When Maui visitors asked for reduced room rates to encourage tourism, The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea had its own response on how to help. Read on and see if you concur.
This offer, as you’ll see, doesn’t appear to represent a real room rate reduction, and you could donate more with possible savings. That is what many have called for in order to stimulate Maui tourism, which is lagging terribly. Right now, visitors are not returning in significant numbers to West Maui or even to Maui this fall, which is of tremendous concern to the Maui visitor industry. Maui visitors overall are down by 50% over average numbers.
Helping Maui fire victims through Maui Strong Fund.
The offer from The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea is to support the Maui Strong Fund, perhaps the best-known and most reputable of the funds providing financial help following the Maui fires. The Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) provides financial resources to support the immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by the August 2023 Maui wildfires. HCF works closely with state and county leaders, nonprofits, and community members.
Pay to $4,000/night to donate $200 as part of your Hawaii hotel stay.
Here’s how that works. The resort says that you can choose to donate up to $200 per night of your guest stay to the Maui Strong Fund. We loved that until we saw the costs of a guest stay. If you don’t stay in one of their premium rooms, however, the donation drops to $125 nightly.
For a low-season, post-fire stay from November 1-8, the lowest cost room, including tax, came to $10,057 for the seven-night stay in a garden view room, or $1,437 nightly. Rooms ranged in price up to $28,368, or over $4,000 nightly, for an oceanfront suite.
By comparison, we found the same garden view room on booking.com, same nights, available for $1,175/night, including all taxes/fees.
The odd thing here is that the difference in price we found was $262 a night more when booking directly with the hotel. And the hotel is turning around and donating $200 nightly of that to the Maui Strong Fund. So instead of the hotel taking less, the guest pays the donation instead with the higher room rate. Keep in mind, too, that if you go through Booking.com, the hotel needs to pay them for that reservation. Many hotels offer perks when you book direct because they pay a lot for your reservation via a third party like Booking.
Is a significant charitable gift via your Hawaii hotel reservation something you are comfortable with?
It is not entirely unprecedented. We previously encountered a Marriott/UNICEF partnership donation, although the entry point in terms of cost was minimal by comparison. Also, when staying just prior to the fire at the Alohilani Resort in Honolulu, there were various options for small donations as part of the reservation.
While your donations, of course, do good, what is your feeling about having it be part of your Hawaii hotel cost? We don’t think that’s necessarily the best way to contribute to even the most worthwhile charities.
We checked other nearby Wailea hotels like the Grand Wailea. They have a page designated on their website for Maui Strong, but leave it up to the guests to contribute directly to the fund.
What do you feel is appropriate?
Having the hotel provide links to Maui Strong to encourage guest donations, or charging guests more nightly to cover a donation made by the hotel to Maui Strong.
The Four Seasons charitable ruse appears to be oriented towards their clientele; the customers who both can afford their rates and either aren’t smart enough or more likely don’t care to look into details allow them to “feel good” about supporting a good cause. The Four Seasons should be ashamed of themselves for this slippery, not thoughtful, game.
I wouldn’t donate through the hotel. That helps them because they get the write-off on taxes, I would imagine. I don’t trust that the whole donation would go to the cause either, so I would always donate directly to Maui Strong or another good cause.
How would you know that the hotel or resort is being accountable to moving 100% of what they collect to the foundation. Who do you trust. Better maybe that they match your proven donation receipt with a discount.
If I am going to be donating $250 a night for a donation of over $1000, I want a receipt so that it’s tax deductible. If I do it through the hotel, it’s just an added cost. Lower your rates and I might go to the hotel. While I’m there I’m definitely spending money in the local economy. This way I’m not going at all