151 thoughts on “Hawaii Visitors Left Reeling By Up to 300% Cost Increases”
Eric P
Very glad I have been able to visit the Hawaiian islands a few times but will not go back now. Too expensive, & too many travel hassles. There are many other tropical destinations that are just as beautiful, easier to get to & way less expensive. Aloha Hawaii.
I stayed at the courtyard by Marriott Waikiki for $287 in September 2022 and just got back from Paris staying in a budget Marriott for $250. Food was cheaper in Paris than it is in the U S and much cheaper than Hawaii.
Homeless people everywhere, very few free bathrooms available outside of hotels only, disgusting beach bathrooms, filled with homeless and perverts. No free parking. State parks filled with homeless. Waikiki Park not safe at night or walking along beach.
Your post hit home for me. I booked a trip for 7 in our family, to stay in Waikiki 7/9-7/13. We aren’t a family with a lot of money, but this was our dream to visit Hawaii. (First time traveling in over 25 years and sold many items to make this happen) I brought my kids, husband, and brother 40yo with a terminal illness. My brother was walking at the Waikiki park 9pm on night 1 of arrival. He was beaten and robbed. Our 4 day trip turned into a nightmare. Our kids have been terrified and obviously our only trip wasted. I got my brother back to CA in time for blood transfusions, but I guess I thought this was a very isolated incident and we have all tried to recover and but I was intending to try this over again to try to heal the trauma for my kids, but I will need to really consider this since seeing your post. The police didnt take a report and said this was extremely rare. I also was not aware that the locals don’t appreciate the tourism…. Everyone was so nice.
As 20+ residents we feel the same. It may really be time to finally move on. Apart from stratospheric living costs, Hawaii is simply no more the beautiful place we remember, concrete is mushrooming, prices are nuts, and – most troubling – nature and society around us are degrading. It can’t be denied. Our coral reefs lost their colors, street people are roaming everywhere, drugs are running wild, road rage and shootings is becoming a daily thing. So sad.
Love Hawaii, the state, and all of its wonderful islands. Have not been to our personal favorite, Maui, from California, since 2001, but got back to our old haunts on the west side in late June of 2023.
We loved every minute…except for one unfortunate thing.
The cost of everything…food, rentals cars, room rates, ocean tours, etc. was brutally expensive. Restaurant meals averaged $75-$100 per person without drinks or wine. Our total cost for 7 days was close to $9500. Looking at rates for next year, we may have gotten off fairly cheap.
While I love the everything about Hawaii I don’t think I can afford the price tags. Probably just me, but I’ll go local Cali next year. Thanks for having a great publication with timely and accurate information. Please publish some good news, if possible, about rates and tourist spending in the future.
You’ve priced yourself out. Our Maui vacation in January will probably be our last. And if I could get out of this trip I would. It’s insane. And of top of that I don’t think native Hawaiians want us there anyways. And while I complaining your infrastructure sucks. Where does all of that tax money go too?
Based on the difficulty in scheduling flights with reasonable flight durations because of connections, the cost of airfare, accommodations (condos, in our case) and rental cars, our past practice of Hawaii every 12 to 18 months is in indefinite limbo. My wife and I are looking at and discovering alternatives and we are among that west coast group (Northern Nevada) that the visitors bureau seems to be concerned about. We’ll continue to follow developments but are frankly not optimistic.
It is not only the price gouging that is detouring our travel to Hawaii, it is also the feeling of being unwelcomed by the local people of Hawaii. Would feel better spending our future travel money on a destination that welcomes visitors.
Please don’t take it personally. The reason that the aloha you are so accustomed to is waning, is because over-tourism has just about completely ruined life for locals. Demand from tourism for consuming the islands has contributed to the standard of living dropping drastically (or even being priced out of paradise) for so many due to the price increases on every level, especially purchasing a home and renting.
This has frustrated most locals because this is our way of life and it goes back generations, while tourists are only here for a hot minute and don’t share the same love and investment in this place that we do. There is some rough history surrounding how these islands came to be in this state and current developments are not healing those very deep wounds. It’s unfortunate and I’m so sorry to say that due to these circumstances, don’t expect any aloha anytime soon.
