Following a record 2019, Hawaii travel was largely shut down in 2020, as the pandemic brought the islands’ tourism machine to a grinding halt. Starting in March this year, however, a far faster than expected turnaround occurred for various reasons, which resulted in near and perhaps soon to be above-record tourism once again, together with a plethora of new and somewhat unexpected problems.
As one example of things to prepare for, did you know there are 34 delayed flights into and out of Hawaii’s airports just today alone?
During Covid 19, it became impossible to travel here without quarantine, which provided an unexpected but not entirely unwelcomed quiet in Hawaii. Reefs and the environment, together with residents, took a breath from travel. It might have been the same where you live if your community sees many tourists. Unemployment here skyrocketed too, as all travel-related businesses were shuttered, and Hawaii soon led the country in job loss.
Fast forward to 2021: tourism roars again.
Hawaii tourism has resumed with a vengeance. The pent-up demand on the mainland, mixed with the inaccessibility and uncertainty of international travel, continues to make Hawaii the most in-demand vacation destination. An added appeal is that Hawaii has seen meager infection rates.
Airlines aren’t in the clear either.
As we said, 34 flights were delayed today alone, and you can expect more of that and cancellations too. The airlines also have staffing issues, and one is even paying double-time for any overtime hours worked. And yet, in spite of this, there are just so many flights operating between the mainland and Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines, expanded its domestic capacity and added new routes such that it has more domestic airlift than ever before. Southwest is clearly on a tear here as well and now has 34 Hawaii routes.
Price is often no obstacle.
This year, people are making up for what they didn’t spend during Covid. As a result, the high end of Hawaii travel is even more unavailable than the low end. That includes first-class airline seats, which are somewhere between difficult and impossible to find. The same is true at Hawaii luxury resorts and restaurants. It almost seems as though the more expensive the offering, the less available it is. We don’t remember ever seeing this phenomenon before, except perhaps at the holidays.
Where are the workers?
While travel returned, all of the systems, and more importantly, the employees who power Hawaii travel, did not. Many people chose not to return to their prior jobs. With the continuation of unemployment benefits, many had time to reassess life and make alternate plans. Many left Hawaii entirely, and the state estimated that workforce reduction at 16,000. It is believed that more than 40,000 positions remain unfilled in our travel sector, and it shows. Those workers who have returned feel the stress and are being asked to work as much overtime as is humanly possible. So when you don’t get the same Aloha as you would normally, please keep that in mind.
Hawaii hotels have a mess on their hands.
Hotel occupancy and prices went through the roof. Rates that had been very low started growing, sometimes exponentially, including at Hawaii luxury resorts. Staffing hasn’t returned to prior levels, and there is a shortage of people to hire. Not all facilities have even reopened, and being without help, many operate during reduced hours. All hands on deck is the common outcry.
Car rentals either disappeared or became entirely unaffordable.
Once cheap and typically easy to reserve, such car rentals are a thing of the past. We don’t know that those will ever return. Of course, that isn’t just true in Hawaii, but it does seem worse here, exacerbated by the fact that cars don’t easily find their way across the Pacific.
Who had ever heard of $200 a day and up for a car rental, unless it was for an exotic car? And how did Craigslist in Hawaii become primary the alternative, albeit questionable, car rental depot where old “island cars” usually start at well over $150 a day? Insurance, what insurance?
Hawaii vacation rentals are tough to find.
After the last year, we all value more space, privacy, and getting away from crowds. No accommodation type is as popular here as are Hawaii vacation rentals, and that’s more true now than ever. On the other hand, inventory is not back at the level it was before, while demand has skyrocketed and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. The lack of staffing plays a critical role here too and can lead to less than ideal circumstances.
We are hearing from multiple sources about vacation rental hosts, including Airbnb, VRBO, and others canceling reservations, often without little notice or recourse. Also, given the limited capacity at this time, those canceled may be hard-pressed to find alternative accommodations.
Hawaii restaurants: eating out here isn’t what it used to be.
We recently tried to get into a local cafe at their 5 pm opening and were flatly turned away. At the moment, restaurant reservations need to be had weeks to months ahead. For those who don’t accept reservations, do some research, then try to get there at off-times and at their opening, as you will likely be waiting in a line, and sometimes a very long one.
Activities are booked up too, so plan ahead.
Hawaii activities are so popular that they too have become oversold, especially when combined with staffing and other constraints. We checked and can confirm that various adventure activities and tours are already booked through the summer. So when these are important to you, it is best to check before making your air, car, and accommodation reservations. For those activities that don’t require advance booking, plan on waiting, and again, go early or during off-hours.
