49 thoughts on “Maui Resort Says Pay More In Exchange For Fire Donation”
Leland W
We are so sorry for the fire. We have been to Hawaii probably 25 times over the last 50 years. We have loved the state. It seems so many mistakes were made by locals and we support all efforts to rebuild, etc. However, if you would like our contributions please do not add it to our bill. How do we know it gets to the source of need. Folks on Maui can not agree on when to open and we had to cancel our reservations because of the uncertainty, and felt bad doing so. There are disasters in many areas of the US.
The Four Seasons soaking their customers… ???
Mahalo for shedding light onto this PR sham by the 4 seasons. As most of the comments here note, their clientele need not fret over the prices of the rooms and if they do take note of the donation they are making perhaps they will feel a sense of well being or something like that. Luxury accommodations in Hawaii are in a stratosphere unto themselves and not relatable to the average visitor. What to watch for is if the mid-level priced hotels will finally give in to reality and begin to offer some realistic prices for their rooms. So far that doesnt seem to be the case but trust BOH will keep watch and let us know.
Might be inline with the idea of “This is the type of tourist Hawaii is looking for plan”. Tourist’s that can afford to spend more etc. White collar tourists on business trips and can write the whole trip off as a business ordeal. If you spend 14000-28000 for a week to stay at this hotel, then what is 1400 more? It’s only 5-7percent. To the rich that’s probably chump change. The hotel makes a big contribution to Maui Strong in my opinion for advertising purposes and they win. Hopefully other hotels don’t follow suit and do the same thing Makes me think this angle is to keep blue collar incomes out.
I suppose those who can afford those room rates, (btw, add on about 17% tax), probably don’t care or aren’t adversely affected by those high prices. In general though, I’d rather keep donations my choice, not the hotel’s.
This is a really bad idea. As the saying goes, “A cause becomes a charity, a charity becomes a self serving business and that business thereafter becomes a racket.” The corruption may be unstoppable.
Seems to me that if the 4 Seasons guest would donate directly to ‘Maui Strong’, they would receive a tax credit for charitable donation. If they pay the higher room fee and 4 Seasons makes the donation, then the hotel has a tax deduction. Pretty good scheme – for the Hotel!!
Hmmm….what if I just take 25% of the extortion rate they want to charge and give that directly to the fund and then take the remaining amount and go vacation in a tropical spot that actually encourages and rewards tourism. The cost to me would be the same, but I’d sure sleep better knowing where the money went.
Firstly, I live in South Maui, and I am gobsmacked at the prices you are quoting. Hard to believe anyone is willing to pay 4K a night for a hotel room. Or even 1K! So ironic that I wouldn’t come close to being able to afford hotel room in my own town.
As far as donations go, that seems in line with other businesses I’ve seen in the area. Many of the restaurants (Monkeypod, Tommy Bahama’s) are donating a portion of their revenue to organizations like Maui Strong right now.
I live in West Maui and who knows how much resorts will charge when they re-open. What bothers me even more are the prices at the local supermarket where a bottle of cranberry juice costs $18.99 (just one example and I took a picture of it!). I don’t know how locals can survive here, even if tourists can afford these prices because they only come for a week.
They’re missing the point, Maui isn’t busy because accomodations are completely over priced, with a huge part of the visitors biggest areas completey gone, I wont pay more for less.
I’d rather stay away and just keep donating. This clearly helps the hotel chain most. This would be a good idea if people were flocking to Maui & they were in a price war with another luxury resort.
Why not give a discount for tourists donating their time or submitting a receipt from a donation. The more you give the bigger the discount. If I was going Id 100% prefer to stay at a locally owned accomodation And donating directly to one of the top charities.
How can this possibly make Maui look more inviting? It would just make me feel ripped off, and sends the wrong message. Pick a less expensive option to visit (like an owner-managed condo) and donate whatever you can over and above that.
Stay elsewhere and make your own donation to the Maui Strong Fund. I donate thru my company in Indiana which is a swiss company and they match my donation.
The hotels should supply a link or website for their guests to give to Maui Strong…more ethical. Too much opportunity for funds to be channeled somewhere else.