The problem with the outrageous cost of visiting/living in the islands…the locals can’t afford to keep up and the conscious traveler(the kind that visits respectfully) can’t afford to visit. You are left with the wealthy entitled who do not respect nor appreciate anything. Just look at the multi million dollar homes being built Everywhere and these homes are second and third homes for most. They gobble up the land, they deplete the resources, they run yachts aground in marine parks. It’s just so sad. We loved the hawaiian islands, one of the most beautiful places on earth but my husband and I will not be returning anymore.. We visited the islands respectfully, for decades, but can no longer afford or care to witness the gluttony and greed that is happening there. Aloha to the beautiful people of hawaii, I do hope that the tides of change will flow again in the right direction.
I don’t take it personally. In fact I fully understand as I live in a popular area in So Calif where visitors come every weekend and leave trash, speed through our streets, and many times basically destructive to our city. I don’t expect aloha from your local people. They should not be expected to put on a show for the tourists. I read often how unhappy they are with tourists. And maybe that is the end plan, pricing Hawaii out of tourism. There are other places who want tourists and will support them and leave Hawaii to the locals,
But…all island vacation destinations have this same situation. Housing and goods soaring, locals feeling the brunt, etc. And yet, others welcome tourists with open arms. You can feel it when you visit. Warm, friendly, grateful residents.
Why, instead, do the Hawaiian people choose to hate?
Aloha PatG, we don’t hate anyone. We’re just frustrated with the wool that was pulled over our eyes and the very uneven deal with tourism that we got. Not only did we not get what was promised, what we had is being taken away by over-tourism and wealthy transplants driving up all of the prices on everything. It is a sad affair and we want off of this ride.
Understood, I know all about the sour grapes. My point is that it’s the same everywhere – costs rising, housing more unaffordable, tourists flocking to tourist locations. But the attitude in Hawaii is strikingly different, as demonstrated in your response.
Anyway, since the desire is so strong to live on even less than you have in order not to have visitors to your island, you only have to wait a little longer. 6% less people are visiting now, and I guarantee that with all of the publicity about ungrateful attitudes, the number of visitors will decrease even more. No one wants to give you money you don’t want or need. You will soon get your wish. Congratulations!
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Sarah L
We recently booked a 4 night trip to Waikik for 6 people. Our first time visiting and it was supposed to be our dream vacation. I understood that the resort would be several hundred dollars per night and then extra for a rental car, but to add almost $100 per day resort fee and $75 per day parking… the additional almost $200 per day with the costly meals kind broke our budget. Still… would love to come back soon.
We just returned from an 8 day trip to Kauai and The Big Island. We have traveled to Maui several times and wanted to see something new. We booked 10 days before departure from Ohio. Air fare was good.
Hawaii has always been expensive, but now with so many more options for travel the price is prohibitive.
We spent 6,000 for a couple to go to Portugal for 10 days in Sept. with a night in Paris! We spent over 8,000 in Hawaii for 7 nights. Food and hotels price(especially with all the taxes and resort fees) are doubled at least. Our next trips will definitely be Europe. Thanks
Reality of it for my family- over a dozen or so visits. Flights are ok- car rental – find a deal. What is terribly sad- room costs- either condo or resort. From high nightly rates and increased cleaning fees – gotten absurd. Which is why-Maui- Hawaii is totally off our radar.🫣 The greed has gotten overwhelming.
Perhaps one reason that the costs are up more than the spending is that visitors are cutting corners to stay within their budget. For instance, we just returned from a trip to Kauai. We’ve taken the same trip five times, including in 2021 and 2018. This is the first time we didn’t rent a car (we still rented bikes for the duration). Instead of renting our own room or small house, we shared a larger house with friends, which reduced our rooming cost by around half. And we ate and drank out less than in previous trips, relying more heavily on groceries. We also purchased fewer gifts for the upcoming holiday season than we usually do during a trip to Hawaii. Our airfare on Hawaiian Airlines was about the same as in 2018 and 2021. (We are from Northern California, BTW.)
I must say I just got back from an early vacation in July to Hawaii and everything is up in all categories, yet the quality of service seems to be much less. Starting with Air Travel. Hotel is inferior to what I had experienced before at same hotel, but cost tons more. Food is just plain high, lots of add on charges, service charges. The reservation at places like Diamond Head Hike seems a bit ridiculous. There also seems to be a super slow comeback from Covid shutdowns in most areas. Won’t be going back anytime soon. I prefer my trips to Ireland, etc.
