January Occupancy Rate at Nearly 40% for Maui County Vacation Rentals

In January 2021, the occupancy rate for Maui County vacation rentals was 39.6 percent, a decrease of 46.1 less percentage points from January 2020, according to the latest monthly report from the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of all four counties in Hawaiʻi with 174,400 available unit nights (-31.7% from a year ago), with unit demand at 69,100 unit nights (-68.4% from a year ago).

The average daily rate (ADR) for Maui County vacation rentals in January was $289 (-24.8% from January 2021). Maui County hotels reported ADR at $451 and occupancy of 21.9 percent for the month.

In January 2021, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 433,000 unit nights (-44.3%) and monthly demand was 167,500 unit nights (-73.9%), resulting in an average monthly unit occupancy of 38.7 percent (-53.1 percentage points).

In comparison, Hawaiʻi’s hotels had an average occupancy rate of 23.3 percent in January 2021. It is important to note that 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.

The unit average daily rate (ADR) for vacation rental units statewide in January was $247, which was slightly less than the ADR for hotels ($251). 

For Maui County, starting Jan. 19, legal vacation rentals could no longer provide lodging for people subject to the quarantine, and travelers who required paid commercial lodging had to quarantine at a hotel or motel. Previously, interisland travelers awaiting their pre-travel test results were allowed to use a vacation rental as a place of quarantine in Maui County.

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s 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 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.

Island Highlights

Oʻahu: vacation rental supply was 97,400 available unit nights (-56.0%) in January. Unit demand was 45,200 unit nights (-74.8%), resulting in 46.4 percent occupancy (-34.6 percentage points) and an ADR of $198 (-14.6%). Oʻahu hotels reported ADR at $168 and occupancy of 23.6 percent.

Big Island: Vacation rental supply was 90,400 available unit nights (-52.2%) in January. Unit demand was 43,000 unit nights (-72.2%), resulting in 47.5 percent occupancy (-34.1 percentage points) with an ADR of $217 (-11.3%). Hawaiʻi Island hotels reported ADR at $268 and occupancy of 26.9 percent.

Kauaʻi: It had the fewest number of available unit nights in January at 70,800 (-36.8%). Unit demand was 10,300 unit nights (-88.5%), resulting in 14.5 percent occupancy (-65.4 percentage points) with an ADR of $308 (-21.4%). Kauaʻi hotels reported ADR at $168 and occupancy of 18.4 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/

The Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report is produced using data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc., which was selected by the Hawaiʻi 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 Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report and Hawaiʻi Timeshare Quarterly Report have been excluded from the Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report.

For January 2021, the report included data for 27,980 units, representing 48,094 bedrooms in the Hawaiian Islands