Even an ice shortage felt at Hawaii shave ice stands.
Here is something new that seems hard to comprehend. The ice makers can’t keep up with the demand for shave ice. When I saw one stand with a “no ice” sign, I thought it was a joke. But it’s real. Some stands are doing small sizes only.
We always look forward to your input!
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Aloha and Mahalo for all the information.
We traveled June 17th to June 22nd, to Oahu. We booked our Airbnb and rental car at the end of March. The Airbnb was under $800 for a studio in Waikiki and the rental car was about $440. Glad we got those reservations early.
Airports: We flew from Las Vegas, NV to Honolulu. We flew on a new Southwest Airlines route and didn’t know about the Pre-Clear option at the Las Vegas gate. We sacrificed getting on the plane early to get cleared and so glad we did. After a 3 hour delay (Waiting for clearance on a longer runway (against the air traffic current route) using up taxying fuel, refueling, taking off fuel (too much was loaded) and finally getting clearance for runway 8) we took off and got to Oahu. We are glad we did the Pre-Clear because the line at the airport was very very long. On our return trip, we got to the airport about 2 hours before our flight. The line to check our bags was extremely long and we finally got to our gate with about 10 minutes to spare. I recommend getting there about 3 hours before your flight.
It was nice driving around the island because I did notice the roads being less congested (lack of rental cars).
In Waikiki, we stood in one line for about an hour to get ramen. The other times we ate, we went out away from Waikiki to eat at local places and didn’t have to wait long. About half of the places were take out only. We also ate several meals from our go to place, 7-Eleven. They have some really good hot dishes, Spam musubi and pork hash!
Waikiki seemed a little less congested, but also restaurants/bars closed down early. I think there was a curfew for bars or maybe the demand wasn’t there to justify staying open longer. Several restaurants were closed either permanently or temporarily. 7-Eleven on Beach Walk was closed permanently.
We are planning on going back probably in December
Hi David.
Thanks. We appreciate the report on your recent travel to Honolulu. Glad you can return again later this year.
Aloha.
One thing you can do is eat in or have picnics. Prayfully, things can get better …
I think the problem lies with the mis-management of the whole tourism industry. The flights coming into the islands are back to previous levels while the restaurant, hospitality, activity, and rental car industries are still under reduced capacities. It only makes sense that there will be a shortage of everything for the huge numbers of visitors arriving daily to the islands, couple that with the enhanced unemployment benefits through September 6th and it’s a recipe for disaster.
So if we have a week stay from October 26-Nov 2nd will we be able to make reservations for restaurants in Lahaina far enough in advance? Will we be able to take the road tonJa a for our friends who have never been to Maui? We have our condo rented, suv from Costco. Want to just relax with our kids and best friends.
Former vacation rental host here (20yrs). Many places converted to long-term turn-key rentals for remote workers during the shut down. We don’t plan to go back to hosting.
Great info and tips, but still a sad situation. Hope it improves as we are planning to be in Kauai Jan 1,2022
With all this problem why are the aia lines running specials, makes no sense to me.
Would love to come visit again, we went to Maui in April and managed to leave before it hit the fan, so glad we made it, had a wonderful time, hope all goes well soon, want to come back again this year, but looks like it won’t happen. Love the Islands
We are leaving Maui today, after staying for a week at Ashton at Whalers village. We had a condo with a kitchen, so we cooked and grilled almost all of ours meals. Luckily we had no problem with a rental car, but we had friends who didn’t have a rental and we’re given scooters.
This is spot on and good advice. Everything you said here is what I’ve been telling folks when they asked me how my vacay was in June.
We’re going to Maui in late August. I was wondering if the Costco’s in Hawaii are operating at full capacity or are they running short of supplies also?
Hi Curtis.
We have not noticed any issues out of the normal at Costco. They occasionally will have a delayed barge shipment, but otherwise, nothing.
Aloha.
Aloha Guys
Thank you for the updated info. Much of it is about the same as last November, where we had a good many places closed. VRBO was purchased buy some big outfit a few years ago and it is nothing like it once was and we no longer use VRBO. I have a feeling that the tourist imbalance has been festering for some years and the pandemic has just moved the problems along more quickly.
Hi Roy.
Thank you. Vrbo is a Homeaway brand and has been for a long time. There is something about the juxtaposition between no tourism to today that makes the situation really out of the ordinary.
Aloha.