I visited Hawaii (Oahu) for the first time this year and what I found was a beautiful island with a beautiful culture but in a troubled situation. The most obnoxious thing about Hawaii were the tourists and their enablers. Waikiki is insufferable. Yes, it was all expensive, but you have to thank greedy corporations and foreign landlords who price out the locals. I am from Canada and were a facing a similar cost of living crisis. Although tourism is not huge for us, we are overburdened by a surge in immigration which has tipped the scales. So I totally empathize with the Hawaiians. I would be interested in visiting again in support of sustainable and ethical tourism – for locals by locals, and no exploitation.
We just got back from 10 days on Maui and the one thing we noticed was the much smaller crowds! We never waited to get into restaurants, always found parking at every beach, along the road to Hana and elsewhere. One night at dinner in Wailea there were only a couple families eating. We loved it but thought it was odd for peak season.
We have probably been to Hawaii 50 times over the last 20 years, sometimes for 2 or 3 weeks. We would love to come more in the future but for now we will be going elsewhere. We will wait until the pendulum swings back to prices being more reasonable. There are great bargains in EU right now.
It’s sad that prices have gone off the charts. Looks like hotels and rental car companies are out to make a quick buck. However they are breaking the Golden Goose. We have no industry only tourists.
I began the process of checking ticket prices to Honolulu next spring. The ticket price is double. This year it was $662 RT next year is $1,210. Departing from a major West Coast City to Honolulu on the same airline I’ve been traveling on for 25 years. That is without add-ons of any kind.
Coming for 3 weeks in September. Used to come every year but last time we were here was 2019. Air and house rental and condo on another island was pricey. We enjoy cooking on vacations so hopefully we just won’t go out much except to Kilauea Bakery and the Bistro.
It’s only going to get worse. Fewer visitors mean merchants will have to charge more for their products, which will cause visitors to spend less, which will necessitate merchants to charge more….. The cycle will continue until Hawaii’s visitor market, Hawaii’s lifeblood, crashes. We’re coming to Kauai in Feb 2024, maybe our last time. Hawaii is pricing itself out of business.
I have a trip planned for February to see my family in Kailua. I have to stay 30 days because of the absurd new restrictions meant only to support the hotel industry. It will probably be my last trip. I can’t afford it. I will have to limit seeing my grandkids on FaceTime! 🥵👿🤮🤬
Right, it’s all going as planned. I’m sure the -6% tourist arrivals is just a start.
It’ll be hard to find a good balance between raising prices so less people come, and keeping the residents of the island employed. Residents are already leaving the island in droves, in search for work.
Hopefully, it will stabilize in the end, although I’ve already read from ex-Hawaiian residents (yes, real Hawaiians), that were forced to leave because of the tourism drop, and are desperate to come back to their families, but can’t because of no jobs and no housing. Perhaps current efforts to give Hawaiians free land will bring some of them back.
Kay, I remember reading that here or elsewhere as well. With the prior ‘Southwest Airlines effect’ of cheaper airfare bringing more visitors as well as more unruly/disrespectful visitors, I thought the goal was to reduce this with higher prices and restrictive fees? Case in point was Maui enacting fees to make certain areas more restrictive. Aloha BOH, am I wrong in remembering these comments and articles? Isn’t what we are seeing with reduced visitors and higher everything the goal of the policymakers? Mahalo!
If government wants to reduce tourism in Hawaii as a general fiscal/social policy to “protect” the islands from whatever specific “ism” the government fears, I wonder what will happen to real Hawaiians living and working there?
Mainland locations that went after “up market” customers ended up with locals commuting to work at the resorts from dozens of miles out of town. Just ask ski resorts’ or national parks’ employees where they actually live!
If it takes a suitcase full of money to vacation in Hawaii (food, gas and others essentials are 150-160% higher than in California), it will take a similar suitcase to live there.
Greed is the engine, I think. Governments are not strangers to that disease and I hope Hawaii’s residents are getting what they need.
Very glad I have been able to visit the Hawaiian islands a few times but will not go back now. Too expensive, & too many travel hassles. There are many other tropical destinations that are just as beautiful, easier to get to & way less expensive. Aloha Hawaii.
