With summer approaching, Hawaii travelers face a new wave of scams. The risks are real, from possibly fake booking sites to inflated taxi fares, but so are the ways to outsmart them. Here’s how to protect your dream vacation in Hawaii.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $122 million to travel scams in 2023. Hawaii, one of the country’s most sought-after destinations, continues to be a prime target, where confusion, urgency, and high prices make visitors vulnerable.
Fake booking sites: how to spot them.
The Better Business Bureau recently warned travelers to avoid unfamiliar third-party travel sites that mimic legitimate hotel and airline booking platforms. These sites often disappear after taking your money, leaving questions about whether reservations will even be honored. But there’s a way to vet that too.
BBB’s Melanie McGovern said, “We’re seeing a lot of what we think are third-party legitimate sites… and then the reservation is canceled or it’s not there when they get there.”
Beat of Hawaii has had its own experiences like that. When you use Google to check accommodations, finding listings for unfamiliar vendors isn’t unusual. Here’s one example above. Also, BOH reader Annette experienced this firsthand: “We booked what we thought was a discounted beachfront hotel in Lahaina. Turned out the site was fake, and we only found out after arriving at 9 p.m. with nowhere to stay.”
HotelsinAmerica.com is just one deeply polarizing booking site with a mixed reputation. While some travelers report successful stays and significant savings, many Reddit reviewers warned of fraudulent behavior, fake reservations, hidden fees, poor customer service, and outright scams. Common red flags mentioned by reviewers include bait-and-switch pricing, reservations not being honored by hotels, and refund denials. Several users even suspect fake positive reviews by bot accounts.
Bottom line: Sometimes, if the price seems too good to be true—like a 27% discount at Hilton Hawaiian Village—it likely is.
In Hawaii, where every night counts, booking through official hotel sites or known third-party online travel agents is the safest move. If in doubt, use trusted sources, always pay with a credit card, and confirm directly with the hotel or airline well in advance when you don’t book with them directly.
The price we found above appeared to be legitimate when we followed the booking. But we didn’t complete it or check with Hilton to be sure the room would be reserved.
On the other hand, the Hilton site had its issues. Google showed their best price at $288, clicking through led to a best price starting at $401, including required taxes and fees. The total with taxes and fees on hotelsinamerica.com, was cheap by comparison, just $250 including all taxes and fees.
Airline bait-and-switch tactics.
It’s not just hotels. Hawaii flights are notorious for fare manipulation and surprise fees. In Have You Been Victim of Airline Bait & Switch to Hawaii?, we reported on misleading airfare promotions.
One reader, HAL, described how a nonstop Alaska flight from San Diego to Kauai was canceled without notice and replaced by a 14-hour journey through Seattle.
Others chimed in with similar frustrations: unexpected flight changes, including non-stops becoming multi-stop with longer duration, confusing fees, or basic economy traps that weren’t clear (but maybe should have been) until after booking.
Reader John D said, “The advertised fare didn’t mention the fee for seat selection… (free seat assignments were no longer available) felt like a bait-and-switch.”
We have to concur. BOH editors wanted to change a Hawaiian interisland flight this week, and the upcharge was a reasonable $20. The problem was that there were no longer any free seat assignments available, and those started at an additional $29.
Reader Joe said: “The flight I was intending to buy for $179 ended up at $402 with baggage and seat fees. It’s frustrating because they know people are desperate to get to Hawaii.”
We agree with that too, and found that flights, not just in Hawaii, start with ridiculously low teaser fares. This is true to such a degree that we now consider such low airfare prices with a grain of salt until proven otherwise.
The fix? Use Google Flights to check fares first, but always cross-check on the airline’s official site. Be cautious of too-good-to-be-true prices from both airlines and unfamiliar airfare aggregators.
Avoiding taxi scams in Honolulu.
Taxi overcharging remains a frequent problem in Honolulu. Some drivers deliberately take the long way or circle routes to inflate fares, especially from the airport to Waikiki.
Robert shared: “We took a taxi from the airport, and what should’ve been a 20-minute ride took 45 minutes. The meter was outrageous.”
Rideshares, fixed-rate shuttles, or other pre-arranged transfers are often safer and more affordable options when the rider sees the total cost before stepping in.
Tech scams include fake customer service numbers.
Scammers also target travelers in moments of panic, like when a flight is delayed or canceled. At that point, people often search for help online, only to click on fake customer service numbers that lead to fraud. Be sure you are calling the airline or property in question. Search results can be wrong or misleading.
Always verify customer service numbers directly from the airline or property’s website—never trust the first result in a search engine.
Local knowledge is powerful protection.
Hawaii residents can be your best source of real-time, boots-on-the-ground advice. Whether it’s hotel staff, tour guides, or friendly shopkeepers, they often know which scams are circulating, which vendors to look for, and which to avoid.
