Low Demand for Hawaii Vacation Rentals
Despite vacation rentals across Hawaii increasing in supply, the demand for them was in September 2023 compared to September 2022. In comparison to pre-pandemic September 2019, ADR was higher in September 2023, but vacation rental supply, demand and occupancy were lower.
The State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) issued today the Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report for the month of September utilizing data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc.
In September 2023, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 707,700 unit nights (+6.5% vs. 2022, -22.5% vs. 2019) and monthly demand was 373,200 unit nights (-4.9% vs. 2022, -40.0% vs. 2019). This combination resulted in an average monthly unit occupancy of 52.7% (-6.3 percentage points vs. 2022, -15.4 percentage points vs. 2019) for September. Occupancy for Hawaii’s hotels was 75.5% in September 2023.
The ADR for vacation rental units statewide in September was $260 (-8.0% vs. 2022, +34.3% vs. 2019). By comparison, the ADR for hotels was $346 in September 2023. It is important to note that unlike hotels, units in vacation rentals are not necessarily available year-round or each day of the month and often accommodate a larger number of guests than traditional hotel rooms.
The data in DBEDT’s Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report specifically excludes units reported in Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s Hawaii Hotel Performance Report and Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Survey 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 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 September 2023, many vacation rental units continued to be unavailable in West Maui due to the Maui wildfires that occurred in Lahaina on August 8, 2023. Unit night supply and unit night demand were inactive for the entire month of September in West Maui. In September 2023, Maui County vacation rental supply decreased to 148,400 available unit nights (-33.5% vs. 2022, -52.6% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 71,700 unit nights (-49.8% vs. 2022, -68.3% vs. 2019), resulting in 48.3% occupancy (-15.7 percentage points vs. 2022, -23.9 percentage points vs. 2019) and ADR at $266 (-20.0% vs. 2022, +16.9% vs. 2019). For September 2023, Maui County hotels reported ADR at $534 and occupancy of 62.7%.
Oahu had the largest vacation rental supply at 223,500 available unit nights in September (+23.1% vs. 2022, -7.6% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 125,100 unit nights (+13.1% vs. 2022, -28.8% vs. 2019), resulting in 56.0% occupancy (-5.0 percentage points vs. 2022, -16.7 percentage points vs. 2019) with ADR at $226 (+5.3% vs. 2022, +41.2% vs. 2019). In comparison, O‘ahu hotels reported ADR at $270 and occupancy of 82.2% for September 2023.
The island of Hawaii vacation rental supply was 209,100 available unit nights (+26.1% vs. 2022, -4.6% vs. 2019) in September. Unit demand was 93,100 unit nights (+12.0% vs. 2022, -27.2% vs. 2019), resulting in 44.5% occupancy (-5.6 percentage points vs. 2022, -13.8 percentage points vs. 2019) with ADR at $214 (-4.9% vs. 2022, +46.6% vs. 2019). Hawai‘i Island hotels reported ADR at $373 and occupancy of 66.4%.
Kauai had the fewest number of available vacation rental unit nights in September at 126,800 (+34.4% vs. 2022, -9.1% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 83,400 unit nights (+49.3% vs. 2022, -10.1% vs. 2019), resulting in 65.8% occupancy (-6.6 percentage points vs. 2022, -0.8 percentage points vs. 2019) with ADR at $358 (-4.9% vs. 2022, +48.8% vs. 2019). Kauai hotels reported ADR at $398 and occupancy of 80.9%.
Year-to-Date (YTD) Quarter 3 2023
For the first nine months of 2023, Hawaii vacation rental supply was 6.4 million unit nights (+16.7% vs. 2022, -14.3% vs. 2019) and demand was 3.7 million unit nights (-2.8% vs. 2022, -34.3% vs. 2019). The average daily unit rate for the first nine months of 2023 was $304 (+3.3% vs. 2022, +47.4% vs. 2019). Statewide vacation rental occupancy for the first nine months of 2023 was 57.4% (-16.7 percentage points vs. 2022, -23.3 percentage points vs. 2019). In comparison, statewide hotel ADR for the first nine months of 2023 was $379 and occupancy was 75.%.
