Rental Car Shortage In Hawaii Sends Holiday Travelers Scrambling — What to Know

Travelers destined for Hawaii’s Big Island this holiday season are running into a roadblock before even boarding the plane thanks to a shortage of rental cars on the island – and price gouging of what remains.

The issue made its way to Reddit earlier this week when a topic moderator in a Hawaii forum created a pinned post titled, “PSA: There are virtually no car rentals (including Turo) on Big Island for the next 2 weeks. Read this post for your options.”

“There are essentially no more car rentals for Big Island during the Christmas holiday,” the post reads. “All rental agencies show as sold out, and according to recent posts Turo rentals are limited and listed as high as $2500 for a week.”

It’s worth noting that a representative from Hawaii Tourism Authority disputed this, telling Travel + Leisure that rental car prices are higher, “but cars are available at the major car rental companies at both Hilo and Kona airports, as we expect during high demand periods like the holidays.”

However, searches done by Travel + Leisure on Hertz, Enterprise, Sixt, and Avis yielded no availability for pick-up at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) in Kona — the island’s top resort destination for tourists — and just seven options on Turo, with the cheapest option being $274/day during the last two weeks of December.

“Travel experts have always recommended booking holiday travel as early as possible to secure the best deals and inventory,” a representative from Turo told T+L. “Turo experiences seasonality, just like other major travel companies, and we frequently remind guests to book a car as soon as possible, especially in popular vacation destinations.”

A representative from Enterprise Mobility also confirmed that holiday demand is at an all-time high.

“With the busy holiday season upon us, the demand for vehicle rentals at Enterprise Mobility is strong across all three of our rental brands — Enterprise, National, and Alamo — and we expect this to continue through the end of the year.  Hawaii is always a popular destination for holiday travelers – and our current reservations show this year is no different,” the representative said in an e-mailed statement. “From a pricing standpoint, our rates are determined by several supply and demand factors including location, dates of travel, length of rental, availability as well as when the reservation was made.”

On the Hilo side of the island, those same car rental companies offered limited availability. Hawaii Island native and filmmaker Kolby Akamu Moser told T+L that renting from Hilo International (ITO), the island’s more regional airport presents a different logistical challenge as it’s located about 77 miles from Kona.

“It’s a two hour drive to Hilo [from Kona], and then most of the time they won’t let you drop [the rental] off in Kona, so you’d have to go back through Hilo and somehow get to the other side,” she said.

Travelers planning ahead are reaching panic points, but the real pain will be for those waiting to rent a car upon arrival.

“Don’t forget, everyone flying in Christmas day is in the same boat — and many of them have NO idea they can’t get a rental,” a Hawaii-based Reddit moderator shared. “They’re just going to turn up at the rental counter to learn there aren’t any cars. So all the tourists are going to slam the Uber app at the exact same time.”

Moser also spoke to the recent lack of rental car availability at KOA, noting, “sometimes it’s really expensive, but this time it’s not even an option.” She also noted that in remote areas on the Big Island, such as Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Uber and Lyft are not reliable forms of transportation.

Savvy Reddit users and locals have suggested visitors prepare to spend the majority of their time in and around their resort destination, become familiar with Hele-On, the island’s public bus service, arrange for tours that provide transportation, and make use of the limited destinations rideshares like Uber and Lyft service in busier areas.

“Some resorts also offer car rentals on-property, should visitors only need a car for a portion of their time,” a representative from Hawaii Tourism Authority said adding that guests choosing not to rent a car can consider public transit and airport shuttles in addition to rideshares.