One of our best Hawaii deal tips to combat higher Hawaii airfares is looking at Hawaii vacation rentals. You can stay at the beach in a home or condo and vacation in Hawaii more like a local. Split the cost with friends when you book a larger rental with 2 or more bedrooms. With lots of room to spread out and typically significantly more value for your money, Hawaii vacation rentals are already in great demand.
In Hawaii, well known and highly regarded rental management companies are located on each of the islands. Examples include Maui Rental Group and The Parrish Collection Kauai. You will also find global players like HomeAway, VRBO, AirBnB and as of today, Priceline’s Villas.  The new site just launched and so far has only a few hundred Hawaii properties out of nearly 200,000 in total. By comparison, HomeAway has nearly 1 million total listings. TripAdvisor is also a significant player which just acquired Vacationhomerentals.
Villas.com.
Priceline’s latest product is based on its uber successful booking.com model. Expect it to grow exponentially in both Hawaii inventory and overall. Their idea was to launch a dedicated vacation rental platform to provide added credibility and support for the unique and rapidly expanding industry. Villas properties all include instant confirmation with guaranteed availability.
What’s next in Hawaii vacation rentals?
Watch for upcoming consolidation in the global vacation rental industry. Vacation rentals are one of the largest growth areas in hospitality. We anticipate some key acquisitions/mergers will take place in the not distant future.
Your take on Hawaii vacation rentals.
Do you choose Hawaii vacation rentals over hotels? We welcome your comments and experiences.
We’ve used VRBO a number of times, all successful, and I’m now convinced that they’re far superior to a motel or hotel. We rented a home on the Hilo side of the Big Island for two weeks in 2011, and it was a wonderful experience. Another couple stayed with us for part of the time, and the home had everything that we could possibly need, even detailed maps of the Big Island and a cooler for picnic lunches. We never ate breakfast out, just shopped the farmer’s markets and had an array of fabulous fruit–I enjoyed papaya and pineapple each morning. Prices in the supermarkets were a bit of a shock, but the benefits of not eating every meal out and the ability to pack a picnic and enjoy dining alfresco around the island more than offset the cost. Dinners were sometimes out, sometimes in. I spent lots of time looking for just the right place, which I enjoyed, and I’m ready to repeat the process when I can find good airfares.
We rented a vacation home in Hauula this past winter. It is the ONLY way we will stay in Hawaii from now on. It truly felt like “home” and we loved being away from the crowds. For five adults it was the perfect place! We cooked most of our meals, when we did eat out it was at “mom and pops” – and the prices were truly about what we’d pay here in Texas.
We fell in love with the eastern side of the island – friendly people, less hustle/bustle … just a nice easy going way of life!