Hawaii vacation rentals maintain lead over hotels

In April 2021, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 583,800 unit nights (+82.7%) and monthly demand was 388,600 unit nights (+2,327.6%). That resulted in an average monthly unit occupancy of 66.6 percent (+61.6 percentage points) for April, which was higher than the occupancy of Hawai‘i’s hotels (50.8%).

Overall, the numbers are substantially higher than in April 2020, which was the first full month of the devastating impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hawaii’s quarantine order for travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic began on March 26, 2020, which immediately resulted in dramatic impacts to Hawai‘i’s tourism industry.

The unit average daily rate (ADR) for vacation rental units statewide in April was $238 (+25.0%), which was less than the ADR for hotels ($300). It is important to note that unlike hotels, condominium hotels, timeshare resorts and vacation rental units are not necessarily available year-round or each day of the month and often accommodate a larger number of guests than traditional hotel rooms.

During April, most passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county could bypass the State’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing Partner through the state’s Safe Travels program. All trans-Pacific travelers participating in the pre-travel testing program were required to have a negative test result before their departure to Hawaii. Kauai County rejoined the Safe Travels program on April 5, 2021. The counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kalawao (Molokai) also had a partial quarantine in place in April.

In April, legal short-term rentals were allowed to operate in Maui County and on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Kauai as long as they were not being used as a quarantine location.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc. The data in this report specifically excludes units reported in HTA’s Hawaii Hotel Performance Report and Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Survey Report. In this report, a vacation rental is defined as the use of a rental house, condominium unit, private room in private home, or shared room/space in private home. This report also does not determine or differentiate between units that are permitted or unpermitted. The “legality” of any given vacation rental unit is determined on a county basis.

Island Highlights

In April, Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of all four counties with 241,900 available unit nights (+154%) and unit demand was 169,950 unit nights (+4,565.1%), resulting in 70.3 percent occupancy (+66.4 percentage points) with an ADR of $263 (+10.6%). Maui County hotels reported ADR at $483 and occupancy of 62.1 percent.

Oahu vacation rental supply was 132,500 available unit nights (+8.5%) in April. Unit demand was 90,700 unit nights (+1,668.7%), resulting in 68.4 percent occupancy (+64.2 percentage points) and an ADR of $193 (+31.8%). Oahu hotels reported ADR at $193 and occupancy of 47.0 percent.

The island of Hawaii vacation rental supply was 124,700 available unit nights (+84.1) in April. Unit demand was 85,400 unit nights (+2,171.3%), resulting in 68.5 percent occupancy (+63.0 percentage points) with an ADR of $208 (+27.0%). Hawaii Island hotels reported ADR at $326 and occupancy of 53.7 percent.

Kauai had the fewest number of available unit nights in April at 84,700 (+145.9%). Unit demand was 42,600 unit nights (+1,124.7%), resulting in 50.3 percent occupancy (+40.2 percentage points) with an ADR of $294 (+25.7%). Kauai hotels reported ADR at $248 and occupancy of 36.9 percent.

Tables of vacation rental performance statistics, including data presented in the report are available for viewing online at: https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/research/infrastructure-research/  

Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report

The Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report is produced using data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc., which was selected by the Hawaii Tourism Authority as the provider for these data services.

The report includes data for properties that are listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway and TripAdvisor. Data for units included in HTA’s Hawaii Hotel Performance Report and Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Report have been excluded from the Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report. This report also does not determine or differentiate between units that are permitted or unpermitted. The “legality” of any given vacation rental unit is determined on a county basis. HTA does not support illegal vacation rentals.

For April 2021, the report included data for 25,985 units, representing 44,423 bedrooms in the Hawaiian Islands.