Can we ever relate. Car rentals disappoint, and so do hotels. Plus an entirely different take on airlines. What’s your experience?
50 thoughts on “Hawaii Travelers: Adjust Expectations Amid Industry-Wide Dissatisfaction, Airline Complaints +250%”
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We went to Hawaii a few months back. Had the best of times. However, we had very low expectations. We are well aware of the staff shortages and knew we would not always get exactly what we wanted, not at the price we were use too.
We had to make reservations for everything but knew that going in.
I flew with Alaska in Feb, I went to Maui from Pdx ! It was the worst trip I have ever had! The flight attendants were rude and unhappy! I am considering never flying with then again! Even the people at the check in counters made it very difficult and even yelled at me and called me a liar!
We fly Alaska all the time to Hawaii. We get a Companion Pass every year. We’ve never had a bad experience. We even get upgraded to Business Class on occasion, without even asking. Not negating your experience, though. Try them again!
We are at the tail end of a pandemic. I don’t know how people could have expected the world to shut down and then open again without for seeing all of the effects on businesses. People complain however it is mostly due to the shortage of people who want to work, so who should you really be mad at? No one. We should all be more understanding. Travel opened up again and after two years tourists decided they all wanted to travel, everywhere. We just returned from Maui and it was very busy. We are aware that we are on vacation and things may take longer than they used to. Overall I see people who ARE working doing their best to serve. It’s a new reality. Hopefully we can look forward to better days ahead.
Just got back from Oahu yesterday. Had no problems with car rentals do agree accommodations are a real problem. The recent law Honolulu passed that will make vacation rentals a thing of the past, plus grossly overpriced hotels, feels very anti-tourist. Folks on the street are generally welcoming but the politicians including Honolulu’s mayor are pushing tourists out. Plus changes starting in May like Diamond Head requiring reservations to enter. It’s hard when places get loved to death but Hawaii as a whole may be shooting itself in the foot in the long run. I have to admit, although I greatly enjoy Oahu, I’m leaning strongly towards spending my future vacation dollars elsewhere, like Aruba or the Virgin Islands. Just saying.
Aloha-
I work in vacation rentals on Oahu & it will definitely NOT be a thing of the past. Airbnb units are just being held more responsible now for their bad guests that they can & can’t always control. Just like so many states now, residents are sick of the disrespectful, entitled guests with too high of expectations visiting (starting way before the pandemic). Something is finally being done state by state & it’s Hawaii’s turn. With that, those that work in the service industry here are seriously over it & mentally exhausted from dealing with that same disrespectful & entitled attitude from visitors. Can you blame them? Travel has changed for the worst unfortunately. More & more travelors are traveling to trample & conquer. Sad!
Last year (2021), we went to the Big Island in April and Kauai in August. We didn’t really have to adjust our expectations, we knew what COVID was doing to the entire world, and we were ready. A lot was due to reading your column every day. Getting the COVID test was not a problem, we knew ahead of time about the car rental issues. We made most of our dinner reservations a month ahead of time. Sometimes it was a little slow, but we knew that. Being able to eat outdoors was wonderful. Our timeshare didn’t have some of the amenities as usual (e.g., throw pillows on the sofa) but we went to Walmart and bought some and brought them home.
It was certainly a lot better than staying home and continuing lockdown !
I have going to Hawaii for over 20 years. Many things have changed over that time. The post covid era is more expensive as is everything, everywhere. We planned ahead with restaurant reservations so not a problem. Overall, my biggest disappointment was not feeling welcome as a timeshare/hotel guest. No more dose of Aloha spirit from the staff. While being used to limited timeshare housekeeping services, no services was a bit difficult to navigate. It was suggested to me at one resort that I wash our own pool towels. The towel exchange was closed. I told them I did not travel to Hawaii to spend my time washing towels for a group of 4 ladies. We expected limited services and longer response times; just not the negative staff attitudes!
I worked in Hawaii tourism for some 38 years. I just retired. And this story tells nothing new. Expectations. Perceptions. Nothing has changed.
We are in Kauai now and we were delayed 90 min on our AA flight out of Phx. Our car rental experience was less than stellar, took forever and did not get the car we ordered and they tried to charge us 400.00 dollars more than our contract. Luckily we have a timeshare so that was not jacked up. Yay! Prices for everything have gone thru the roof. Do not think anything will be back to what it was pre pandemic because you will be sorely disappointed but hey, it’s Kauai and we love it!
Lot of misinformation about short term rentals in some posts here. Hawaii is in fact clamping down on the neighborhood rentals that have caused so much destruction to formally peaceful residential areas. However, there are still vacation rentals available in certain areas, Kapolei, Turtle Bay and more.
Fortunately they are being reeled in where they are not appropriate. There has to be a balance for tourists to enjoy Hawaii while the people that live here should have a neighborhood they can feel like it’s a home and not overrun with commercial activity.
If I have any complaints about the airlines it’s the fact that what you buy six months out and what you actually get 30 days out are two different things. On another front the price of accommodations has gone absolutely nuts. And the price of car rentals has also gone up in most cases. I get the distinct feeling that certain entities are taking advantage of the poor situation. I think in about 6 months or so it’s going to backfire on them.
Aloha Guys
Is 30 days out more expensive or less expensive?