Check out neighborhood Facebook groups or Hawaii travel forums. Locals regularly post alerts and help visitors avoid problems. Support businesses with long-standing reputations, and don’t hesitate to ask questions before booking or buying.
The hidden cost of “free.”
Timeshare pitches, free giveaways, and “discounted” activities touted while you are walking by often come with a hidden catch. These offers are common in Waikiki, for example, and while not all are outright scams, they can waste valuable vacation time or worse.
Lani shared: “We were pressured into a timeshare presentation that wasn’t advertised as one. They offered free luau tickets, but kept us there for four hours. Never again.”
If someone offers a freebie that seems too generous, a sales pitch is probably waiting on the other side.
Is traveler trust eroding?
Scams and rising prices disappoint Hawaii visitors, as mismatched expectations and hidden costs can sour some travelers’ views.
This isn’t just about scams—it’s the cumulative effect of being nickel-and-dimed, misled, or left stranded. More travelers are researching in advance, comparing Hawaii with alternatives like Tahiti, and asking tough questions about value and experience.
What Hawaii visitors do to stay safe.
Use only official websites and apps to book travel and lodging. Verify contact info from official airline or hotel pages, not from Google search. Ask residents in the know for trusted vendors, tour guides, or places to avoid. Stay away from free offers that come with strings attached. Use a credit card when booking—it offers far better fraud protection than debit cards or other payment methods.
Reader Jenny added: “Now we ask hotel staff before doing anything outside. They’ve helped us avoid two scams in Waikiki alone.”
Have you encountered a scam or tourist trap in Hawaii? Please share your experience in the comments to help other travelers avoid the same mistake.
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What feels like the biggest scam is clicking on a reasonable Hawaiian hotel rate, only to find taxes and fees jack up the final price to not-so-reasonable anymore!
“It’s frustrating because they know people are desperate to get to Hawaii.”
Not anymore. Will Hawaii do anything about these scams? Of course not. These are tourist wallets being defrauded, not local wallets. Hence the relevant authorities with the power to enforce, arrest, and prosecute do not care. And will do nothing.
The taxi scam sounds just like the Las Vegas “long haul” taxi scam, where corrupt taxi drivers “haul” visitors on the 15 freeway, instead of a much shorter trip via Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Blvd. This scam has been happening for decades, and continues to this day. A $15 trip balloons to triple the price.
Hawaii timeshare scams sound just like the timeshare frauds in North and South America.
Hawaii locals are imitating some of the worst frauds that make traveling in certain American cities, South America, Southeast Asia, and the EU most unpleasant. It leaves the honest traveler with the constant feeling they are a mark. Unfortunately, they are.
Last February I took a taxi from Honolulu to Waikiki that cost me $ 78.00.The taxi driver tool the long way to Waikiki and I mentioned it to the driver, he pretended not to understand me. I know it was the long way because I use to live in Waikiki.
Do not be duped! My own rental property was advertised & offered at a ridiculously cheap rental. When I found it, I called the party offering my property to ask about amenities & the offering of a wood burning fireplace. The reply was in a heavy Jamaican accent, “It has every thing you could ever want!” Thankfully, no one ever turned up at the door for lodging via this. Pretty stressful if one is a renting property owner!
When I was in Waikiki years ago the sidewalk by standers offered a timeshare deal with discounted tickets to the USS Memorial for like 40 bucks per person. I found out the entrance fee is free. Totally free and as I figured the $40 dollars had to be for the drivers time and transportation to the front gate. I took the bus for $2-3 bucks and passed at the stupid time share presentation. These sidewalk people know the real truth and just take advantage of the uneducated tourist. This is a pure scam IMO and these salespeople don’t resent it a bit. They do it all day 7 days a week.
The taxi scams are on all the islands including Maui. Much better to take Uber or Lyft. Holoholo is a new app only on the Hawaiian islands. It’s a bit more than Uber or Lyft but you support a Hawaiian company and not share holders of Wall Street companies. Avoid taxis at all costs.
If you consider what you’re getting for the cost you’ve paid for it, it is all a scam in Hawaii.
I’ve always called the hotel directly after booking, whenever I used a third-party site. Peace of mind is worth the extra few minutes to be sure you really have a reservation. On one occasion they said it would take until the next day to be reflected, to I just called back.
If hotels and airlines were more upfront, maybe there wouldn’t be as much space for scammers to thrive. Transparency still matters. When the price is outrageous and I see a cheaper result in Google hotel search, of course I’m going to pursue it. Who wouldn’t.
I almost got roped into one of those “discounted luaus” on the street in Waikiki. The catch? When I walked in the door I learned it was to be a long, maybe three-hour sales pitch in a windowless room. Not happening.
That happened to is in Mexico!