91 thoughts on “Hawaii Visitors Say Travel Industry Is Preying on Them”
Donna W.
We had reservations for 4 on both Maui and Kauai for May 2020, the condo owner on Maui gave us a full refund without any problem. However, the condo owner on Kauai refused to refund any portion but did allow us to reschedule for May 2021. Taking into consideration the length of this downturn makes us wonder if he will still own the condo next year or has to file bankruptcy due to ongoing mortgage payments and no income from the rental. What recourse does that leave for travelers who are now out thousands of dollars? I have empathy for all the folks who live on those beautiful islands and aren’t able to earn a living because the islands are closed to travelers.
Hal M
We had two weeks scheduled in March of ’20. Early Covid but the real reason was I broke my ankle in December and hadn’t recovered enough. Our Condo simply rolled us over to February ’21. May be a little more expensive as the rates per week are different. Alaska Airlines fully refunded the cost, which was primarily miles, and then we re-booked for February on the same tickets. The one “tour” we had scheduled refunded our money and then rescheduled for February. So, our experience in Hawaii is that they all work with us. We had a similar experience with our Ecuador and Australia arrangements.
Robert L.
We had our flight from Maui to Kauai cancelled and we HAD travel insurance purchased For those flights and Hawaiian Airlines will not even reply to my many emails!!
Jim R.
Aloha Robert! you can call Hawaiian Airlines anytime. I have only called 3 times to reschedule (haha), and have never had an issue that was not resolved to my satisfaction, including cancelling my Wife’s Ticket, and they gave us an option for a refund or saving it for booking a later date. I am not sure what their current policy is for refunds, but we did not have any issues.
John C
Robert L, try using Facebook messenger, they answer that for some reason. It worked for me, got my refund pronto. /
Nani C
I think this Coronavirus situation is a nightmare for everyone! The travel industry is trying to do the best that they can. The Governor is trying to play it safe due to the limited medical resources. Being a chain of Islands makes it tricky to get supplies, just ask Puerto Rico. I appreciate that he doesn’t want people to die on his watch. The Hawaiian residents are suffering because tourism is their main source of income. I miss Hawaii as much as the next guy, but it’s not about me. Let’s think globally and remember this is a hardship for everyone. Let’s all take a breath and say a prayer for the greater good of our fellow citizens.
Linda H.
Well said! The travel industry in general has been very hard hit by the pandemic. Many Americans are suffering due to loss of business, jobs, and maybe their homes in the near future. I’m sure that Hawaiians can’t wait to open up to tourism again once it’s safe. Personally, I can’t wait to go back to Maui once it’s safe to do so.
Claudia S
THANK YOU, NANI! Yes, this too shall pass and remember the Aloha spirit. We’re all hit hard by this. I have a condo on Kauai that I rent out on Airbnb, as part of my retirement income. Whenever anyone cancels with me, I give them a total refund, as that is the right thing to do. Hawaiian has been good at rescheduling me for a later date, but because I live there part time, that is no big deal for me, except they’re holding on to my $$ and that is the lease of my issues! At least I’m healthy!
Aloha everyone and stay safe!
Karen M.
We had amazing cooperation with the Dolphin Bay Resort and Hilo Hawaiian resort, both in Hilo. We were able to cancel and get a full refund. Southwest Airlines has also been accommodating, actually calling us when flights had to be rescheduled.
Sarah
Hilo Hawaiian was great with the cancellation. I had purchased non-refundable, but they gave me back all the money. Thank you Hilo Hawaiian. This makes me want to stay there again. I love the view from their hotel.
Peg m
I guess you’ve figured out that travel insurance is a long running scam. Welcome to the real world of Tavel.
Paul C
Scam huh? That’s why I got my money back on a number of flights I had planned because it was a scam? I guess I better not purchase it next time so I lose my money when I have something come up
Geoffrey K.
Hawaii is Closed!