Thank you for this information, it is helpful. I think a lot of the problem here is that people probably booked a trip to Hawaii for this July in the winter or last year when COVID made travel scarce and people were getting a deal and thinking they were making the right choice going to Hawaii and not internationally. Now, with the influx of tourists, there’s a lot more planning required. Which I don’t mind. Hawaii is worth it and I want to respect the locals. I don’t own Hawaii nor am I entitled to a Hawaiian vacation that is totally on my own terms. It’s kind of like going to Disney World, you book it a year out, get restaurant reservations 6 months out, etc. I am a planner and I like it. It’s just unfortunate that it’s too late for people to plan, but because this blog is so helpful, I am hoping the fall tourists have a much better time. Thanks for all the work you do Beat of Hawaii!
Hi Emily.
Thanks! We appreciate your first comment and hope to see you again soon.
Aloha.
VRBO is an advertising platform. Our house (that we own) is a legal NCU vacation rental on Kauai. We pay an annual fee to advertise on VRBO. It is also advertised on Air BnB. Not sure how that works. We have a local RE Broker in Hanalei who manages the whole thing. Her office manages the actual rentals and we leave it to her to decide if “worth it” to pay to advertise on VRBO etc.
Very accurate description of the current state of affairs for visitors to Hawaii. I was on Maui during the month of May. It was somewhat crowded even for May but it was also easy to see that the visitor tsunami was coming. When we left I could not believe how crowded the airport was with arrivals.
What I would like to add is, because of the over crowding, people tend to react negatively towards each other in such situations. The main goal is to avoid the crowds whenever/wherever possible.
A few hints;
When you arrive, head to the nearest costco and load up with water, juices and soft drinks etc.. If you are staying someplace where you can cook all the better. Stock up on what you need to eat-in on most days. Trying to find a place to eat at dinner/lunch time every day will be quite stressful and time consuming. Look for happy hour specials.
Get out of bed in the AM and get going early, this is key. By 10AM beaches/hiking trails are crowded and any beach/trail access parking is long gone. If you are driving there is a lot less traffic at that time of day. Locals know this and you should too.
For paid excursions look to book the earliest possible times and get on waiting lists if there are no slots available.
And above all, keep it mellow.
Does this information hold true for all the Islands, or just Oahu?
I have found it to be true on all the islands, especially Maui.
Thank you, as always, for keeping us updated with more detail than just “Things are busy! Plan ahead!”.
I’m looking forward to reports from Beat of Hawaii readers as they make their visits – I’m another long-booked traveler wondering what things will be by the end of summer.
And thank you for the reminder that this hits the people living in the middle of this and working through this crunch extra-hard. I hope more visitors realize that coming as things open up again means we have to be patient. And when we are good visitors it helps bring things back faster. (Because obviously Beat of Hawaii readers are good visitors who tip well, follow instructions/rules and have a good attitude about set-backs. We just have to convince other people to be more like us.)
Hi Ellen.
Thank you. Please come back again soon.
Aloha.
Thank you Beat of Hawaii for keeping us updated on travel to Hawaii and how things are going. We plan on a trip in December and hope things have improved by then. Again thanks for all your updates!!
Hi Ellen.
You’re most welcome. Thanks for your first comment, and hope to see you back soon.
Aloha.
Mahalo for all of your helpful “inside info” from your vantage point in the beautiful state of Hawaii. I am wondering if you know whether the situations you have described are just as true on the Big Island as on Kauai, Maui and Oahu? Please let me know if the restaurants there are having the same understaffed issues as on the other islands. We have flights, vrbo and car (Turo) reservations for early September. I am hoping that there is significant improvement in all the tourist related issues by then. Mahalo for your thoughts on this.
Hi Patrice.
Thanks. We had you covered on your side note re name by the way. These issues are definitely statewide.
Aloha.
It’s unfortunate that things have gotten out of control. On the mainland, people can’t get child care for their kids so they have to quit work to care for them. I’m sure it’s the same in Hawaii; maybe even more so. In terms of eating at a restaurant; why not order “to go” and find a nice picnic table at the beach or spread a blanket out and watch the sunset that way? Isn’t that one of the best views you can get?
Thanks BOH for updates and info; I plan upon being flexible when me and my family go to Oahu in late November…..booked everything a year and a half ago.
Hi Reg.
Thanks for all your comments. We’re glad to hear you are returning to Oahu this fall.
Aloha.
