Rental cars

[Ken555]

So do you have four bookings for the same dates? If so, don't you think you may be part of the reason prices are high? With four bookings of which only one will be used you have artificially increased the demand and thus the price. When multiplied by others doing the same . . .

They're not identical bookings. And, really, thanks for trying to blame me for making the already high rates high. Nice try!

 

[controller1]

They're not identical bookings. And, really, thanks for trying to blame me for making the already high rates high. Nice try!

Wasn't trying to blame you or anyone. I don't really care but I find it somewhat ironic you are posting in a thread that is primarily complaints of the high prices of rental cars.

It is pretty simple supply and demand. When the supply is fixed and the demand is artificially high then the result will be higher prices because of the demand. And even though they are "not identical bookings" you have reserved four cars and will only be renting one of them.

 

[Ken555]

Wasn't trying to blame you or anyone. I don't really care but I find it somewhat ironic you are posting in a thread that is primarily complaints of the high prices of rental cars.

Yet you felt compelled to suggest that I was partly to blame for the high prices.

It is pretty simple supply and demand. When the supply is fixed and the demand is artificially high then the result will be higher prices because of the demand. And even though they are "not identical bookings" you have reserved four cars and will only be renting one of them.

I understand supply and demand. The demand was high BEFORE I booked at all - that's mostly the reason why I contributed to this thread at all. And you've got it wrong again, but that's because I didn't post details. I reserved four cars total from various sources, but none are exact duplicate date ranges, etc. You also didn't ask, but i have no intention of keeping these reservations for more than a short time, perhaps a few days or a week, before I cancel most of them. Give a guy a little credit, eh?

 

[Ken555]

Also, FWIW, two of the rentals I booked are for the same trip. One from JHM for a week, then another later on from JHM to OGG - anticipating in that scenario I won't need a car the entire trip. That scenario would actually HELP supply... you're welcome.

 

[bobpark56]

I had 2 bookings for our May Maui visit, and it's a good thing I did. The off-airport Hertz location for one my bookings has decided to close 2 hours earlier than when I booked, making it impossible for me to get there before they closed. Hertz never bothered to notify me, and now that I have learned about the closing, they are refusing to honor my booking...or to transfer it to another rental location. It's a good thing I have a back-up booking.

 

[KS2beach]

Prices in Hawaii are insane currently for a rental car. We’re going to Ko Olina in May and prices are four times higher then normal.

We are going 1st week in June to Maui- I booked months ago for $295 for a week- I see now are wanting $800-- Crazy!

 

[easyrider]

Yet you felt compelled to suggest that I was partly to blame for the high prices.

Indeed Ken. We all know it was YOU !!!!

Bill

 

[mayamart]

Just did some research and found either "no cars available" or $1100 (for a compact) for 5 days in April 17-22 on Big Island

 

[lynne]

some insight on the situation

‘Carmageddon’ Crashes Into Big Island, as Rental Industry Swallowed by Mass Demand | Big Island Now

Anyone on the hunt for a rental car in Hawai´i is in for a disappointing month. At least.

bigislandnow.com

 

[mayamart]

Have a trip planned in 2 weeks to Big Island. Found every rental site "out of inventory,' with the exception of one or two--which were quoting $1100-1400 for a mid-size for 5 days! I called the Chamber of Commerce and she told me to try a local travel discount company, HawaiiDiscount.

I was able to get a voucher for $313 (plus tax/airport fees at counter) for a rental car thru Alamo! HawaiiDiscount has inside agreements with the car rental companies at KOA & HNL airports and I have been assured that the voucher will be honored. I plan to call Alamo today, to double check...

 

[lynne]

Have a trip planned in 2 weeks to Big Island. Found every rental site "out of inventory,' with the exception of one or two--which were quoting $1100-1400 for a mid-size for 5 days! I called the Chamber of Commerce and she told me to try a local travel discount company, HawaiiDiscount.

I was able to get a voucher for $313 (plus tax/airport fees at counter) for a rental car thru Alamo! HawaiiDiscount has inside agreements with the car rental companies at KOA & HNL airports and I have been assured that the voucher will be honored. I plan to call Alamo today, to double check...

