philemer

Car rentals have increase a LOT too, especially during Jan>Mar. Hard to get anything under $300/wk.

tatterdema

I am finding everywhere is expensive, not just Maui by any stretch. Prices have risen with the economy. My yearly trip to Mexico is 30% more than last year. My monthly trips to Vegas have steadily increased over the last 2 years. My every couple of month trips to Palm Springs are now not affordable for me, so I have cut them back. I have not found that airfare has changed much, but the price of hotels, rental cars, and restaurants definately have.

iahphx

You need more credit card sign ups!

tatterdema

Lol, I have plenty of cc sign ups. Unless you have some that cover resort fee's, I do not find them helpful. My airfare is already covered (with CC miles/points). It is the price of hotels and restaurants that is killing me, with car rentals not that far behind.

iahphx

Yeah, the resort fees suck (doesn't Hyatt waive them on award stays?), but it's much better than paying the whole room cost.

FWIW, this week I just realized that the US Bank Altitude Reserve Card lets you redeem points for travel you book yourself. There are some restrictions, but it definitely could be useful for offsetting some miscellaneous-yet-still-somewhat-pricey travel expenses, like a week's car rental. It certainly makes the sign-up bonus for that card more interesting.

https://thepointsguy.com/2018/03/us-...oked-anywhere/

As far as food goes, in Hawaii, I'm mostly a plate lunch kind of guy. I like local food almost as much as the fancy tourist restaurants, and it usually costs a fraction of the price. On Maui, though, I suspect plate lunch deals are getting harder to find. Like in Lahaina, I used to go to Aloha Mixed Plate. A few years ago, a main course there was under $10. Now I think they're over $15. That's some serious food inflation!

747FC

Bold above is partially a result of increase in minimum wage. I will stop there, less Omni/PR erupts.

heraclitus

Good point. 10 years ago or so I remember getting Sheratons, Hyatts and the like for $80, $60, sometimes $40 a night on Priceline/Hotwire. Even the posted rates weren't that much higher. These days, a lot of those same hotels are $150-$300 a night. Rental cars too. I haven't noticed quite as dramatic an increase with restaurants, though.

iahphx

I suspect I'll encounter sticker shock when I look at the menus of "regular" restaurants these days on Maui. But there's always some way to eat. I've felt poor in places like Iceland and Scandinavia and always do fine -- I just don't go to those destinations for fine dining. Obviously, over-priced restaurants make a destination less attractive, but "good dining options" is just one factor that enters into the mix of whether a destination is appealing.

747FC

My wife and I have noticed that restaurants we frequent on Oahu have been cutting down on portion size, most likely as a way of mitigating increased prices. I think my waistline prefers this approach.

Cledaybuck

I believe Hilton and Hyatt both waive resort fees on award stays.

Cledaybuck

When I went to Maui last summer, I found condos to be much more affordable than hotels. I only stayed in hotels on points.

tatterdema

Was the same on Kauai, but very few of them had air conditioning. No way I am traveling to Hawaii without air conditioning. Unless maybe I am staying in Volcano.... :-) Many many people told me I was crazy, that you do not need AC on Kauai in May. Well I used the AC in my hotel every single day.

LSunbury

We have been fairly regular visitors to Maui (from London!) over the last 10 years but would never consider $400+ for a hotel.

We are paying $350 pn for an ocean front 1 bed house at Puamana in December. It's the most we have ever paid but it is our favourite location and includes Christmas.

iahphx

I don't blame you: AC is very helpful in the warmer months in Hawaii. Before the volcano took it out, I frequently rented houses in Kapoho in the springtime. No AC (apparently power costs are extremely high in Hawaii, so many houses don't have it). On our last visit, the bedtime temperatures in our house in April were in the high 70s. That's high, but bearable. Ironically, I was thinking of renting a house in Kapaho last June (the month when the property was actually destroyed!) but didn't do it because the price wasn't really lowered to reflect the lower comfort: I thought June bedtime temperatures might be in the low 80s, which is really too hot.

Unless the house is extremely well ventilated, or you can take "extreme" heat, I don't recommend summer rentals in Hawaii without AC.

Cledaybuck

Yeah, we went to Kauai too but stayed at a resort, which obviously had AC (June/July). Dewpoints are way too high in HI to sleep comfortably without AC, at least for me.