I had figured this would happen which is why I was afraid to push out our travel for a 3rd time to August. Our schools start late, so I’m hoping it won’t be as bad at the end of summer. But I made sure to rebook our car rental as soon as we moved it, booked all activities months in advance. Even now, restaurants are already pretty booked for 2months out. I know people were begging for Hawaii to reopen, even me, but with the lack of employees and everything that has happened over the year. I wish the state could have done a slower phase of maximum occupancy to be able to get everyone reacclimated. Summer is a busy time, especially for for places like california and hawaii. If plane flights are sold out and you have a lack of employees, dont add more flights. Keep hotels to a 60 or 75% occupancy. Its going to take a lot more time for everything to settle and heal.
The problem with this is the state can’t control the number of flights, the airlines would need to self regulate and we all know that won’t happen because it’s a supply and demand issue and the Fed isn’t going to get involved. If the seats are full, you can’t limit available rooms because people need a place to stay and the hotels/resorts need to recoup their losses, whether understaffed or not. Us residents are with you..we wish it would have been better controlled and more gradual, but everyone knows about the poor leadership we’ve had during Covid, and sadly, it continues. Thanks
If you are collecting more on unemployment than a job, the job isn’t paying enough. Food service is notorious for this. No one should need to work multiple jobs to support a family. With regards to AirB&B and VRBO, at one time they were “Vacation Rental By Owner”. We use to find such unique places and interesting owners. Now real estate agencies have come in and there are an incredible amount of fees tacked onto your rental. We always enjoy finding a home away from home on vacation, but it’s getting tougher to find reasonable rentals.
We are currently vacationing on Kauai. Yes, there is a shortage when it comes to finding a restaurant to eat. If you do, expect to spend 50-60 dollars for two for lunch. Plan on doing more in home eating. Shop early for groceries. We found shelves empty in Foodland refrigerated cases and plan on spending high prices. Try and catch local farmers markets for produce. Going to the beaches go early to avoid crowds. Hanalei road closure is causing lines of cars to be backed up past Princeville. Parking is also a real issue.
They are begging for help.
Kapaa, expect traffic delays when traveling south due to an over amount of traffic. Crazy, never witnessed this in the 30 years we have been coming here.
Guests must be having fun cause I clean vacation rentals and they are trashed.Learn to take shoes off.Keep to sand out.Most of us cleaners have to provide (toilet paper paper towels dish soap sponges our own coins to do laundry detergent trash bags.If you leave a place dirty leave a TIP.
my daughter rents a private car and the condition in comes back in!!! Just horrid. You know people don’t live this way at home… how could they?
You really learn lot about human nature in this field of work.
Maybe they are so angry and resentful that they couldn’t have their vacation sooner, they had to wait so long, that they take it out in an immature way and act inconsiderately? I just don’t know.
Even if you don’t leave the place dirty, leave a tip. The housekeeping staff has had a tough year and I know they need and appreciate it.
I am looking forward to finally moving to Hawaii for good! We are looking to leave California and head to the Big Island by the end of the year. We have our home there and have traveled there even during the pandemic. We have tested for Covid so many times going to Hawaii. We have quarantined, we have used Instacart for groceries, we are fully vaccinated, we have seen the fear and distrust that has been instilled in many people. We have also seen the hurting businesses and disrupted lives of those trying to keep their businesses afloat. I miss the Aloha. But I know it is still there. I love Hawaii and I am looking forward to living in a beautiful and amazing place soon.
Thank you for your information. Aloha
Wow! Quite the word picture. We’re thinking the Hawaii department of tourism isn’t thrilled with this portrayal. Think we might have to consider out winter Wailea vacay rental.
The tourism dept will hate it! Maybe try to censor it.
An amazing circumstance but the same supply side shortages are being felt in all the other 49 states and around the world. We will see what happens when the extra unemployment insurance ends in September for labor but some of the other circumstances like rental cars with the chip shortage is going to take a while to sort itself out. Do you recommend delaying travel to 2022?
Hawaii had more than a year to figure this out. No vision. No planning. No leadership. Best to go elsewhere. Very sad. Always enjoyed our stay on the northshore for 13 years.
Hawaii would need to have a crystal ball to predict this.
Exactly Tim.
well stated! “as if” they didn’t know that tourists would one day return?? Just really dumb of them.
I’m traveling at the end of December into January of next year. I hope that some if not all of these problems ease up. Happy I booked air , car and travel in January.
Meanwhile in Florida, because of their leadership, none of those issues exist in any meaningful way.
No issues getting into any restaurant.
No widespread “Help Wanted” signs.
No anti- tourist protests.
Oh, and not one major city in Florida was part of the July 4th weekend crime stats… unlike places like Chicago.
