If you are a tourist looking to rent a vacation home in Hawaii, you have a difficult dilemma.
Supply is up and the demand is down. By almost half.
But the costs have risen.
According to the newspaper Beat of Hawaii, the number of vacation rentals has plummeted. The state’s Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism reported there were roughly 761,000 rental nights available in homes in the month of October. Only 387,400 were used, or just about half.
On the island of Maui, which is still recovering from the August wildfires, there has been a severe drop in the number of vacation home rental nights available from 193,900 to 98,500. The average daily rate in Maui for a rental home was $279.
The city of Honolulu was doing the best with only a roughly 12 percent drop in available nights and a 75 percent occupancy rate in hotels. It was also the most inexpensive with average daily room rates of $225.
The island of Kauai had the fewest available vacation night rentals in Hawaii but also had the most expensive daily rate at $356.
In all, it’s a mixed bag right now. While vacation homes are expensive, the cost is not bad if you split it among several guests. However, vacation homes can have misleading advertising. On the other hand, hotels offer a reservation guarantee but sometimes have undisclosed fees.
Maui is still coming to terms with the paradox of needing tourism dollars with the need to be respectful to locals as it recovers from August's devastating wildfires.
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