Hawaii resort fees rankle travelers and residents alike, significantly inflating the cost of a hotel stay. These charges can easily add hundreds more dollars to the bill, often covering questionably chargeable services like internet access or beach amenities that might otherwise be included in the room rate.
Combined with Hawaii’s 18% state and county accommodation taxes, plus a range of other fees labeled as everything from “conservation” to “local tax,” hotel bills can quickly surge by over 50%. That’s before factoring in parking costs, adding as much as an additional $60 per night.
Hawaii visitors often feel blindsided by how these fees are disclosed.
While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has advocated for pricing transparency, most hotels reveal resort fees late in the booking process. On platforms like Booking.com, nightly rates have become loss leaders, luring travelers before piling on hidden costs.
Despite federal initiatives, resort fees will remain widespread across Hawaii in 2025, leaving many questioning if meaningful change is possible. Although earlier proposals inspired some hope, doubts persist about whether the industry will shift, even in the face of consumer outrage.
Hawaii resort fees now.
Resort fees in Hawaii vary significantly depending on the property. Here’s just an assortment. Since Hawaii has such a vast number of hotels, you’ll need to check. The Royal Hawaiian will increase its fee to $52 per night starting December 2024. Fairmont Orchid recently raised its resort fee to $48 per night. Hilton Hawaiian Village remains among the highest in Waikiki at $59 per night. Montage Kapalua Bay maintains its $50 per night charge, with additional costs for valet parking.
Other notable fees include Alohilani Resort and Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, each charging $50 per night. Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel’s fee is $39 per night, while Aston Waikiki Beach Tower charges $45. Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa costs $45 per night, and Hotel Wailea Maui charges $40. Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa sets its resort fee at $49 per night, with Koa Kea Hotel & Resort charging $45. Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, charges $50 per night, while The Modern Honolulu remains at $35 per night.
Hotels often claim that resort fees cover amenities such as snorkel rentals, bottled water, fitness center access, or cultural activities. However, many travelers question whether these services justify the extra charges or if the fees are simply an arbitrary way to increase profits.
How residents and visitors are affected.
For Hawaii residents, resort fees make staycations increasingly unappealing. Adding taxes, parking fees, and other charges to the already high resort fees can turn even short getaways into prohibitively expensive ventures. While some Kamaaina rates may include or reduce resort fees, this is not always guaranteed, leaving residents frustrated by the lack of consistency.
Visitors from out of state face full sticker shock when these fees appear late in the booking process, often driving up their overall vacation costs significantly. For many, this leads to a common phenomenon: hotel “shopping cart abandonment,” where travelers abandon their bookings after seeing the final price.
Reader Tom underscored the issue’s magnitude, estimating that Oahu hotels generate $1.5 million daily from resort fees. This staggering figure has left travelers increasingly skeptical about whether they are paying for legitimate services or simply padding hotel profits.
Can Hawaii resort fees be avoided?
Resort fees can sometimes be avoided, but it requires strategic planning. Fee-free properties provide a straightforward way to bypass these charges entirely. In Honolulu, hotel options that still report to have no resort fees include Ala Moana Hotel, Hotel LaCroix, Ambassador Hotel Waikiki, White Sands Hotel, and Pagoda Hotel. These hotels cater to budget-conscious and/or transparency-oriented travelers by offering transparent pricing without the surprise of hidden fees.
Hotel loyalty programs can sometimes waive resort fees for stays booked using points or when guests hold elite status. Proactively asking the hotel about waivers for unused amenities, especially for Hawaii residents, can also yield results, although this is anything but guaranteed.
Vacation rentals present another potential alternative, as they sometimes do not charge resort fees. However, travelers should remain cautious, as cleaning fees and hidden charges can quickly offset any savings. In our own experience, comparing total costs rather than being overly focused on nightly rates is crucial when choosing between accommodations.
Avoiding resort fees takes diligence during the booking process and, in some cases, creative solutions such as leveraging loyalty programs, seeking fee-free hotels, or exploring alternative lodging options. Make it a game!
Why hasn’t the government banned Hawaii resort fees.
In October 2023, the FTC proposed a rule to ban hidden charges like resort fees, requiring companies to disclose full prices upfront. This measure followed Biden’s 2022 call for eliminating “junk fees” across various industries, including hotels. The FTC has cited the practice as deceptive and harmful to consumers, complicating efforts to compare prices and make informed decisions.