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Yet it is incredibly expensive, the locals will attest to that. The hotels are charging an arm and a leg for profit, not to serve the community. I hope the workers at these hotels are paid well, as they are what keeps the hotels running. Maybe give a discount if guest give back through community service to help those in need.
Not 200 dollars but 200 dollars per night. 7 nights =1400. At lesser premium rooms 125 times 7 =875. This was a room increase so everybody pays. Pay or no stay. There is probably a Hawaii tax imposed to all these rates also since it is embedded into a room charge. Just another way to make it where the super rich can only afford to travel to Maui. It gets to a point where the pristine beaches and the awww’s aren’t worth the price. Hawaii just dug themselves a deeper hole.
I realize Maui is suffering w/o the tourist revenues. I’m still wondering if residents are really ready for visitors. I heard that the fire area was open, but do people really want tourists looking at the ruined remnants of their lives? I’m afraid tourists might not treat the area with respect, taking pics and such. Lives were lost there, homes and businesses were lost. For those of us who have already sent our donations, we’d be donating a 2nd or 3rd time. And sorry, $4K a night for a room is ridiculous. The average tourist can’t afford to stay at the Four Seasons. So they’re really looking for people with lots of money, or celebrities. Invite tourists back, but let them make a decision on how much they’d like to donate.
Aloha, Jan. I don’t know where you read that the “fire area was open”, but so far, there is only limited access to those who lived there to see if anything was left. I drove from Kaanapali to Kahului on Sunday and Lahaina Town was still completely closed. There are also police cars on the bypass to make sure that nobody stops and takes pictures. I doubt the area will open anytime soon, as they have not finished cleaning up that area including hazardous material. I don’t know how long they will need.
It is insulting to offer a $200 donation on a room that costs $2000. Four Seasons should be ashamed to even consider such an offer. They get the tax write off and you pay $2000 per night. They call this Greed otherwise now known as greedflation. I am astounded that anyone would take this offer. I hope the Four Seasons remains empty until they join the real world.
If I want $200 per night ($1400 for a seven night stay) to go to a charity, I would want to use the charitable donation against my Federal Income tax return. In this case, Four Seasons is taking the tax credit. Just not right. I like how the grand Wailea resort is handling contributions by giving web links to the customer.
If 4 Seasons really wants to do good – do a gift matching program. I stay in a room for $2000 a night for 3 nights. At the end of my stay I donate another $2000 to a relief fund and 4 Seasons agrees to match it to the same fund. If I do $10,000 — 4 Seasons Matches it with $10,000. Put up or shut up 4 Seasons.
I have no issue if the resort asks, in advance, if the customer is willing to make a donation to The Maui Strong Fund. If the customer agrees, the funds should not be comingled with the resort costs. The resort should act as a trustee of any donations received and forward them to the identified fund. The resort may not care to do this as they may not want to be responsible for handling additional transactions that are out of the norm. Added expense for them.
If this room rate is increased I see it as being a room rate charge in their books. Hawaii can then impose a 10.75 hotel accomodations tax to it as well as a 4.75 hawaii transcient tax and maybe the Maui sales tax of 4 percent. Sounds like a win win for the state of Hawaii. The hotel then makes a donation in my opinion on their behalf. Does the customer get a tax donation receipt at time of booking? If not there’s your answer. I’ve always been asked by my tax person for proof or receipts for donations to charities.
I understand that Maui is in dire need of funds to help rebuild. I am the other hand do not have a lot of money to travel, and I’m always looking for an inexpensive way to do so, as I am a senior, and do not have additional funds to do so. I will not be traveling to Maui if this is the cost of, the hotels per night. As much as I would like to, it just has become cost prohibitive
I would rather give what I feel I can afford and not have a mandatory added “charitable “ contribution made to the Maui strong site.
Most people are generous but don’t necessarily want to have that contribution made fit them.
