josephstern

Yes. For sure there is more capacity than pre-Covid. More flights per day on both Delta and AA at the least, plus now Southwest is flying there.

Kacee

I think the real issue is poor behavior on a massive scale. The visitor mix is quite different from what it was pre-covid. No Japanese.
Daily arrivals are still down about 15% from 2019. The international traffic is still basically shut down.

BlueZebra

Hawaii set a record for number of visitors in 2019, breaking 10 million for the first time, for the year, with Southwest flying. I doubt they will reach 10 million for 2021. I am thinking they are crying wolf a bit here..more the "can't get anyone to work" issue?

josephstern

It'll be interesting to see the June numbers. I can't imagine all of these domestic airlines are adding capacity only for it to be empty.

I don't know what the numbers look like for international tourists traveling to Maui, but I always got the impression that the vast majority of non-US tourists stayed on Oahu.

sullim4

Perhaps on Oahu, but Maui specifically does not receive a large amount of Japanese tourists. Based on 2018 numbers, only 3.3% of Japanese visitors to Hawaii visited Maui.

I didn't see behavior being a real issue on our trip to Maui in May. The problem was more just lots and lots of people, with inadequate staffing levels at hotels specifically. The Hyatt Regency in Ka'anapali was a mess with multiple service lapses. Restaurants mostly required reservations and so we never really had any service issues there. Walk-up places, in particular coffee shops near hotels, had much longer lines than usual, likely due to lack of services available at hotels. Car rentals continue to be a problem but as long as you reserve something in advance, we didn't see anyone turned away.

It's a staffing issue in my eyes. I don't know whether it's that the staff doesn't want to return to work, or if the staff left the state when tourism was dead for so long.

The covid excuses though are ridiculous though at this point. Vaccinated travelers pose far lower risk than the 42% of locals that are not vaccinated.

Kacee

The arrival numbers are published daily. They are currently down 15% a day overall from 2019, as stated above. Domestic is up about 3000 per day, international has dropped from over 8000 per day to 500.

Daily Pax Dashboard

Consider yourself fortunate. Maui, like Oahu, is full of domestic tourists who do not usually travel (there's an apt two word descriptive, which I will not use here). For example: Maui Man Punched at Eatery. It is certainly worse on Oahu. I would not recommend anyone go to Waikiki. I do have sympathy for the locals having to deal with this nonsense on a daily basis.

msp3

What a load of nonsense. The guy in the article is literally a sniveling virtue signaling coward that tried to harass someone just because they were a tourist. Florida man there gave him exactly what he deserved. Let's be clear, if the little mask nazi tried to pull the same stunt on some local guys or better yet mokes, they would put him in his place faster than it would take Florida man to respond. But what's a sensational entertainment story passing for "news" going to do for clicks than?

gaobest

As a tourist who only goes during April school break, these types of news reports only make me pause my desire to return to Maui. I’m happy to abide by a desired pause. Between $4800 on flights, $3500 lodging at grand Wailea… why bother spending the daily $700/night lodging there knowing that we truly aren’t desired. Plus yummy food that’s slightly available everywhere with a hyatt Hilton, cabana charges (since chaise lounges are ALWAYS unavailable starting at 8a, a time I prefer to be in bed and not seeking a chaise)… it’s not a cheap trip. Plus I got sunburnt last time

maybe if ft had more threads of how Hawaii government officials value tourism and want to find a sustainable balance for tourists…

LIH Prem

We'll keep the Rao's and the Ahi Poke stocked for you.

I don't think you are going to enter a place where masks are required without one and if somebody reminds you of the requirement, maybe because you forgot, I also don't think you're going to react badly. There's outliers everywhere.

-David

exp

My impression was pent-up demand has overwhelmed supply, at least for the summer months.

I was tracking some prices for early June, before Europe opened up. I saw airfares shoot up and then prices for really what appeared to be mediocre accommodations shoot up in Waikiki and Kauai just from May to June. Then there is the rental car bust.

Is that not the case, that prices were higher for this summer than any previous summer?

Kacee

Hotels are exploiting pent up domestic demand by jacking up prices and are willing to let rooms go unbooked. It's a classic example of how to exploit inelastic demand. And the lack of Japanese traffic has impacted Waikiki (where prices are similar to any year during high season) considerably more than Wailea, for example, where prices are indeed absurd.

The problem with rental car availability and pricing is the same as it is all over the country - the companies dumped their inventory during the pandemic and have not been able to replace it. It's just as hard (and expensive) to get a rental car in Seattle as it is in Honolulu.

The official numbers from the State of Hawaii don't lie (did you even look at those?). Overall, arrivals in Hawaii are still down, with the domestic increase not making up for international being completely wiped out.

bluedemon211

Totally agree Kacee. Hotels are really exploiting the situation. Another reason they are thrilled jacking up prices and leaving some rooms unsold is there are still capacity limits on almost all eating options. Couple that with it being impossible to fill many service jobs and you get a situation where the "experience" is better for the customer to not have to battle full capacity for food and other services. It seems warped, but the hotels are fine with the price gouging.

Tanic

The rental lots in Lihue now have a number of vehicles with tags from CA, WA, NV and AZ.

gaobest

masks will or are required in my home city again, so zero Hawaii complaints from me about this. :-)
don’t stock the ahi - won’t it go bad after a day in storage :-)
omg I do love ahi poke.

Plus if hotels can’t staff a full hotel, then they should charge high if they’re at capacity. Profit everywhere. Plus after what has to be a year of losses… I do feel for those who are paying full retail and maybe not receiving a great service experience. This (plus the mayoral anti-tourist propoganda) only creates my hesitation to return to Hawaii.

and yep car rentals are hard all over USA so I’ll just pay the cost as needed… who saw this coming.

bocastephen

Matson must be laughing all the way to the bank - one year ago, their ships were loaded up in a panic with surplus cars, now their ships are being loaded up in a panic with mainland cars to feed the demand back in Hawaii.

Now with Delta setting in, they might end up going back the other way soon, or maybe they can just anchor out half way across the Pacific with all the cars until everyone figures out where it's safe to travel to next month.