Maui Vacation Rentals at 69% Occupancy in March 2020, Down 13.5%

West Maui shoreline at Kāʻanapali. File photo by Wendy Osher.

Maui Vacation Rental Occupancy was 69%, Down -13.5%

In March, Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of all four counties with 287,100 unit nights, which is an increase of 30.7 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report compiled by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Unit demand in Maui County was 200,000 unit nights, resulting in 69.6 percent occupancy (-13.5 percentage points) with an ADR of $301 (+10.2%).

Meantime, Maui County hotels were 47.4 percent occupied with an ADR of $413.

Statewide Vacation Rental Occupancy was 64%, down -14.5%

In March 2020, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 871,500 unit nights and monthly demand was 557,400 unit nights, resulting in an average monthly unit occupancy of 64 percent, according to new data compiled by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

In comparison, Hawaiʻi’s hotels were 44.5 percent occupied in March 2020. It is important to note that unlike hotels, condominium hotels, and timeshare resorts, vacation rental units are not necessarily available year-round or each day of the month.

The unit average daily rate (ADR) for vacation rental units statewide in March was $239, lower than the ADR for hotels ($280).

In March the majority of flights to Hawaii were cancelled because of COVID-19. As of March 26, all passengers arriving from out-of-state were required to abide by a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine.

Other Island Highlights

On Oʻahu, the vacation rental supply in March was 246,100 unit nights (-9.0%). Unit demand was 143,100 unit nights (-30.7%), resulting in 58.2 percent occupancy (-18.2 percentage points) and an ADR of $176 (+10.7%). Oʻahu hotels were 42.9 percent occupied with an ADR of $218.

There were 203,000 available unit nights (+11.0%) on the island of Hawaiʻi in March. Unit demand was 133,800 unit nights (-0.3%), resulting in 65.9 percent occupancy (-7.5 percentage points) with an ADR of $183 (+10.1%). Hawaiʻi Island hotels were 46.1 percent occupied with an ADR of $274.

Kauaʻi had the fewest number of available unit nights in March at 135,300 (+35.8%). Unit demand was 80,600 unit nights (-2.8%), resulting in 59.6 percent occupancy (-23.6 percentage points) with an ADR of $292 (+9.2%). Kauaʻi hotels were 45.7 percent occupied with an ADR of $296.

Tables of vacation rental performance statistics, including data presented in the report are available for viewing online.

For March 2020, the report included data for 32,874 units, representing 57,735 bedrooms in the Hawaiian Islands.

HTA’s Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc. The report includes data for properties that are listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor.  The data in this report specifically excludes units reported in HTA’s Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report and Hawaiʻi 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.