We have rented a condo in kaanapali for a month stay at Alii for past 8 years. While there last year in February I called my contact at Hyatt (who now manages the property) to make arrangements for a 1 month stay in mid February and 2 weeks in June for our family. The rate was 54% increase not including taxes and fees. As a loyal Globist member of Hyatt, I was shocked. The agent said…do you want book now. Overpriced Condo/hotels is now the norm. Long before the fire. We have donated to Maui Strong because Maui has been our very place but we are now priced out of Maui and will never return. Mmo
We just returned from Maui and we were much more generous than this. We purchased from the locals. We went to the Maui Swap Meet twice making numerous purchases. Ate most meals out and tipped very well.
And I’d like to let everyone know that everyone that we met really appreciated us traveling to Maui in this very difficult time.
What I’d like to know is if the $200 donated to Maui strong is tax deductible. And for whom? It would seem the hotel could take the deduction if they are the ones passing it along. Be good to hear from a CPA.
I haven’t been to Maui in years, many years. Never really enjoyed the slow pace. Still, a day or 2 after the fire hit I sent a solid contribution to the Maui Salvation Army.
I pay my donation directly to the people who need it and would never stay in a hotel that charges more than $1K a night anyways. Too many extremes on Maui and that can’t be good in the long run …
Yikes! First, what kind of people can afford that kind of nightly rate??!! I wouldn’t mind a link (or two or three)on a hotel’s website for donations if the charities have been thoroughly vetted. But absolutely no to the concept of part of the hotel rate going towards some charity. That’s a forced contribution and visitors should have the freedom to choose how they want to make a difference. Also is the hotel getting a big tax write-off for their charitable contribution paid by hotel guests?
Theoretically, the hotel would not be reporting income for the donation, reporting just the part that they keep, so they should not be taking a charitable deduction. I suppose they could report 100% of the room rate and then take a deduction for what they send over to HCF but that isn’t the substance of the transaction as the donation is really coming from the hotel guest. (Probably more than you want to know–I’m a CPA.) HCF would need to write acknowledgement letters to the guests, not the hotel. Sounds like a lot of work to me! Do the guests pay taxes and lodging fees on the donation portion of the room rate (they shouldn’t). I don’t think this is a good idea, telling hotel guests where to send their donations.
Also, this is money guests could be spending elsewhere on Maui–restaurants, excursions, souvenirs. More or less, the hotels are taking $ out of the pockets of other suffering businesses. They must be assuming guests have unlimited resources to spend based on the nightly room rates.
I know locals need help and I have donated money. What is frustrating though is the anti tourism sentiment, I am very conflicted about helping more or even visiting again due to what seems like a lack of appreciation for the help they have received and the fact that government/HTA is spending money on making condescending videos educating visitors regarding how to be a “respectful” visitor instead of trying to promote unity.
It is quite unfortunate to see these very ‘high end’ resorts adding the ‘amount being donated’ to their already extremely inflated room rates! I am a hotelier by trade and experience and have personally worked for these ‘high end’ hotel companies across the globe (including the one advertised), both nationally and internationally, and, unfortunate for the guests, it boils down to ADR (Average Daily Rate the hotel is charging and receiving at the end of each day; the higher the ADR, of course, the better) and EBITDA (Revenue Management KPI metrics). Of course, your specific example is of the Four Seasons Resort Maui where their ADR is probably over $700 to $800/night as compared to other regular brands of ADR $350 to $450/night
Room rates from $2,800 to $4,000 a night and paying minimum wages to Maui resident employees. Shameless greed. What have these luxurious hotels contributed to the Maui Strong Fund other than soliciting personal donations from the exploited tourists? Nothing else could be added to the shame of these corporate rats.
This seems like greed at its finest at the worst possible time. I’ll make my own donation and keep my tax deduction for it rather than put more money in the pockets of the Four Seasons. It’s terrible that they are trying to make money off a donation.
We are so sorry for the fire. We have been to Hawaii probably 25 times over the last 50 years. We have loved the state. It seems so many mistakes were made by locals and we support all efforts to rebuild, etc. However, if you would like our contributions please do not add it to our bill. How do we know it gets to the source of need. Folks on Maui can not agree on when to open and we had to cancel our reservations because of the uncertainty, and felt bad doing so. There are disasters in many areas of the US.
The Four Seasons soaking their customers… ???
4 thousand a night??? As in 4 followed by 3 zeroes??? A Night? For a room??? Bartender I want whatever those hotel people are having!!!
