Oahu and Hawaii Island sustained the biggest drop in the number of properties listed as short-term vacation rentals, which has declined by as much as half in all the islands compared to pre-COVID days, according to a recent Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) news report.
"Oahu had the biggest decrease at about 49%, half as many vacation rentals as 2019," Erik Kloninger, a visitor industry analyst and Hawaii Tourism Industry consultant, said in a Feb. 4 HPR news story. "The other county that saw a big decrease was Hawaii Island, where the supply decreased about 43%.”
Vacation rental supply contracts in Maui and Kauai Counties were down 21% and 23% respectively.
The largest declines in vacation rental supply were in the City and County of Honolulu and Hawaii County, according to the HPR news story.
Hawaii’s hoteliers have had to contend with more than three-quarters of their hotel rooms across the islands empty throughout the pandemic, including during normally-busy December. Vacation rental bookings also are down sharply, though not by as much as traditional hotels in the islands have sustained.
A quarter of Hawaii hotel rooms were occupied over the holidays, compared to 40% of vacation rentals had tenants.
Kloninger also cautioned that the dismal data doesn't tell the entire story. While the number of short-term vacation rentals are down, those who are visiting the islands are staying longer, which means a property could be occupied but still not turn up in the booking platforms from which the data is compiled.
"A particular house might have been removed from Airbnb or VRBO," Klonginger told HPR. "But there could very well be someone renting that house right now and they’re not staying there for a week, they’re staying there for 3 months or 6 months."
HPR also cited economic forecasts that predict Hawaii's visitor industry can be expected to remain below 2019 levels for the next several years and that the short-term rental market probably will follow that trend.