against these short term rentals. The hotels keep raising rates, and the state government seeks “mindful visitors” (big spenders) to appease the anti-tourism leftists: This is an economic disaster in the making – and not even in slow-motion. It’s like looking into the headlight of an on-coming train. Ow wait. . . There are no trains in Hawaii.. . . My Bad!
Do the hotel rates, both percentage and actual dollar amount, include tax and resort fees?
Hi Justin.
No they do not. About 18%.
Aloha.
This is only partly on topic: We bought a house about 15+ years ago, on the Big Island. Putting aside the taxes and cost of living, in the last years, in the last couple years we’ve been made to feel guilty and uncomfortable due our Haole/mainland origin status…..we just lead quiet lives…but that’s not good enough. If I were a prospective tourist, knowing of this perhaps minority, but highly visible sentiment … I surely would think hard and long about somewhere else to go. Beautiful, less expensive, and less resentful places really do exist. Well…we were quite happy for a number of years…so….water over the dam. Reduce tourism/outside investment, and one might be unhappy to get what one wishes for.
Hotel rates have been robbery. After watching The White Lotus we thought to visit Maui after 3 years. Air fare was a great deal, room rates were nearly $1000 a night! We used points which made it more ‘reasonable’ however we’ve now visited Costa Rica, Belize, and the Bahamas. Would love to visit Hawaii again, especially to volunteer, but it’s too pricey.
So many “locals” gripe and moan about us tourists, but they sure don’t mind taking all our money for their overpriced hotels, etc…
Well all I can say is this. I will not tip more than 20 percent anywhere I go! Greed just ticks me off! I am a very conscientious tourist for the land and people, but can not afford your high prices. I will return in 2024, but you will not receive more than my average 20 percent tip. And it will have to be for good service! For any island I visit!
When I first went to Maui in 1997, it cost me under $1,000 for airfare from San Francisco, a rental car and hotel room in Lahaina for seven nights. Today that would cost me over $5,000. It is sad.
We usually come during spring break but the air cost has almost doubled! We decided to take a cruise instead. Very sad because we usually go to Maui every year!
its not you, hawaii its me
we had a great run over the last two decades but its time for me to explore other destinations
There are so many beautiful and friendly Caribbean islands!
In a word: Absurd.