Is it just me but is a big slice of Crazy Cake the desert of the day here???
Best regards
Mahalo for shedding light onto this PR sham by the 4 seasons. As most of the comments here note, their clientele need not fret over the prices of the rooms and if they do take note of the donation they are making perhaps they will feel a sense of well being or something like that. Luxury accommodations in Hawaii are in a stratosphere unto themselves and not relatable to the average visitor. What to watch for is if the mid-level priced hotels will finally give in to reality and begin to offer some realistic prices for their rooms. So far that doesnt seem to be the case but trust BOH will keep watch and let us know.
Might be inline with the idea of “This is the type of tourist Hawaii is looking for plan”. Tourist’s that can afford to spend more etc. White collar tourists on business trips and can write the whole trip off as a business ordeal. If you spend 14000-28000 for a week to stay at this hotel, then what is 1400 more? It’s only 5-7percent. To the rich that’s probably chump change. The hotel makes a big contribution to Maui Strong in my opinion for advertising purposes and they win. Hopefully other hotels don’t follow suit and do the same thing Makes me think this angle is to keep blue collar incomes out.
I suppose those who can afford those room rates, (btw, add on about 17% tax), probably don’t care or aren’t adversely affected by those high prices. In general though, I’d rather keep donations my choice, not the hotel’s.
This is a really bad idea. As the saying goes, “A cause becomes a charity, a charity becomes a self serving business and that business thereafter becomes a racket.” The corruption may be unstoppable.
Seems to me that if the 4 Seasons guest would donate directly to ‘Maui Strong’, they would receive a tax credit for charitable donation. If they pay the higher room fee and 4 Seasons makes the donation, then the hotel has a tax deduction. Pretty good scheme – for the Hotel!!
Hmmm….what if I just take 25% of the extortion rate they want to charge and give that directly to the fund and then take the remaining amount and go vacation in a tropical spot that actually encourages and rewards tourism. The cost to me would be the same, but I’d sure sleep better knowing where the money went.
Firstly, I live in South Maui, and I am gobsmacked at the prices you are quoting. Hard to believe anyone is willing to pay 4K a night for a hotel room. Or even 1K! So ironic that I wouldn’t come close to being able to afford hotel room in my own town.
As far as donations go, that seems in line with other businesses I’ve seen in the area. Many of the restaurants (Monkeypod, Tommy Bahama’s) are donating a portion of their revenue to organizations like Maui Strong right now.
I live in West Maui and who knows how much resorts will charge when they re-open. What bothers me even more are the prices at the local supermarket where a bottle of cranberry juice costs $18.99 (just one example and I took a picture of it!). I don’t know how locals can survive here, even if tourists can afford these prices because they only come for a week.
They’re missing the point, Maui isn’t busy because accomodations are completely over priced, with a huge part of the visitors biggest areas completey gone, I wont pay more for less.
I’d rather stay away and just keep donating. This clearly helps the hotel chain most. This would be a good idea if people were flocking to Maui & they were in a price war with another luxury resort.
Why not give a discount for tourists donating their time or submitting a receipt from a donation. The more you give the bigger the discount. If I was going Id 100% prefer to stay at a locally owned accomodation And donating directly to one of the top charities.
Just my opinion
How can this possibly make Maui look more inviting? It would just make me feel ripped off, and sends the wrong message. Pick a less expensive option to visit (like an owner-managed condo) and donate whatever you can over and above that.
Donations best be left Separately.
Stay elsewhere and make your own donation to the Maui Strong Fund. I donate thru my company in Indiana which is a swiss company and they match my donation.
The hotels should supply a link or website for their guests to give to Maui Strong…more ethical. Too much opportunity for funds to be channeled somewhere else.
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Yet it is incredibly expensive, the locals will attest to that. The hotels are charging an arm and a leg for profit, not to serve the community. I hope the workers at these hotels are paid well, as they are what keeps the hotels running. Maybe give a discount if guest give back through community service to help those in need.