Despite these efforts, no federal action has yet taken effect. The FTC’s proposal remains under review, and new legislation, such as the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, introduced in mid-2023, is still pending. For now, resort fees remain widespread and increasing, leaving all of us travelers to navigate these hidden costs on their own.
What’s next for Hawaii resort fees.
The FTC’s push for transparency and legislative efforts like the Hotel Fees Transparency Act could eventually change how resort fees are handled. However, it is unclear whether these measures will come to fruition, lead to the elimination of fees, or simply fold them into nightly rates. For now, travelers must remain cautious and thoroughly review all charges during the booking process.
Both residents and visitors hope that 2025 will bring more transparency and fairness to Hawaii accommodation pricing. Until then, staying alert to and managing resort fees will remain a critical part of island travel planning.
Please share your own experiences with Hawaii resort fees.
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You cannot continue these moronic fees on hotels and owners of airbnb’s and maximizing a multitude of fees on the customer equating almost $65. to $70. per day! Guests will now go elsewhere as travel has opened doors to so many countries and towns and regions are embracing New travelers with an acceptable sales tax. Everyone on this thread are probably long time advocates of Hawaiian vacations, I myself travel to Hawaii at least once a year along with international travels. If these already hiked up prices continue with room fees, basket weaving, parking fees, wifi fees and gym access fees, guests will say Aloha and hotels can enjoy the 30% occupancy without the tourists!
Transparent pricing/fees should be mandatory at the time of booking and nothing after. all these fees are just price gauging for the hotel owners only, none of it goes to the staff, amenities, etc. My family will visit Hawaii in January and it will be a onetime thing because Hawaii just isn’t worth visiting when you have more beautiful islands and other places to visit that is affordable. that who bites the hands that feed them will soon regret what they have done and pass from starvation.
Book STRs on VRBO or AirBnB in South Maui. Kihei. Very transparent pricing. Great value. Welcoming. Close to OGG. Still some “season” availability.
Bait and switch is illegal. When are the law makers going to do their job? Resort fees don’t fool anyone and makes you actually dislike the property. It’s sleazy.
Only when the public themselves fights back brings a mass lawsuits.
Aloha I think all amenities should be included eliminating resort fees. Visitors being charged for a bottle of water in their room $5. Come on. Working out in the gym. Really… This fee is outrageous and is keeping travellers away. Let the hotels sit 75 % empty because they are being too greedy.
They tax the fees. I’ll say it again. Hawaii levies a Sales Tax on resort fees.
Just another example of poor governance and unabashed, quiet corruption.
A change of leadership is the only way this insanity goes away.
All the more reason to stay at an Airbnb particularly hosted Airbnb, people that host Airbnb’s are localS And survive on these bookings, always much cheaper than a hotel by far, Although the governor is trying to ban Airbnb’s, it’s the most reasonably priced way to go for a family wanting a Hawaii vacation
Until the corrupt governor stops it in favor of the high dollar hotel money. It’s no different now than it was more than a century ago – follow the money.
On an aside, Green will kill Hawaii. Ideology is fine until it kills your people. He, don’t get it.
So sad this will probably be our last trip to Maui. We will miss our dear friends, locals and small businesses. We will miss helping at the local food pantry in Kihei.
We will miss our local Hawaiian church, Keolahou.
We will miss the beauty of the people and the land.
We supported Maui following the wildfire, donating close to $100K to those in need.
The politics in Hawaii are out of control. I don’t believe those in charge are interested in helping the average Hawaiian.
We loved our time on Maui
I would suspect that higher fees would be supported by the State as you will price out folks, thereby reducing visitors.
You are spot on! They’ve already stated they want higher category visitors (bigger spenders). This is why they’re making the islands less affordable. My Grandma might say that Hawaii “is getting too big for its britches.” Other words include: snobby, stuck-up, entitled.
A timeshare complex that I own in had their insurance raised almost 300%. If other lodgings in Hawaii are seeing similar increases, don’t expect the rates and fees to go down anytime soon.
As a timeshare owner, I found out via the management that timeshares have the second highest property tax in HI. Hotels are about in the middle of the tax rates, and they rake in the most money! Guess contributing to those re-elections campaigns, luxury golf ‘conferences’ and helping with kids collage education for legislators’ families keeps their ball rolling. Kind of like in those ‘third world’ countries. This has shown up in the local media of late, but nothing changes or gets better.
I think.it will take a Class Action Lawsuit to get the state’s attention.
