2:22
Hawaii’s hotel industry had a bad year. Hoteliers were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than three-quarters of hotel rooms across the islands empty in the normally-busy month of December.
Bookings for vacation rental properties are also down, but much less than for traditional hotels.
While only one-quarter of Hawaii hotel rooms were occupied over the end of year holiday season, 40% of vacation rentals had tenants.
That still represents a substantial decline from the 2019-2020 holiday season. The specific numbers vary, but all islands saw occupancy rates down between 25% and 50% percent year-over-year.
Notably, the number of properties being used as vacation rentals has also declined on all islands.