I stayed at the courtyard by Marriott Waikiki for $287 in September 2022 and just got back from Paris staying in a budget Marriott for $250. Food was cheaper in Paris than it is in the U S and much cheaper than Hawaii.
Homeless people everywhere, very few free bathrooms available outside of hotels only, disgusting beach bathrooms, filled with homeless and perverts. No free parking. State parks filled with homeless. Waikiki Park not safe at night or walking along beach.
Your post hit home for me. I booked a trip for 7 in our family, to stay in Waikiki 7/9-7/13. We aren’t a family with a lot of money, but this was our dream to visit Hawaii. (First time traveling in over 25 years and sold many items to make this happen) I brought my kids, husband, and brother 40yo with a terminal illness. My brother was walking at the Waikiki park 9pm on night 1 of arrival. He was beaten and robbed. Our 4 day trip turned into a nightmare. Our kids have been terrified and obviously our only trip wasted. I got my brother back to CA in time for blood transfusions, but I guess I thought this was a very isolated incident and we have all tried to recover and but I was intending to try this over again to try to heal the trauma for my kids, but I will need to really consider this since seeing your post. The police didnt take a report and said this was extremely rare. I also was not aware that the locals don’t appreciate the tourism…. Everyone was so nice.
As 20+ residents we feel the same. It may really be time to finally move on. Apart from stratospheric living costs, Hawaii is simply no more the beautiful place we remember, concrete is mushrooming, prices are nuts, and – most troubling – nature and society around us are degrading. It can’t be denied. Our coral reefs lost their colors, street people are roaming everywhere, drugs are running wild, road rage and shootings is becoming a daily thing. So sad.
Love Hawaii, the state, and all of its wonderful islands. Have not been to our personal favorite, Maui, from California, since 2001, but got back to our old haunts on the west side in late June of 2023.
We loved every minute…except for one unfortunate thing.
The cost of everything…food, rentals cars, room rates, ocean tours, etc. was brutally expensive. Restaurant meals averaged $75-$100 per person without drinks or wine. Our total cost for 7 days was close to $9500. Looking at rates for next year, we may have gotten off fairly cheap.
While I love the everything about Hawaii I don’t think I can afford the price tags. Probably just me, but I’ll go local Cali next year. Thanks for having a great publication with timely and accurate information. Please publish some good news, if possible, about rates and tourist spending in the future.
You’ve priced yourself out. Our Maui vacation in January will probably be our last. And if I could get out of this trip I would. It’s insane. And of top of that I don’t think native Hawaiians want us there anyways. And while I complaining your infrastructure sucks. Where does all of that tax money go too?
Much of that tax money goes to corrupt, inept government.
Based on the difficulty in scheduling flights with reasonable flight durations because of connections, the cost of airfare, accommodations (condos, in our case) and rental cars, our past practice of Hawaii every 12 to 18 months is in indefinite limbo. My wife and I are looking at and discovering alternatives and we are among that west coast group (Northern Nevada) that the visitors bureau seems to be concerned about. We’ll continue to follow developments but are frankly not optimistic.
It is not only the price gouging that is detouring our travel to Hawaii, it is also the feeling of being unwelcomed by the local people of Hawaii. Would feel better spending our future travel money on a destination that welcomes visitors.
Please don’t take it personally. The reason that the aloha you are so accustomed to is waning, is because over-tourism has just about completely ruined life for locals. Demand from tourism for consuming the islands has contributed to the standard of living dropping drastically (or even being priced out of paradise) for so many due to the price increases on every level, especially purchasing a home and renting.
This has frustrated most locals because this is our way of life and it goes back generations, while tourists are only here for a hot minute and don’t share the same love and investment in this place that we do. There is some rough history surrounding how these islands came to be in this state and current developments are not healing those very deep wounds. It’s unfortunate and I’m so sorry to say that due to these circumstances, don’t expect any aloha anytime soon.