I decided to have a little fun with this very serious issue. Remember the Popeye Tax Man? Maybe Hawaii will hire him, then you will have a “first time in Hawaii” tax, a “repeat visitor” tax, “Beach towels on the sand” tax, maybe a “breathing tax” because you are depriving the wildlife and vegetation of oxygen. This could be an endless list.
Please don’t give them any more ideas.
Don’t the ‘looks like you are up to no good tax!’
I pays what I feels like payin.
First Resort Fee’s are a Scam, they always filter in Internet, as if that’s a plus, but Towels, the use of the pool or the Public Beach being included, total Grift, that should be Illegal! ‘Conservation Fee’, is that to remove resident vehicles and appliances left on the roadside by Residents, but subsidized by Tourists? Parking, I get, as it’s selective to those needing a Vehicle and space availability. Never forget Governor Ige, took all the other County Room taxes and placed them in the State of Hawaii’s General Fund, necessitating Maui, Kauai, the Big Island, Lanai and Molokai to add on anew. Recent Labor Strikes have consequences, if Labor is paid more, you pay more, it all slides down hill. October 1986, our first Stay at the Moana, $65.00/Night, Total!
We are fortunate to be able to stay at the Hale Koa, which has no resort fees, & room rates go by rank. We only come to Oahu for a few days for doctor appointments & Pearl Harbor December 7th ceremonies. If we stayed anywhere else, we wouldn’t be able to afford it.
You deserve to stay at Hale Koa without resort fees!
Mahalo for your service!!!!!
I was looking at two week Black Friday package deal recently, on AirCanadaVacations. The package included flights, accommodations at a budget property in Waikiki and taxes. It looked fantastic and I was thinking of a return to Oahu after a number of years. Then I read the fine print and additional resort fees to be paid onsite at the hotel added 35% to the package cost. That additional expense, combined with a CAD @ $1.43/ $1.00 USD had me not booking the trip.
Fascinating and almost amazing how much money people pay just to live and vacation on one big lava rock.
Hawaii followed Las Vegas in this tactic 15 years ago in which it makes the room rate look more appealing for marketing purposes. Then they add the resort fee, internet,taxes, pool access,cleaning fee’s etc. later. If you really want to know what you are paying for take the grand total of your trip and divide it by the number of passengers. Divide that number by 40 ( 5 days at 8 hours of activities) and you have paid at least $50 hr ($2000per person)just to chill on the beach. Food and extra activities please add more. Feel stupid or has reality just set in.
Don’s got the ugly truth. Resort fees allow hotels (and many STVR’s) to offer a “lower” rate as the banner headline. It isn’t until you click through that you are on the hook for these resort fees. If they were included in the nightly price your mouse would pass right over them as “too expensive.” Everyone in the business will tell you it works.
I have been to Maui once in 2019. Found it expensive then. Would love to return but after reading this article I don’t think I can afford it. Hawaii was always my dream vacation but I guess I should be glad I got there once.
Resort fees are all about profits for out of state investors!
The last time we stayed, we were charged a daily resort fee for towels, chairs, etc. My husband joked that we should take the chairs and towels home at those costs! 😜 The other fee that floored us was the conservation fee of $4/day. On top of the other, it made for a very expensive trip. Aloha means hello, but it also means goodbye. Aloha Hawaii. ☹️💰💰💰💰
The moment Oahu vacation rentals started disappearing due to the City and County of Honolulu’s no tolerance + $10,000 per night fines (yes, 10K a night !) on all owners caught renting their unlicensed private property homes to tourists and visiting locals, hotel rates soared and these add on fees now seem to keep mounting. The C&C has refused to offer licensing to private owners. Wouldn’t be surprised if the hotel lobby could be a factor here. Were the private rentals taking too much business away from the big corporation hotels? Seems doubtful that things will improve. Vacationers need more alternatives when it comes to their lodging choices.
We’ve paid reasonable costs to fly to and stay in Maui for decades. But things are different now and getting worse. Keep voting blue, though, folks. Doing so will at least allow you a clear view of your future. That, thankfully, is not my problem, but is the problem of the people of Hawaii. If my in-laws didn’t supply us with a condo for the week or two we’ve been enjoying the past few years, we’d never consider going back. Best of luck. Hope you like poi and whatever you catch from the ocean, because that’s what you’ll all be surviving on. I’ve already found alternatives which provide exciting, new and less expensive experiences. To the people of Hawaii, I wish a profound Aloha. To Green and the morons running the state – good riddance.
