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

21.12.2024 - 13:27 / travelandleisure.com

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.”

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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