If you feel like booking a hotel in Hawaii is becoming more expensive, you’re not wrong. Hotel room rates have increased greatly since 2019 ― in some cases by 50%.

Though there was a post-pandemic surge of visitors to the islands that increased demand, arrivals have since softened. Hawaii is still recovering and seeing fewer visitors than before the pandemic. With that said, hotel occupancy levels are also still down, so there’s a larger supply of rooms than there was pre-pandemic.

Yet room rates continue to rise.

“Hotel prices have increased significantly across all islands, with Maui being particularly affected,” Bruce Fisher, owner of travel agency Hawaii Aloha Travel, told SFGATE in an email. “The prices have reached unprecedented levels, causing some of our customers to reconsider their travel plans.”

Maui County tops the state in terms of average daily room rates, coming in at $607.32 in 2022 compared with $401.10 in 2019, according to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. The island’s luxury hotels were down to 54.4% occupancy in 2022, compared with 79.9% occupancy in 2019, but charging $400 more than in 2019. The price for a luxury stay rose from $643 per day in 2019 to $1,076 in 2022.

On the islands of Hawaii and Kauai, hotel room rates are priced lower than on Maui, but they’ve also increased by 50% and 40%, respectively. They’re both now hovering around $400. Oahu is the only island that hasn’t shown considerable difference: The average room rate was $240 in 2019 versus $266 in 2022.

“I think it’s the hotel industry strategy,” says Eugene Tian, chief economist for the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. “The occupancy is still lower than 2019, but the room rate is much higher. I think it is the hotel industry strategy because they charge a higher rate with lower occupancy. But overall, the revenue still increased.”

​​​​​​​If you’ve taken a staycation or looked into booking a hotel in Hawaii, chances are you had a little sticker shock. That’s because, like everything else, room rates have shot up since the pandemic.
More hotels popping up outside of touristy WaikikiKHON asked Jerry Agrusa, Shidler College of Business Travel Industry Management professor how much room rates have gone up.

“Quite significantly,” Agrusa said.

According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the average daily room rate in January 2024 was $378.29 up from $297.56 in 2019, an increase of 27%.

“We had that pent-up demand, right, so you had people who didn’t travel for two years, and they’re willing to pay more. And the hotels to actually, you know, they benefited from that,” Agrusa said.

Labor costs and the labor shortage are also to blame.

“The hotels have to charge more because labor has gone up,” he explained. “You have signs on the door $19 an hour to start $21. Before COVID, people were getting $12, $13 an hour. And you know, that adds up, it really does add up.”

He said Hawaii also has the highest transient tax in the country at 18.5% up from 15.5%.

Lynette Eastman, General Manager of the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club said it’s really all about supply and demand.

The busier they are, the higher the price.

And she said a bunch of economy hotels were renovated.

“Look around Waikiki,” Eastman said. “Especially here on Kuhio, there are so many budget hotels that did a significant upgrade, branding change and a name change.”

So they bumped up their prices, leaving fewer budget hotel choices. And when mid-range hotels on Kuhio Avenue cost $200 to $300 a night, you can imagine what the oceanfront hotels are charging.

While some hotels like Surfjack do not charge additional fees, most hotels do and Eastman said you need to pay attention to that because it will impact your hotel room rate.

“I don’t think fees are surprising for people to pay them, but find out what it is that you are paying for,” she said. “And then you need to, when you’re looking at the room rate, you’ve got to consider that.”

Some hotels will waive those fees for local residents, and most do offer special Kamaaina rates.

Eastman said many hotels lower prices during the off-season. She said March through May and September to early December are usually cheaper, but avoid the holidays and summertime if you’re looking for deals.