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In February 2021, the total monthly supply of statewide vacation rentals was 535,000 unit nights (-26.6%) and monthly demand was 266,600 unit nights (-56.5%), resulting in an average monthly unit occupancy of 49.8 percent (-34.3 percentage points) (Figure 1).

In comparison, Hawaii’s hotels had an average occupancy rate of 30.5 percent in February 2021. It is important to note that unlike hotels, condominium hotels, timeshare resorts and vacation rental units are not necessarily available year-round or each day of the month and often accommodate a larger number of guests than traditional hotel rooms. The unit average daily rate (ADR) for vacation rental units statewide in February was $242 (-1.3%), which was less than the ADR for hotels ($259).
During February, most passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county could bypass the State’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing Partner through the state’s Safe Travels program. All trans-Pacific travelers participating in the pre-travel testing program were required to have a negative test result before their departure to Hawaii. Kauai County continued to temporarily suspend its participation in the state’s Safe Travels program, making it mandatory for all trans-Pacific travelers to Kauai to quarantine upon arrival except for those participating in a pre- and post-travel testing program at a “resort bubble” property as a way to shorten their time in quarantine. The counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kalawao (Molokai) also had a partial quarantine in place in February.
In February, legal short-term rentals were allowed to operate on Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui County, and Kauai as long as they were not being used as a quarantine location.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by Transparent Intelligence, Inc. The data in this report specifically excludes units reported in HTA’s Hawaii Hotel Performance Report and Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Survey Report. In this report, a vacation rental is defined as the use of a rental house, condominium unit, private room in private home, or shared room/space in private home. This report also does not determine or differentiate between units that are permitted or unpermitted. The “legality” of any given vacation rental unit is determined on a county basis.
Island Highlights
In February, Maui County had the largest vacation rental supply of all four counties with 213,200 available unit nights (-7.7%) and unit demand was 112,000 unit nights (-44.7%), resulting in 52.5 percent occupancy (-35.1 percentage points) with an ADR of $281 (-11.0%). Maui County hotels reported ADR at $446 and occupancy of 31.7 percent.
Oahu vacation rental supply was 123,100 available unit nights (-42.4%) in February. Unit demand was 68,700 unit nights (-60.3%), resulting in 55.9 percent occupancy
(-25.2 percentage points) and an ADR of $192 (+2.2%). Oahu hotels reported ADR at $169 and occupancy of 29.3 percent.
The island of Hawaii vacation rental supply was 115,800 available unit nights (-33.8%) in February. Unit demand was 69,000 unit nights (-52.8%), resulting in 59.6 percent occupancy (-24.0 percentage points) with an ADR of $215 (+19.9%). Hawaii Island hotels reported ADR at $276 and occupancy of 35.3 percent.
Kauai had the fewest number of available unit nights in February at 83,000 (-23.8%). Unit demand was 16,800 unit nights (-81.4%), resulting in 20.3 percent occupancy (-62.9 percentage points) with an ADR of $308 (+0.1%%). Kauai hotels reported ADR at $181 and occupancy of 26.4 percent.
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/