The new 11-acre, 1.8 million square foot Consolidated Rent-A-Car (Conrac) Facility at Honolulu (HNL) opened December 1, 2021. Now you can either take a short stroll from Terminal 2 or opt for a consolidated shuttle from Terminal 1. This is great news especially if you have ever had the pleasure of renting from an off-airport vendor. Check out Hawaii Airports Modernization for a cool aerial view of our airports and projects planned.
Which Hawaii car rental companies are part of Conrac?
Currently, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty will be operating out of the new 5-story Conrac. The Conrac will definitely improve the Hawaii visitor experience at Honolulu.
BOH: Previously it was confusing which rentals were at the airport and which were off-airport. Rob recently rented a car at Alamo there, and had a very slow experience including getting to and from their then off-airport location.
The new facility was funded by the $4.50 per day charge that’s been assessed for years on all vehicles. The total cost was $377 million. This will also free up space for more than 700 additional parking spaces at the airport that were used by the interim facility.
The dedication took place yesterday, at which Governor Ige said, “the most important impact the state government can have on the economy, and for the working men and women in the State of Hawaii is really moving critical infrastructure projects forward.”
The Conrac facility is part of the overall $2.6 billion airport upgrade program.
Hawaii DOT said, “our airport modernizations, be it new buildings like the Conrac or restroom renovations, have a common goal of improving the travel experience for our residents and visitors. Going forward there will be a lot of work behind the scenes on taxiways and baggage handling equipment to make our airports as safe and efficient as possible.”
Kauai artist, Carol Bennett created artwork in the Conrac. Hawaii DOT said, “art on the first floor represents land through imagery of pili grass and activities such as kapa making. Art on the second floor represents water through imagery meant to evoke rain, the ti plant, and fish.”
We’re excited to have this new facility open after years of waiting. What about you?
BOE, I must be missing something. But, why focus on Turo, don’t all car rental services park at the airport, not just peer-to-peer but the big companies like Hertz, Budget, National…?
I haven’t rented at the airport in years, so I just don’t recall where we picked up the cars. For years now, we take a shuttle (Hawaii23.com) to our timeshare and then rent cars locally at Waikiki.
Hi Rod.
No, the car rentals have their own parking facilities. Turos are being parked in the customer parking lot.
Aloha.
Thank you BOE. Are the peer-to-peer operators allowed to park in that parking facility used by the traditional car rental companyies?
Hi Rod.
As far as we know, no they are now. One difference is that the rental companies have staff that manage those lots and stage/move the cars. With Turo the car owner is keeping them off-airport until staging occurs and since Turo has no facility for that, they’re left at the parking.
Aloha.
Aloha.
Speaking of rental vehicles and exorbitant pricing, why are there so many rental vehicles parked around Maui’s main airport in Kahului if there’s a supposed shortage of vehicles demanding such high prices!?!? The are always many parked in the dirt lots off Kala Rd where it passes beneath Airport Rd and in the lots near Costco off of Haleakala Hwy. Frustrating to seemingly be gouging travelers who have no reasonable option to get around the island.
Chad, perhaps our experience is common, partly. I think it was our last trip in July. We had a 1-day rental in Waikiki. Returned the car and later thought a 2nd day would be good.
When the family returned to the car rental company the next day, they were told they couldn’t rent the same car because they didn’t have enough people to clean the cars. Hey, we were the last renter and would take it as it – no luck.
The Conrac is a great addition to HNL. I recall renting from Alamo, off airport on Nimitz Hwy, and the lengthy shuttle ride to/from T1. Hertz and Budget were easier being at the airport, but it was still somewhat chaotic.
Mahalo for keeping everyone up to speed.
Hi Peter.
Thanks. We feel the same way. This will simplify things for sure.
Aloha.
I would much rather have the car rentals the old way offsite from the airport….if you are handicap, it’s very hard walking from the new car rental area to the airport…shuttles need to be waiting for people who return a car to be shuttled back to the airport….you kind of forgot about the handicap people returning a car.
I much preferred Dollar when they were off-airport; just off Nimitz short of the airport. Dedicated Dollar/Thrifty shuttle busses were less crowded than consolidated shuttles. No need drive into airport or take freeway! I’ll bet the new facility will be a zoo until it is all settled in.
Another advancement! It iscertainly a step up from the older facility. I hope they can find a way to get more electric cars or light rail. I know HRT isn’t very popular with the cost overruns, but traffic and pollution need to be addressed.
I just wish it meant more availability for our travel to Kauai. Rentals are few and far between, let alone expensive. Stay healthy!
Any chance there will actually be cars to rent to go along with the new facility or will there just be more empty spaces?
Great…now all you need are cars. Over $100 per day!