Maui County’s Vacation Rental Occupancy Increases to 75% for May

In May 2021, Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of all four counties in Hawaiʻi with 234,400 available unit nights, with an occupancy rate of 75%, according to the latest Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Report on vacation rental performance.

The supply of vacation rental units for May 2021 was down 16.9% from pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers in May 2019. The demand for units also was down, by 18.1% from May 2019. But with the supply down, the occupancy rate for May 2021 was only down 1.1 percentage points from May 2019.

Maui County vacation rentals have not rebounded from the pandemic in terms of average daily rates. The ADR for May 2021 was $257, which is down 35.2% from two years ago.

In comparison, Maui County hotels reported ADR at $467 and occupancy of 67.1 percent.

For the state of Hawaiʻi, the total monthly supply of vacation rentals was 572,900 unit nights and monthly demand was 413,500 unit nights for an occupancy rate of 72.2%, which was higher than the occupancy of Hawaiʻi’s hotels at 61.5%.

Overall, the numbers are substantially higher than in May 2020, which was the second full month of the devastating impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. When compared to May 2019, supply, demand and average daily rates were lower for May 2021, but occupancy was about the same.

The unit average daily rate for vacation rental units statewide in May was $236, which was less than the ADR for hotels at $288. 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.

Hawaiʻi’s quarantine order for travelers due to the pandemic began on March 26, 2020, which immediately resulted in dramatic impacts to Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry. During May 2021, 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 prior to their departure to Hawaiʻi through the Safe Travels program.

The report findings of other Hawaiian islands:

Oʻahu: The May vacation rental supply was 133,600 available unit nights (+9.4% vs. 2020, -57.6% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 95,000 unit nights (+656.5% vs. 2020, -58.0% vs. 2019), resulting in 71.1 percent occupancy (+60.8 percentage points vs. 2020, -0.7 percentage points vs. 2019) and ADR of $193 (+27.3% vs. 2020, -31.5% vs. 2019). Oʻahu hotels reported ADR at $196 and occupancy of 59.3 percent.

Big Island: The May vacation rental supply was 119,600 available unit nights (+57.0% vs. 2020, -44.2% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 84,100 unit nights (+767.3% vs. 2020, -36.1% vs. 2019), resulting in 70.3 percent occupancy (+57.6 percentage points vs. 2020, +8.9 percentage points vs. 2019) with ADR of $201 (+37.8% vs. 2020, -28.6% vs. 2019). Hawaii Island hotels reported ADR at $304 and occupancy of 62.7 percent.

Kauaʻi: It had the fewest number of available unit nights in May at 85,300 (+216.6% vs. 2020, -25.9% vs. 2019). Unit demand was 58,500 unit nights (+1,140.5% vs. 2020, -32.0% vs. 2019), resulting in 68.6 percent occupancy (+51.1 percentage points vs. 2020, -6.1 percentage points vs. 2019) with ADR of $294 (+13.6% vs. 2020, -35.7% vs. 2019). Kauaʻi hotels reported ADR at $272 and occupancy of 57.7 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.
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 Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Report have been excluded from the Hawaiʻi 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 May 2021, the report included data for 24,716 units, representing 42,179 bedrooms in the Hawaiian Islands.