Even after securing reservations, some car companies are canceling the reservation. Before COVID, there were many times KOA rental agencies were oversold, leaving many to taxi and Uber around even though they had a reservation. At KOA last week there were no cars in the lots--you will simply queue up waiting for ones to be returned.

 

[cerralee]

I have a three week trip planned for mid April that includes one week at Ko OLina and two weeks in Waikiki. Usually we borrow my daughters car as she walks to work and we stay close enough to car share. She lost her jobs (she had three) during COVID and decided to use the setback to go back to School and obtain her teaching certification. Now she is assigned to a school that requires daily travel and thus no car sharing. I am at the point where I am considering canceling as one of the reasons for the trip was to help her out with our grandson so she can get her work load under control. She has a tiny apartment and it’s already claustrophobic. Adding two adults to the mix just isn’t the answer. Car rental is $700-$800 per week. We really weren’t expecting that. I’m getting stressed trying to figure it out.

 

[bogey21]

Even after securing reservations, some car companies are canceling the reservation.

And how do you think they will choose which reservations cancel? I'll bet it is the ones for $295 rather than the ones for $1,000...

George

 

[Kapolei]

I have a three week trip planned for mid April that includes one week at Ko OLina and two weeks in Waikiki. Usually we borrow my daughters car as she walks to work and we stay close enough to car share. She lost her jobs (she had three) during COVID and decided to use the setback to go back to School and obtain her teaching certification. Now she is assigned to a school that requires daily travel and thus no car sharing. I am at the point where I am considering canceling as one of the reasons for the trip was to help her out with our grandson so she can get her work load under control. She has a tiny apartment and it’s already claustrophobic. Adding two adults to the mix just isn’t the answer. Car rental is $700-$800 per week. We really weren’t expecting that. I’m getting stressed trying to figure it out.

Don’t stress. Take the bus.

 

[zentraveler]

Don’t stress. Take the bus.

I can second TheBus in Waikiki. I love having a car when I travel and rent them everywhere except Waikiki. Inexpensive, runs on schedule, has a route system more reliable and workable than San Francisco and with a short learning curve is really quite fabulous. I get a car service from HNL (TheBus is not so thrilled with luggage) and then just get around without a car easily: TheBus.

For Ko Olina you probably will want a car, or go loaded with what you want for groceries and check beforehand about what is open for restaurants and delivery. Several resorts are walkable, but nothing much in terms of grocery.

 

[legalfee]

We're not going until November. Hopefully this mess will be ended by then. If not we'll use cabs and UBER.

 

[tborr123]

It's not just Hawaii. I've been looking in the Costa del Sol, Spain, and most everything has been at least twice as costly as in past years. Finally found 2 well-reviewed vendors that were reasonable, though...433 euros for 37 days (class C cars).
As for Hawaii, we have 2 bookings on Maui for 30 days in May at reasonable prices (will be cancelling one). One is for $706, the other is for $744 (Hyundai Elantras or equivalent). Part of the secret is to book off-airport, but you need to get there before 5 pm. The other part of the secret is to book early. Going through Costco helps with this.

Looked for a car in Salt Lake City for this week, and the same outrageous price of about $175 a day. Then searched Hawaii for May 1 and the price dropped to about $75 a day.

 

[SmithOp]

I still have my corp Hertz code, I searched without it for Hawaii BI in Sep, $109 a day for mid size. Put in the corp code and it dropped like a rock to $28 a day. Costco Enterprise came in at $58 a day. Guess I know which one to go with for this years’s trip.

 

[cerralee]

I can second TheBus in Waikiki. I love having a car when I travel and rent them everywhere except Waikiki. Inexpensive, runs on schedule, has a route system more reliable and workable than San Francisco and with a short learning curve is really quite fabulous. I get a car service from HNL (TheBus is not so thrilled with luggage) and then just get around without a car easily: TheBus.

For Ko Olina you probably will want a car, or go loaded with what you want for groceries and check beforehand about what is open for restaurants and delivery. Several resorts are walkable, but nothing much in terms of grocery.