Cindy
I heard Hawaii is talking about a travel bubble. I would never spend thousands of dollars to be a prisoner in my hotel, have boxed meals brought to my door, have no air-conditioning, not be able to drive around on the islands, Or have to make a reservation just to go to the pool and have to wear a mask. I’m sure they would only be choosing pricey resorts to do this. That totally leaves out any rental properties.
Sarah
You’ve got that right. GPS chip on your wrist, no air conditioning, no rental car, no visiting other places than the resort, prepackaged meals, no air conditioning, masks, reservations just to use the pool, employees that must live on the property and not go home to their families. This is the most idiotic idea that Hawaii has had yet.
Cindy
Unfortunately I don’t think now is the time to reschedule or schedule any trips to Hawaii. It’s too volatile and it’s too heartbreaking. My June trip was canceled, and then I scheduled another one for December. But I got cold feet being that Hawaii is moving nowhere. The second time I was only able to get vouchers. The first time I was able to get my money back. I should’ve left things alone. But my heart aches and longs to go back to the islands so badly. I can’t let it go. But I need to at this point. I am supposed to be scheduling our June 2021 trip. I’m not going to reschedule any trips to Hawaii until everything is normal again. I am terrified to book an Airbnb and have them cx or sell or bail.
John C
I have been refunded my flight fares by Hawaiian Airlines(2 weeks ago), I had a trip planned to Kauai in May 2020, which was cancelled. I originally took the credit and planned on using it next May, but with all the uncertain behavior of 1- this COVID virur and 2- Hawaiian governent, I messaged Hawaiian Air via Facebook messenger ( a tip I learned on this site) and had my credit reapplied to my visa card within 4 days. Now to get the results from our condo we rented at Hanalei Bay. The renting agency handling this stated no refunds only credit up to 18 months out. We will see how that goes.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi John.
Glad that tip paid off for you with Hawaiian Airlines.
Aloha.
Lori G.
We had a trip for four planned for the end of September to Maui and Oahu. We were waiting to see how Hawaii was going to handle travelers from the mainland AND worry about being able to get into Canada for our flight. United changed our flights and the new flight was eight hours longer. We called and were able to change our flights to new dates in April and also get a credit for the fare difference. We had a condo booked thru VRBO and the owner graciously changed dates for us and honored the original price even though April dates were more expensive. Now we wait and see about April.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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We had reservations for 4 on both Maui and Kauai for May 2020, the condo owner on Maui gave us a full refund without any problem. However, the condo owner on Kauai refused to refund any portion but did allow us to reschedule for May 2021. Taking into consideration the length of this downturn makes us wonder if he will still own the condo next year or has to file bankruptcy due to ongoing mortgage payments and no income from the rental. What recourse does that leave for travelers who are now out thousands of dollars? I have empathy for all the folks who live on those beautiful islands and aren’t able to earn a living because the islands are closed to travelers.
We had two weeks scheduled in March of ’20. Early Covid but the real reason was I broke my ankle in December and hadn’t recovered enough. Our Condo simply rolled us over to February ’21. May be a little more expensive as the rates per week are different. Alaska Airlines fully refunded the cost, which was primarily miles, and then we re-booked for February on the same tickets. The one “tour” we had scheduled refunded our money and then rescheduled for February. So, our experience in Hawaii is that they all work with us. We had a similar experience with our Ecuador and Australia arrangements.
We had our flight from Maui to Kauai cancelled and we HAD travel insurance purchased For those flights and Hawaiian Airlines will not even reply to my many emails!!
Aloha Robert! you can call Hawaiian Airlines anytime. I have only called 3 times to reschedule (haha), and have never had an issue that was not resolved to my satisfaction, including cancelling my Wife’s Ticket, and they gave us an option for a refund or saving it for booking a later date. I am not sure what their current policy is for refunds, but we did not have any issues.
Robert L, try using Facebook messenger, they answer that for some reason. It worked for me, got my refund pronto. /
I think this Coronavirus situation is a nightmare for everyone! The travel industry is trying to do the best that they can. The Governor is trying to play it safe due to the limited medical resources. Being a chain of Islands makes it tricky to get supplies, just ask Puerto Rico. I appreciate that he doesn’t want people to die on his watch. The Hawaiian residents are suffering because tourism is their main source of income. I miss Hawaii as much as the next guy, but it’s not about me. Let’s think globally and remember this is a hardship for everyone. Let’s all take a breath and say a prayer for the greater good of our fellow citizens.