The problem with the outrageous cost of visiting/living in the islands…the locals can’t afford to keep up and the conscious traveler(the kind that visits respectfully) can’t afford to visit. You are left with the wealthy entitled who do not respect nor appreciate anything. Just look at the multi million dollar homes being built Everywhere and these homes are second and third homes for most. They gobble up the land, they deplete the resources, they run yachts aground in marine parks. It’s just so sad. We loved the hawaiian islands, one of the most beautiful places on earth but my husband and I will not be returning anymore.. We visited the islands respectfully, for decades, but can no longer afford or care to witness the gluttony and greed that is happening there. Aloha to the beautiful people of hawaii, I do hope that the tides of change will flow again in the right direction.
I don’t take it personally. In fact I fully understand as I live in a popular area in So Calif where visitors come every weekend and leave trash, speed through our streets, and many times basically destructive to our city. I don’t expect aloha from your local people. They should not be expected to put on a show for the tourists. I read often how unhappy they are with tourists. And maybe that is the end plan, pricing Hawaii out of tourism. There are other places who want tourists and will support them and leave Hawaii to the locals,
But…all island vacation destinations have this same situation. Housing and goods soaring, locals feeling the brunt, etc. And yet, others welcome tourists with open arms. You can feel it when you visit. Warm, friendly, grateful residents.
Why, instead, do the Hawaiian people choose to hate?
Aloha PatG, we don’t hate anyone. We’re just frustrated with the wool that was pulled over our eyes and the very uneven deal with tourism that we got. Not only did we not get what was promised, what we had is being taken away by over-tourism and wealthy transplants driving up all of the prices on everything. It is a sad affair and we want off of this ride.
Understood, I know all about the sour grapes. My point is that it’s the same everywhere – costs rising, housing more unaffordable, tourists flocking to tourist locations. But the attitude in Hawaii is strikingly different, as demonstrated in your response.
Anyway, since the desire is so strong to live on even less than you have in order not to have visitors to your island, you only have to wait a little longer. 6% less people are visiting now, and I guarantee that with all of the publicity about ungrateful attitudes, the number of visitors will decrease even more. No one wants to give you money you don’t want or need. You will soon get your wish. Congratulations!
We recently booked a 4 night trip to Waikik for 6 people. Our first time visiting and it was supposed to be our dream vacation. I understood that the resort would be several hundred dollars per night and then extra for a rental car, but to add almost $100 per day resort fee and $75 per day parking… the additional almost $200 per day with the costly meals kind broke our budget. Still… would love to come back soon.
We just returned from an 8 day trip to Kauai and The Big Island. We have traveled to Maui several times and wanted to see something new. We booked 10 days before departure from Ohio. Air fare was good.
Hawaii has always been expensive, but now with so many more options for travel the price is prohibitive.
We spent 6,000 for a couple to go to Portugal for 10 days in Sept. with a night in Paris! We spent over 8,000 in Hawaii for 7 nights. Food and hotels price(especially with all the taxes and resort fees) are doubled at least. Our next trips will definitely be Europe. Thanks
Reality of it for my family- over a dozen or so visits. Flights are ok- car rental – find a deal. What is terribly sad- room costs- either condo or resort. From high nightly rates and increased cleaning fees – gotten absurd. Which is why-Maui- Hawaii is totally off our radar.🫣 The greed has gotten overwhelming.
Perhaps one reason that the costs are up more than the spending is that visitors are cutting corners to stay within their budget. For instance, we just returned from a trip to Kauai. We’ve taken the same trip five times, including in 2021 and 2018. This is the first time we didn’t rent a car (we still rented bikes for the duration). Instead of renting our own room or small house, we shared a larger house with friends, which reduced our rooming cost by around half. And we ate and drank out less than in previous trips, relying more heavily on groceries. We also purchased fewer gifts for the upcoming holiday season than we usually do during a trip to Hawaii. Our airfare on Hawaiian Airlines was about the same as in 2018 and 2021. (We are from Northern California, BTW.)
I must say I just got back from an early vacation in July to Hawaii and everything is up in all categories, yet the quality of service seems to be much less. Starting with Air Travel. Hotel is inferior to what I had experienced before at same hotel, but cost tons more. Food is just plain high, lots of add on charges, service charges. The reservation at places like Diamond Head Hike seems a bit ridiculous. There also seems to be a super slow comeback from Covid shutdowns in most areas. Won’t be going back anytime soon. I prefer my trips to Ireland, etc.