All I saw this weekend was American Flags, fireworks, busy restaurants and smiling faces.
Rental cars are ridiculously high in Florida as well! Leadership?
Renting a car was pretty affordable in Fl, at the end of May when I needed one for a day… While Hawaii has cars going for $500+ per day I had mine for under $100.
All good though… I’ll be at my favorite crabshack today, without a reservation. Enjoy the vacation in Hawaii, where you cannot get a rental car, find a place to eat, or navigate an airport without a pretty bracelet to allow you out.
Leadership? Nope. Supply and demand.
Exactly Sean.
Nope just massive Covid numbers in Florida is all.
That’s nice, and I’m glad that you love Florida, however, this is the off season in Florida, I know a # of people who snowbird, and others that visit every year, and all of them left and headed north.
Aside from the heat, it’s hurricane season now.I wouldn’t compare Florida off season to Hawaii.
Interesting enough while the snow birds head North ( retirees btw), tourists head down with kids out of school. Like Hawaii, tourism is year round. And about 6 times as busy.
No matter.. have been here several times this year, and just about the whole family lives here… No issues in October, February, April, or over the last 2 months..
It is Hurricane season, and what I haven’t seen is mass hysteria like in Hawaii, even with the Cat 1 that is hitting in a few hours… Because Floridians can handle it and don’t dwell on a hurricane that hit Kauai 20 some years ago… Other than a bit less stock of bottled water, it’s business as usual. Floridian’s can handle it.
No tourist protests today, and haven’t seen an illiterate Mayor asking airlines to reduce seats because the locals cannot find beach parking as easily. Apparently the Mayors and Governor of Florida enjoy economic prosperity.
I’ve lived in many States, and Hawaii is by far the most screwed up socially, economically and politically.. The natural beauty is incredible, all of which has nothing to do with the people or government.
Aloha Alex, I’ll take “Things That Never Happened for $500.” Mahalo.
Aloha and Thank you so much for all your updates! I always look forward to them. Some of my family is headed to Oahu for a wedding in mid November. Do you have any sense of what it might be like then for booking excursions and eating out? Should I be looking at trying to book any outings for us now? Your advice would be most appreciated! Mahalo
Hi Judy.
We’d suggest out plan to book very soon for November, especially for the second half of the month.
Aloha.
You are absolutely correct in your advice to get restaurant reservations far in advance of your stay. I made ours for our recent trip 4 weeks out and often couldn’t get the time we wanted. As a result we ate either early or later than usual. Fortunately we had only one that couldn’t fit us in. For places that don’t reserve- my advice is go early. You may have to stand in line for quite a while!
Thanks for all of your great advice. It helped a lot in planning our trip.
Hi Lee.
Thanks. We appreciate the feedback from your recent trip.
Aloha.
I sure hope the airlines are not sacrificing safety to sustain their routes, etc
We are coming on the new Hawaiian Air, Austin to Waikiki nonstop flight this weekend staying a week in Waikiki and week on the north shore… We have a rental car and pre-booked activities and dinner reservations… And I hope our silly Covid test comes through in time! Mahalo for the heads up on the staffing situation and the overworked employees… We’ll have to share some aloha with them. 😎
Hawaii is such a mess.
We decided to wait at least another year before returning. Two vacations in Mexico this year. One to Cancun and the other to Cabo. Hopefully Hawaii will get it together in another year. If not, there are plenty of other great places to go. I really don’t understand folks putting up with this mess, but more power to them and I pray they have a great stay.
Please don’t take this the wrong way but I really hope that people who have a negative attitude about Kauai to pick another place to vacation. The local people who have to work in the tourist areas have a very difficult time dealing with tourists who constantly complain and treat them terribly. These folks do not understand that the essence of Hawaii is. Pls go somewhere else.
Mahalo boh for letting everyone have their say.
This sistah gets it.
We arrive July 16 for three weeks. I’m almost scared to go. Practicing my ALOHA as best I can!!! Glad that we don’t do restaurant reservations and just eat at local take outs and food trucks! Somehow I got saved with my “lifetime” Hertz discount rate from my corporate retirement – over $1100 saved. Folks – dig around and see what you can find as far as discounts!
I have applied for multiple jobs in Hawaii as a chef but not one reply or lead. I’m vaccinated and eager to work in fact I already have a home in Hawaii and willing to catch the next flight out
It’s employers that are refusing to hire mainlanders
I have a degree and incredible work history
Oh my! I really hope this all settles by October 2021