Well said! The travel industry in general has been very hard hit by the pandemic. Many Americans are suffering due to loss of business, jobs, and maybe their homes in the near future. I’m sure that Hawaiians can’t wait to open up to tourism again once it’s safe. Personally, I can’t wait to go back to Maui once it’s safe to do so.
THANK YOU, NANI! Yes, this too shall pass and remember the Aloha spirit. We’re all hit hard by this. I have a condo on Kauai that I rent out on Airbnb, as part of my retirement income. Whenever anyone cancels with me, I give them a total refund, as that is the right thing to do. Hawaiian has been good at rescheduling me for a later date, but because I live there part time, that is no big deal for me, except they’re holding on to my $$ and that is the lease of my issues! At least I’m healthy!
Aloha everyone and stay safe!
We had amazing cooperation with the Dolphin Bay Resort and Hilo Hawaiian resort, both in Hilo. We were able to cancel and get a full refund. Southwest Airlines has also been accommodating, actually calling us when flights had to be rescheduled.
Hilo Hawaiian was great with the cancellation. I had purchased non-refundable, but they gave me back all the money. Thank you Hilo Hawaiian. This makes me want to stay there again. I love the view from their hotel.
I guess you’ve figured out that travel insurance is a long running scam. Welcome to the real world of Tavel.
Scam huh? That’s why I got my money back on a number of flights I had planned because it was a scam? I guess I better not purchase it next time so I lose my money when I have something come up
Hawaii is Closed!
I heard Hawaii is talking about a travel bubble. I would never spend thousands of dollars to be a prisoner in my hotel, have boxed meals brought to my door, have no air-conditioning, not be able to drive around on the islands, Or have to make a reservation just to go to the pool and have to wear a mask. I’m sure they would only be choosing pricey resorts to do this. That totally leaves out any rental properties.
You’ve got that right. GPS chip on your wrist, no air conditioning, no rental car, no visiting other places than the resort, prepackaged meals, no air conditioning, masks, reservations just to use the pool, employees that must live on the property and not go home to their families. This is the most idiotic idea that Hawaii has had yet.
Unfortunately I don’t think now is the time to reschedule or schedule any trips to Hawaii. It’s too volatile and it’s too heartbreaking. My June trip was canceled, and then I scheduled another one for December. But I got cold feet being that Hawaii is moving nowhere. The second time I was only able to get vouchers. The first time I was able to get my money back. I should’ve left things alone. But my heart aches and longs to go back to the islands so badly. I can’t let it go. But I need to at this point. I am supposed to be scheduling our June 2021 trip. I’m not going to reschedule any trips to Hawaii until everything is normal again. I am terrified to book an Airbnb and have them cx or sell or bail.
I have been refunded my flight fares by Hawaiian Airlines(2 weeks ago), I had a trip planned to Kauai in May 2020, which was cancelled. I originally took the credit and planned on using it next May, but with all the uncertain behavior of 1- this COVID virur and 2- Hawaiian governent, I messaged Hawaiian Air via Facebook messenger ( a tip I learned on this site) and had my credit reapplied to my visa card within 4 days. Now to get the results from our condo we rented at Hanalei Bay. The renting agency handling this stated no refunds only credit up to 18 months out. We will see how that goes.
Hi John.
Glad that tip paid off for you with Hawaiian Airlines.
Aloha.
We had a trip for four planned for the end of September to Maui and Oahu. We were waiting to see how Hawaii was going to handle travelers from the mainland AND worry about being able to get into Canada for our flight. United changed our flights and the new flight was eight hours longer. We called and were able to change our flights to new dates in April and also get a credit for the fare difference. We had a condo booked thru VRBO and the owner graciously changed dates for us and honored the original price even though April dates were more expensive. Now we wait and see about April.