I can second TheBus in Waikiki. I love having a car when I travel and rent them everywhere except Waikiki. Inexpensive, runs on schedule, has a route system more reliable and workable than San Francisco and with a short learning curve is really quite fabulous. I get a car service from HNL (TheBus is not so thrilled with luggage) and then just get around without a car easily: TheBus.

For Ko Olina you probably will want a car, or go loaded with what you want for groceries and check beforehand about what is open for restaurants and delivery. Several resorts are walkable, but nothing much in terms of grocery.

The bus for Waikiki is probably what we are doing for Waikiki. Our grandson stays with us and getting him to Kaimuki for school in the morning will be our biggest challenge but he knows the bus schedules and will help us out. Hubby and I can take turns getting up in the morning or just drop him off the night before at my daughters.

She (daughter) is checking with one of her friends who sells used cars about the possibility of renting one of his cars for the week when we are at Ko Olina. I haven’t had time to research all the what if’s that could be tied into this scenario and if it works out fine...if not we will still have her transporting us around to pick us up at the airport and do a food run before we are “isolated” (poor, poor pitiful us) at Ko Olina for a few days.

 

[zentraveler]

The bus for Waikiki is probably what we are doing for Waikiki.

There is a senior price for TheBus if you are "of a certain age" (Medicare age or disabled). All I had to do was bring a copy of my medicare card (I made a copy and had it laminated so I could just easily show it to the driver) and and pay $1.00 - and you get a transfer so it ended up being round trip for $1 to go places. (I live in San Francisco; nothing costs $1.00 )

They have since raised the price to $1.25 which is kind of a pain, but still beyond cheap. There is also an annual or weekly senior pass which I looked into getting for the ease of not paying every time, but the place where one gets them not conveniently located and not worth the headache unless you are staying for a while or visit frequently in a year.

 

[ann824]

We made reservations through autoslash/Priceline/hertz for April 20 - 29. I have tried to find a decent backup without luck. I’m really nervous about getting there and not having a car.

 

[VacationForever]

We are going to Ko Olina in Oahu for 2 weeks starting middle of April. We had originally booked a full size SUV for about $950 for the 2 weeks. United changed flights and I went ahead and rebooked it for a different pick-up time. The charge went up to $1400. I grumbled as United's change of flight cost an additional $450 in car rental. It went up to almost $2000 and now it is no longer available. Also, my COVID test is scheduled for 71 hours before the flight so I really hope United doesn't mess with our flights again.

 

[mayamart]

I have a three week trip planned for mid April that includes one week at Ko OLina and two weeks in Waikiki. Usually we borrow my daughters car as she walks to work and we stay close enough to car share. She lost her jobs (she had three) during COVID and decided to use the setback to go back to School and obtain her teaching certification. Now she is assigned to a school that requires daily travel and thus no car sharing. I am at the point where I am considering canceling as one of the reasons for the trip was to help her out with our grandson so she can get her work load under control. She has a tiny apartment and it’s already claustrophobic. Adding two adults to the mix just isn’t the answer. Car rental is $700-$800 per week. We really weren’t expecting that. I’m getting stressed trying to figure it out.

I highly suggest calling HawaiiDiscount.com. Friendly, local business. Great rates on rental cars. Once I got my voucher with the reservation #, called and confirmed with Alamo and they said I do have a reserved car.

 

[mayamart]

We are going to Ko Olina in Oahu for 2 weeks starting middle of April. We had originally booked a full size SUV for about $950 for the 2 weeks. United changed flights and I went ahead and rebooked it for a different pick-up time. The charge went up to $1400. I grumbled as United's change of flight cost an additional $450 in car rental. It went up to almost $2000 and now it is no longer available. Also, my COVID test is scheduled for 71 hours before the flight so I really hope United doesn't mess with our flights again.

Call HawaiiDiscount--they can get much less expensive reservations!

 

[mayamart]

We made reservations through autoslash/Priceline/hertz for April 20 - 29. I have tried to find a decent backup without luck. I’m really nervous about getting there and not having a car.

Call HawaiiDiscount--they can get much less expensive reservations!