Maui Business

In Kahului, the average price of $4.84 is three cents higher than last week and one cent higher than a year ago.

The Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi, in collaboration with nine other diverse, statewide business organizations, hosted the Inaugural Chamber Alliance Legislative Wrap-Up and Pau Hana event at the YWCA Honolulu on May 22, 2024. State lawmakers and business leaders discussed cost of living challenges, legislative session reflections and 2025 legislative priorities.

In April 2024, Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply at 246,500 available unit nights (+4.7% vs. 2023, -4.4% vs. 2019), and Maui vacation rental unit supply continued to be impacted by the Aug. 8 wildfire. The data was included in the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report.

Four Maui businesses impacted by the fires last August were selected for three months of rent relief and a $2,000 business scholarship at the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center. As part of Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Queen Kaʻahumanu Center’s #ExtendAloha campaign to spread awareness and raise funds for the community, Maui businesses that needed help getting back on their feet were encouraged to apply for the leasing space opportunity within the center. 

A new nonprofit dedicated to in-depth reporting on Maui County issues is launching on the Valley Isle, with experienced local journalists at the helm.

A new travel gift program was announced on Wednesday, providing more than 3,000 roundtrip Alaska Airlines flights, as well as Disneyland tickets and accommodations to Maui families affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Maui Health’s Chief Philanthropy Officer Melinda Sweany has been honored with the prestigious “Women Who Mean Business Award” by Pacific Business News (PBN). Sweany was recognized for her outstanding leadership at the 2024 Women Who Mean Business Award Gala, held on March 28, 2024, in Waikīkī, Oʻahu.

Maui County hotels continued to be impacted by the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, but still led the counties in April 2024 revenue per available room (RevPAR) due to comparatively higher average daily rate (ADR), according to the Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report, issued by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawaiʻi. Per the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), overall transactions in 2023 was only half of what it was in 2021, and fewer single family homes were transacted in Hawaiʻi last year than in any of the last 25 years.

The Hawaiʻi Pacific Export Council has been awarded the District Export Council of the Year Award by the US Department of Commerce. The honor recognizes the council’s contributions to supporting US exporters in Hawaiʻi and across the US Pacific Islands through innovative and impactful initiatives.

The Maui Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the Annual Mayor’s Small Business Awards in 2024. All nominees and winners will be honored during an event on Sept. 19, 2024.

Sales and Marketing Executives Honolulu (SME Honolulu) named Chad Buck as the company’s distinguished recipient of its Salesperson of the Year award for 2023. Buck is credited as the driving force behind multiple successful enterprises, including the Hawaiʻi Foodservice Alliance; and for his community outreach including his work to bring food and aid to Maui following the Lahaina wildfires.

Hawai‘i Leadership Forum welcomed 16 local leaders into the ninth cohort of its Omidyar Fellows program. The program seeks to cultivate the conditions in which Hawai‘i thrives by equipping leaders with the skills and cross-sector relationships necessary to affect societal change.

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Maui Island was 4.3% in April 2024, compared to 4.9% the previous month, and 2.6% at the same time in 2023. The data was included in a new report released today from the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. 

Pacific Permanente Group, a premiere Maui-based medical group providing health care services in nearly a dozen specialties, has recently added another orthopaedic surgeon to its growing team on the Valley Isle.  

A total of 24 local entrepreneurs and small business owners attended the May 9 Maui TechOhana and were wowed by the inspiring work and technology of the Maui Food Innovation Center (MFIC). Ian Stewart, Entrepreneurship & Business Development Specialist, Pāʻoihana Program, and Douglas Paul, Chef Instructor gave an engaging presentation of the Center’s work including a video tour of the facility and samples of their success stories.   

As of May 1, 2024, a new law governing tenant screening fees was put in motion to help protect renters and promote transparency in the rental application process. Enacted as Act 200 (SLH 2023) and codified in Hawai‘i Revised Statutes § 521-46, the law prohibits a landlord from charging an applicant for a residential dwelling unit, a tenant screening fee that is more than the actual cost to obtain information about the applicant.

Servco Pacific Inc. has been selected as a 2024 US Best Managed Company Gold Standard honoree. The national award recognizes outstanding private companies in the Unites States and the achievements of their management teams.

First Hawaiian Bank donated $5.2 million to community and nonprofit organizations in 2023. The contributions include: $2,480,437 in bank donations, $1,920,250 in First Hawaiian Foundation grants and $854,615 from the Bank’s employee-funded Kokua Mai campaign.

The 22nd annual Maui Matsuri named Warren S. Unemori Engineering Inc. as this year’s Business Award recipient for its commitment to the community, which has been a reflection of core values passed down through generations.