Not 200 dollars but 200 dollars per night. 7 nights =1400. At lesser premium rooms 125 times 7 =875. This was a room increase so everybody pays. Pay or no stay. There is probably a Hawaii tax imposed to all these rates also since it is embedded into a room charge. Just another way to make it where the super rich can only afford to travel to Maui. It gets to a point where the pristine beaches and the awww’s aren’t worth the price. Hawaii just dug themselves a deeper hole.
I realize Maui is suffering w/o the tourist revenues. I’m still wondering if residents are really ready for visitors. I heard that the fire area was open, but do people really want tourists looking at the ruined remnants of their lives? I’m afraid tourists might not treat the area with respect, taking pics and such. Lives were lost there, homes and businesses were lost. For those of us who have already sent our donations, we’d be donating a 2nd or 3rd time. And sorry, $4K a night for a room is ridiculous. The average tourist can’t afford to stay at the Four Seasons. So they’re really looking for people with lots of money, or celebrities. Invite tourists back, but let them make a decision on how much they’d like to donate.
Aloha, Jan. I don’t know where you read that the “fire area was open”, but so far, there is only limited access to those who lived there to see if anything was left. I drove from Kaanapali to Kahului on Sunday and Lahaina Town was still completely closed. There are also police cars on the bypass to make sure that nobody stops and takes pictures. I doubt the area will open anytime soon, as they have not finished cleaning up that area including hazardous material. I don’t know how long they will need.
It is insulting to offer a $200 donation on a room that costs $2000. Four Seasons should be ashamed to even consider such an offer. They get the tax write off and you pay $2000 per night. They call this Greed otherwise now known as greedflation. I am astounded that anyone would take this offer. I hope the Four Seasons remains empty until they join the real world.
Very few people can afford a room price hike like this. Tourism will go down further. And there will be even less money.
Question: does the hotel guest take the donation off on their 1040 as a deduction or does the hotel take the credit? Just asking!
If I want $200 per night ($1400 for a seven night stay) to go to a charity, I would want to use the charitable donation against my Federal Income tax return. In this case, Four Seasons is taking the tax credit. Just not right. I like how the grand Wailea resort is handling contributions by giving web links to the customer.
If 4 Seasons really wants to do good – do a gift matching program. I stay in a room for $2000 a night for 3 nights. At the end of my stay I donate another $2000 to a relief fund and 4 Seasons agrees to match it to the same fund. If I do $10,000 — 4 Seasons Matches it with $10,000. Put up or shut up 4 Seasons.
How about you spend the two hundred dollars on my condo and donate the 3,800 to the charity of your choice. I’ll even let you take the tax deduction.
I have no issue if the resort asks, in advance, if the customer is willing to make a donation to The Maui Strong Fund. If the customer agrees, the funds should not be comingled with the resort costs. The resort should act as a trustee of any donations received and forward them to the identified fund. The resort may not care to do this as they may not want to be responsible for handling additional transactions that are out of the norm. Added expense for them.
If this room rate is increased I see it as being a room rate charge in their books. Hawaii can then impose a 10.75 hotel accomodations tax to it as well as a 4.75 hawaii transcient tax and maybe the Maui sales tax of 4 percent. Sounds like a win win for the state of Hawaii. The hotel then makes a donation in my opinion on their behalf. Does the customer get a tax donation receipt at time of booking? If not there’s your answer. I’ve always been asked by my tax person for proof or receipts for donations to charities.
I understand that Maui is in dire need of funds to help rebuild. I am the other hand do not have a lot of money to travel, and I’m always looking for an inexpensive way to do so, as I am a senior, and do not have additional funds to do so. I will not be traveling to Maui if this is the cost of, the hotels per night. As much as I would like to, it just has become cost prohibitive
Emblazoned on the welcome mats of these hotels: “Visit. Spend. Go Home.”
According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s education videos, this pricing scheme, together with their dim view of tourists, spells “Aloha!”
I would rather give what I feel I can afford and not have a mandatory added “charitable “ contribution made to the Maui strong site.
Most people are generous but don’t necessarily want to have that contribution made fit them.
In the very near future, Hawaii is going to price itself right out of the tourist market. Hawaiians should be careful what they wish for.