I visited Hawaii (Oahu) for the first time this year and what I found was a beautiful island with a beautiful culture but in a troubled situation. The most obnoxious thing about Hawaii were the tourists and their enablers. Waikiki is insufferable. Yes, it was all expensive, but you have to thank greedy corporations and foreign landlords who price out the locals. I am from Canada and were a facing a similar cost of living crisis. Although tourism is not huge for us, we are overburdened by a surge in immigration which has tipped the scales. So I totally empathize with the Hawaiians. I would be interested in visiting again in support of sustainable and ethical tourism – for locals by locals, and no exploitation.
We just got back from 10 days on Maui and the one thing we noticed was the much smaller crowds! We never waited to get into restaurants, always found parking at every beach, along the road to Hana and elsewhere. One night at dinner in Wailea there were only a couple families eating. We loved it but thought it was odd for peak season.
We have probably been to Hawaii 50 times over the last 20 years, sometimes for 2 or 3 weeks. We would love to come more in the future but for now we will be going elsewhere. We will wait until the pendulum swings back to prices being more reasonable. There are great bargains in EU right now.
It’s sad that prices have gone off the charts. Looks like hotels and rental car companies are out to make a quick buck. However they are breaking the Golden Goose. We have no industry only tourists.
I began the process of checking ticket prices to Honolulu next spring. The ticket price is double. This year it was $662 RT next year is $1,210. Departing from a major West Coast City to Honolulu on the same airline I’ve been traveling on for 25 years. That is without add-ons of any kind.
Coming for 3 weeks in September. Used to come every year but last time we were here was 2019. Air and house rental and condo on another island was pricey. We enjoy cooking on vacations so hopefully we just won’t go out much except to Kilauea Bakery and the Bistro.
Kilauea Bakery and the Bistro!! Yes. Two great places!
It’s only going to get worse. Fewer visitors mean merchants will have to charge more for their products, which will cause visitors to spend less, which will necessitate merchants to charge more….. The cycle will continue until Hawaii’s visitor market, Hawaii’s lifeblood, crashes. We’re coming to Kauai in Feb 2024, maybe our last time. Hawaii is pricing itself out of business.
I have a trip planned for February to see my family in Kailua. I have to stay 30 days because of the absurd new restrictions meant only to support the hotel industry. It will probably be my last trip. I can’t afford it. I will have to limit seeing my grandkids on FaceTime! 🥵👿🤮🤬
I was under the impression this was what Hawaiians wanted….less tourists? And this only one’s that are coming are the rich. Hmmmmm….
Right, it’s all going as planned. I’m sure the -6% tourist arrivals is just a start.
It’ll be hard to find a good balance between raising prices so less people come, and keeping the residents of the island employed. Residents are already leaving the island in droves, in search for work.
Hopefully, it will stabilize in the end, although I’ve already read from ex-Hawaiian residents (yes, real Hawaiians), that were forced to leave because of the tourism drop, and are desperate to come back to their families, but can’t because of no jobs and no housing. Perhaps current efforts to give Hawaiians free land will bring some of them back.
Kay, I remember reading that here or elsewhere as well. With the prior ‘Southwest Airlines effect’ of cheaper airfare bringing more visitors as well as more unruly/disrespectful visitors, I thought the goal was to reduce this with higher prices and restrictive fees? Case in point was Maui enacting fees to make certain areas more restrictive. Aloha BOH, am I wrong in remembering these comments and articles? Isn’t what we are seeing with reduced visitors and higher everything the goal of the policymakers? Mahalo!
Hi Buddy.
A reduction in tourism has definitely been one of the goals associated with each of the island destination management plans.
Aloha.
If government wants to reduce tourism in Hawaii as a general fiscal/social policy to “protect” the islands from whatever specific “ism” the government fears, I wonder what will happen to real Hawaiians living and working there?
Mainland locations that went after “up market” customers ended up with locals commuting to work at the resorts from dozens of miles out of town. Just ask ski resorts’ or national parks’ employees where they actually live!
If it takes a suitcase full of money to vacation in Hawaii (food, gas and others essentials are 150-160% higher than in California), it will take a similar suitcase to live there.
Greed is the engine, I think. Governments are not strangers to that disease and I hope Hawaii’s residents are getting what they need.