Vacation Rental Occupancy in Maui County Increased to 81.3% for June

Maui Countyʻs tourism continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, with occupancy for vacation rentals increasing to 81.3% for June, but demand and rates still trail pre-pandemic levels, according to the new Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

While the 81.3% occupancy rate is 3.6 percentage points higher than in June of 2019, before the pandemic struck, vacation rental inventory for Maui County and average daily rates for units shrunk during the pandemic.

The available vacation rental unit nights for June 2021 was 227,300, which is down 16% from June 2019. The demand for vacation rental unit nights was 184,900 for June 2021, which also was down (by 12.1%) from two years ago.

The average daily rate for vacation rentals was $267 for June 2021, which was down 31.4% from June 2019.

In comparison, Maui County hotels reported average daily rate of $498 and occupancy of 79.2% for June in data that was compiled for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority by Transparent Intelligence, Inc.

Hawaiʻi vacation rentals statewide reported substantial increases in supply, demand, occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) in June 2021 compared to June 2020. However, in comparison to June 2019, vacation rental supply, demand and ADR were down while occupancy rose slightly due to a reduction in supply levels.

Similarly, through the first half of 2021, Hawaiʻi vacation rentals reported overall increases in the same performance categories compared to 2020, but lagged behind the pre-pandemic totals reported for the first half of 2019.

In June 2021, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 591,100 unit nights (+74.1% vs. 2020, -32.9% vs. 2019) and monthly demand was 472,100 unit nights (+910.6% vs. 2020, -27.1% vs. 2019). That resulted in an average monthly unit occupancy of 79.9 percent (+66.1 percentage points vs. 2020, +6.3 percentage points vs. 2019) for June, which was slightly higher than the occupancy of Hawaiʻi’s hotels (77.0 percent). 

The ADR for vacation rental units statewide increased in June to $242 year-over-year (+17.0% vs. 2020, but was nearly 30% less than the ADR of $346 in June 2019. By comparison the ADR for hotels was $320 in June 2021.

It is important to note that unlike hotels, units in vacation rentals, timeshare resorts and condominium hotels are not necessarily available year-round or each day of the month and often accommodate a larger number of guests than traditional hotel rooms. 

In June, legal short-term rentals were allowed to operate in Maui County and on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi as long as they were not being used as a quarantine location.

First Half of 2021:

Throughout the first half of 2021, the performance of Hawaiʻi vacation rental properties was impacted by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The supply of statewide vacation rentals for the first six months was 3.5 million unit nights (+4.2% vs. 2020, -26.1% vs. 2019) and demand was 2.2 million unit nights (+12.1% vs. 2020, -40.1% vs. 2019), resulting in an average unit occupancy of 61.2% (+7.6 percentage points vs. 2020, -19.0 percentage points vs. 2019). During this same period, Hawaiʻi hotels reported ADR at $293 and occupancy of 48.1 percent.

For the first half of 2021 for Maui County, vacation rental supply was 1.4 million unit nights (+30.2% vs. 2020, +1.6% vs 2019), and demand was 910,200 unit nights (+38.6% vs. 2020, -19.3% vs. 2019).

The average occupancy year-to-date through June was 63.9 percent (+6.5 percentage points vs. 2020, -20.6 percentage points vs. 2019), and ADR was $270 (-11.8% vs. 2020, -14.6% vs. 2019).

In comparison, Maui County hotels reported ADR at $475 and occupancy of 52%.

For the June 2021 report, click here.

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/