ACE Rent A Car Maui has shut down without warning and is telling the state it has no intention of honoring existing reservations. That leaves travelers arriving at Kahului Airport scrambling in real time, often after already paying in advance for a car that will not be there.
This is not a theoretical problem. People are landing on Maui right now who thought their transportation was locked in, only to find no shuttle, no staff, and no car waiting for them. As of this morning, Expedia still shows an active Ace Car Rentals in Maui page (see below). There is no warning, no notice of closure, and nothing to indicate to a traveler searching for a Maui rental car that the company they are about to book has already shut down.
ACE is not one car rental company.
Most travelers who see ACE in a car rental search assume they are booking with a single company, just as they would with Hertz, Avis, or Enterprise. That is not how ACE works. ACE is a licensing and reservations network. Each location is independently owned and operated by a separate local company that pays to use the ACE name and plugs into the ACE booking system, which is how ACE listings show up on Expedia, Kayak, and other travel sites.
The Maui location was run by a company called Tropical Holdings. The ACE location on Oahu is owned by a completely different operator. Same brand name on the website, no shared ownership, no shared accountability. When the Maui location shut down, it had no effect on the Oahu location, and the Oahu operator has no obligation to Maui customers. This is not obvious to anyone booking online, nor was it to us.
What the state confirmed.
The Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection confirmed that ACE Rent A Car’s Maui operation has ceased doing business entirely. The company has reportedly told the state it will not honor existing bookings.
What stands out is not just the closure but how it is unfolding. There was no meaningful lead time for travelers, no orderly wind-down, and no transition plan for people who had already reserved and, in some cases, prepaid their Kahului car rental.
According to other reporting, the Maui operation had already experienced a pattern of complaints and customer disputes leading up to this point. That implies more than a routine business closure. Complaints about forced insurance charges, no-shows, and cars given away despite confirmed reservations were already part of the picture even before the doors closed.
What to do if you have a reservation.
If you have a reservation with ACE Rent A Car Maui, it should be assumed that it will not be honored. Travelers need to pivot quickly, especially if they are already en route or arriving soon.
The first step is to secure a replacement vehicle immediately through one of the other companies at Kahului Airport. One thing worth knowing is that ACE Maui was not located at the main Kahului Airport rental car facility. It operated off-site near Costco with its own shuttle.
At the same time, you should begin the process of recovering any money you paid. The Office of Consumer Protection is advising customers to contact the company directly and to dispute charges with their credit card company if refunds are not processed promptly.
Hold onto documentation. Reservation confirmations, receipts, and any correspondence could all matter if you need to escalate the issue or file a complaint.
This did not come out of nowhere.
The problems showed up consistently in traveler reviews we scoured, going back years. The experiences included an iPad check-in with a remote agent, insurance presented as required, and a final price at the counter that was significantly higher than the price quoted online. Multiple travelers also said they were told their existing coverage was unacceptable and that ACE’s own insurance was therefore mandatory. The state complaints were not a surprise to anyone who had already read the reviews.
For visitors, it is a reminder of something we have covered repeatedly. The weakest link in a Hawaii trip is often not the flight or the hotel but the smaller third-party providers in between, the ones that look fine until they are not.
Other rental options at Kahului Airport.
Maui still has the full expected lineup of major rental car companies at the Kahului Airport rental car facility, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Sixt, and Thrifty. Unlike ACE, all of them are on-site.
This also connects to what we have been covering on Maui rental car pricing and availability. Supply shocks and sudden demand shifts create unpredictable costs for visitors, and this is another version of the same problem.
On Maui, a car is not optional.
Unlike Waikiki, there is no realistic way to rely on walking or quick rideshares during your vacation on Maui. Beaches, restaurants, and activities are spread out, and visitors, more often than not, plan their entire itinerary around having a vehicle.
The cheapest option is not always the safest bet.
This is bigger than one company shutting down. Travelers are taking on more risk when booking through smaller or less-established providers in Hawaii, especially when trying to save money. It may work great, but in this situation, it did not.
For some readers, this reinforces a shift already underway, wherein paying more for a known brand appears less like overspending and more like common sense.
What’s your take? First, did you have a reservation with ACE Rent A Car Maui, or have you ever had anything like this happen on a Hawaii trip? How are you choosing?
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I would never pay upfront for Anything to save a few $$; like rental cars, hotels, etc. Stick with well known vendors.
class action lawsuits.
Another example of why you should always rent from one of the major national brands, especially when on vacation. You just don’t need the hassle. In all my years of travel I have never heard or seen a positive review for Ace Rental car. They’re awful!
Why would you prepay? To save a couple of dollars?
Never prepay!
Regarding the Ace franchise, even though the other Ace outlets are unrelated, they will take an indirect hit from bad publicity.
Another reason to never pre-pay.
I drive past that ACE lot on my way to and from Paia several times a week. It’s been empty and unstaffed for weeks. Weird that only now has news of its demise only now reached the public.
Aloha. We only rented once from ACE, & that was one time too many. We arrived at the lot to pick up “our car” & we were told “our car” was not here yet, but would be here in a bit. We waited and waited, as others came and were waiting to, then went back inside to ask. They told us a vehicle was ready but it was a van. There was only two of us. We walked out and saw the economy van, which seated about six, and opened the door to see it was too big. I went back inside and told them and told them we reserved a economy car. At that point I’m felt like Mr. Seinfeld, “You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation: the holding.” We waited another fifteen minutes when I saw a car pulled in and I immediately went inside telling them we’ll take car that just came in. It was a horrible car too but at least we had one. Never again.
We have had family and guests use Kihei Rent A Car. Their office is off site from the airport. They pick you up at airport on the way in and give you a ride from their Kihei office on the way out. Usual rental is a 2 or 3 year old Nissan at a much lower price. If you don’t plan on photos of your rental car as a vacation highlight, this may be a good choice.
I actually feel really bad for tourists right now. I am sure there are some 1st timers who were looking forward to visiting Maui, maybe saved up their money for this, looking forward to ocean swimming and hiking etc. With the unusually bad weather we have had, it’s not a piece of cake and arriving to find out your car reservation is not honored adds to a really bad experience. We needed the rain, but even for us, it’s enough! No ocean swimming possible anytime soon.
Eva thanks for a thoughtful post.
If you are out on the west side of Maui and don’t mind two-wheeled transportation, check out 808Rides Mopeds. In 2019 my wife and I rented a Polaris Slingshot to buzz over to Kihei in, and later their largest scooter to carry us (both >200lbs) all the way around the West Maui loop. It easily hit 55mph where it needed to. Looks like they’re now also alohamotorsports.com.
Any transportation can be better than no transportation.
I disagree. Are you on Maui right now? We have another storm watch in effect. We have floodings all over! Renting a moped or anything uncovered right now, really doesn’t make sense. In case the bus is running, I would take that option. Otherwise, Lyft or Uber.
Ah, I thought that was over finally. No, I was stationed at Schofield for four years and March is the one month I have no desire to visit Hawaii during. Six weeks of solid rain was education enough.
True enough – if the weather is good they are a good option.
Rented from Maui ACE numerous times over the past 3 years. Always something: battery dying on the key fob and a tire pressure issue, each necessitating a trip back to the airport; a requirement to provide the insurance policy number, that morphed the next time into proving the level of liability coverage (both times on the weekend, thank goodness I could reach my husband at home to look it up); and often surly workers. The off-site location was not a problem – gas station across the street for refueling, very quick ride. I just hope we didn’t book/prepay with ACE for our upcoming trip in May.