Maui’s Vacation Rental Occupancy Climbed to 52.4% in February; Highest during Pandemic

In February 2021, Maui County’s vacation rental occupancy climbed to 52.5 percent, which is down 35.1 percentage points from a year ago but the highest rate since the start of the pandemic last March.

Maui County’s available unit nights for vacation rentals in February was 213,200 — the most for Hawaiʻi’s four counties, but down 7.7% from February 2020. The average daily rate (ADR) for February was $281, down 11% from a year ago. In comparison, Maui County hotels reported ADR at $446 and occupancy of 31.7 percent.

All information is from the February 2021 Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report, contracted by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. The report included data for 25,189 units representing 43,505 bedrooms in the Hawaiian islands.

In February 2021, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 535,000 unit nights (-26.6% from a year ago) and monthly demand was 266,600 unit nights (-56.5%), resulting in an average monthly unit occupancy of 49.8 percent (-34.3 percentage points).

In comparison, Hawaiʻi’s hotels had an average occupancy rate of 30.5 percent in February 2021. Unlike hotels, 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 February was $242 (-1.3%), which was less than the ADR for hotels ($259).

During February, 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.

The counties of Maui, Hawaiʻi and Kalawao (Molokaʻi) also had a partial quarantine in place in February.

Data for the other Hawaiian counties:

Oahu: Vacation rental supply was 123,100 available unit nights (-42.4%) in February. Unit demand was 68,700 unit nights (-60.3%), resulting in 55.9 percent occupancy(-25.2 percentage points) and an ADR of $192 (+2.2%). Oahu hotels reported ADR at $169 and occupancy of 29.3 percent.

Big Island: Vacation rental supply was 115,800 available unit nights (-33.8%) in February. Unit demand was 69,000 unit nights (-52.8%), resulting in 59.6 percent occupancy (-24.0 percentage points) with an ADR of $215 (+19.9%). Hawaii Island hotels reported ADR at $276 and occupancy of 35.3 percent.

Kauaʻi: Vacation rental supply was in February was 83,000 (-23.8%). Unit demand was 16,800 unit nights (-81.4%), resulting in 20.3 percent occupancy (-62.9 percentage points) with an ADR of $308 (+0.1%%). Kauaʻi hotels reported ADR at $181 and occupancy of 26.4 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/

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.

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 Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report.