Foreign travelers Hate the US tipping culture. So, add tips to all these garbage fees + taxes, and the foreigners won’t be anywhere near Hawaii. All inclusive Mexico looks really good among other places.
not with mexico’s high crimes and drug cartels. nothing good about mexico, and their prices are starting to soar as well.
If you stay in the right places in Mexico you won’t have the problems you mention. If you stay in the wrong places you will.
Ah, yes, those ‘resort fees’ that sneak up on you at the ‘check out’ point when booking lodging. When you click on them, it give you justification via internet access, spa access, etc.. Of course you only get the more ‘limited’ internet access. If you want the ‘fast’ and less bogged-down internet, you need to pay even more for access. Oh, and ‘spa access’ means you get to enjoy a ‘spa treatment’, right? Nope! It means you get ‘access’ to the spa facility. You have to pay extra for an actual spa treatment. I’m sure the hotels will eventually start including in the resort fee bucket, ‘fresh, tropical invigorating air’ personally piped into your room via the a/c unit, with ‘culturally sensitive bouquet’ added for an additional up-grade charge. Enjoy!
I’m a believer that “resort fees” are simply an arbitrary way to increase profits…period. The customers/visitors/consumers support the endless price gouging by the hotels throughout Hawaii. It always amazes me how people will encourage this by agreeing to pay ludicrous prices for the use of a bed and a bathroom.
I hate these fees but I’ll have to say they aren’t really hidden. When booking properties, they all, at some point, reveal that there is X amount of a charge for whatever.
Just my .02.
Yes, they often are, but often late in the booking process, which, if you find them too excessive, they have wasted your time and effort in searching for lodging. One site, Zoom Travel, will typically show those fees up front on specials, and occasionally indicate they have ‘negotiated’ a reduction, or even elimination of those fees for the window the lodging offer is available.
Hi Patrick.
Not sure where you are or how you are booking, but for me, using booking.com, I see a room rate that doesn’t include any taxes or fees. It isn’t until i click through that I see those, making price comparison very difficult at the least.
Oh.. I agree completely with what you are saying. But when I here the term “hidden fees” I’m thinking of fees that you don’t know about until you check out of the hotel.
When you book online and before you click the pay button, you know what all the fees will be. Maybe not when initially shopping but before you check out.
And I agree it makes it difficult to skim the various offers not know what to expect at the end when you click pay.
Hawaiian hotels press release:
“We are pleased to introduce our new Island vice-presidents of guest services, Messrs. Bernard Madoff and Samuel Bankman-Fried.”
Hawaii and it’s businesses must realize quickly that the cost for a Hawaiian trip is becoming more unaffordable by the day. Hawaii will soon even loose people’s
“Bucket list” hope of coming to the islands of Hawaii.
Hawaii and it’s businesses will be fools if they arrogantly feel that prices for hotels, airfare, food, ABC stores, and others can continue to increase dramatically and it won’t effect the number of travelers.
Exorbitant resort fees are not unique to Hawaii. Hotels across the US with no resort amenities charge resort fees. It’s pretty outrageous. Pretty soon Motel 6 will be charging them.
Everyone keeps saying that. But people will come. Clearly people can afford it, they are traveling in record numbers to Oahu – the most expensive of them all right now!
Sadly, that seems to be true. HI is unique, and when HTA advertises video/photos of all those ‘happy, fun enjoying, partying’ folks having the time of their lives in ‘paradise’, people who are looking/desperate to be part of that scene will pay the bucks. I had a family I knew (since departed the planet) that used to get ‘signature loans’ from their credit union to do that kind of thing, and both had jobs as middle class. And the ‘middle class’ will be what continues to drive HI tourism.
We still charge the outrageous 18% tax the state and county require -which we send them every month.
I still don’t understand the 18% occupancy tax charged to Hawai Timeshare owners because we already pay yearly property tax on our deeded property.
That’s crazy! They do it because nobody stops them. The state’s Convalescence Tax is another example. They charge it every time the wording on a property title changes. Even if the actual ownership is the same. Our attorney objected and they refused to issue the new title until the tax was paid.
I wonder if the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment would apply if resident property owners or homes, condos, etc. aren’t being charged the same % occupancy tax for each night they reside in their property.
Easy- Peasy. Rent a nice condo @ half the price per person and without any of these rip-off fees.