We have rented a condo in kaanapali for a month stay at Alii for past 8 years. While there last year in February I called my contact at Hyatt (who now manages the property) to make arrangements for a 1 month stay in mid February and 2 weeks in June for our family. The rate was 54% increase not including taxes and fees. As a loyal Globist member of Hyatt, I was shocked. The agent said…do you want book now. Overpriced Condo/hotels is now the norm. Long before the fire. We have donated to Maui Strong because Maui has been our very place but we are now priced out of Maui and will never return. Mmo
For $4,000 a night, a donation of $200 is paltry.
We just returned from Maui and we were much more generous than this. We purchased from the locals. We went to the Maui Swap Meet twice making numerous purchases. Ate most meals out and tipped very well.
And I’d like to let everyone know that everyone that we met really appreciated us traveling to Maui in this very difficult time.
Mahalo,
What I’d like to know is if the $200 donated to Maui strong is tax deductible. And for whom? It would seem the hotel could take the deduction if they are the ones passing it along. Be good to hear from a CPA.
I haven’t been to Maui in years, many years. Never really enjoyed the slow pace. Still, a day or 2 after the fire hit I sent a solid contribution to the Maui Salvation Army.
Good thoughts for the people!
Hi Rod.
Good question. Thanks.
Aloha.
I pay my donation directly to the people who need it and would never stay in a hotel that charges more than $1K a night anyways. Too many extremes on Maui and that can’t be good in the long run …
Yikes! First, what kind of people can afford that kind of nightly rate??!! I wouldn’t mind a link (or two or three)on a hotel’s website for donations if the charities have been thoroughly vetted. But absolutely no to the concept of part of the hotel rate going towards some charity. That’s a forced contribution and visitors should have the freedom to choose how they want to make a difference. Also is the hotel getting a big tax write-off for their charitable contribution paid by hotel guests?
Theoretically, the hotel would not be reporting income for the donation, reporting just the part that they keep, so they should not be taking a charitable deduction. I suppose they could report 100% of the room rate and then take a deduction for what they send over to HCF but that isn’t the substance of the transaction as the donation is really coming from the hotel guest. (Probably more than you want to know–I’m a CPA.) HCF would need to write acknowledgement letters to the guests, not the hotel. Sounds like a lot of work to me! Do the guests pay taxes and lodging fees on the donation portion of the room rate (they shouldn’t). I don’t think this is a good idea, telling hotel guests where to send their donations.
Also, this is money guests could be spending elsewhere on Maui–restaurants, excursions, souvenirs. More or less, the hotels are taking $ out of the pockets of other suffering businesses. They must be assuming guests have unlimited resources to spend based on the nightly room rates.
Not appropriate at all.
I know locals need help and I have donated money. What is frustrating though is the anti tourism sentiment, I am very conflicted about helping more or even visiting again due to what seems like a lack of appreciation for the help they have received and the fact that government/HTA is spending money on making condescending videos educating visitors regarding how to be a “respectful” visitor instead of trying to promote unity.
It is quite unfortunate to see these very ‘high end’ resorts adding the ‘amount being donated’ to their already extremely inflated room rates! I am a hotelier by trade and experience and have personally worked for these ‘high end’ hotel companies across the globe (including the one advertised), both nationally and internationally, and, unfortunate for the guests, it boils down to ADR (Average Daily Rate the hotel is charging and receiving at the end of each day; the higher the ADR, of course, the better) and EBITDA (Revenue Management KPI metrics). Of course, your specific example is of the Four Seasons Resort Maui where their ADR is probably over $700 to $800/night as compared to other regular brands of ADR $350 to $450/night
Room rates from $2,800 to $4,000 a night and paying minimum wages to Maui resident employees. Shameless greed. What have these luxurious hotels contributed to the Maui Strong Fund other than soliciting personal donations from the exploited tourists? Nothing else could be added to the shame of these corporate rats.
sounds to me like a typical scam. HI has basically priced itself out of the affordable vacation market.
Auwe! Sounds like a real deal for Four Seasons, not so much for the visitor. Hard pass!
This seems like greed at its finest at the worst possible time. I’ll make my own donation and keep my tax deduction for it rather than put more money in the pockets of the Four Seasons. It’s terrible that they are trying to make money off a donation.