Why Are Hotels In Hawaii So Expensive? (And Clever Ways To Save)

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Hotels in Hawaii have always been expensive, but the sticker shock is real. In early 2021, as the island opened its doors to travelers again, hotel deals could still be had. But now it seems like there are no deals to be found anywhere, and that hotel stay will take a serious bite out of your vacation budget.

All four of the major Hawaiian islands consistently make the top 10 list for most expensive average daily rate for hotel rooms in sand and sea destinations around the world. French Polynesia and the Maldives are the only two locations that have more expensive average daily hotel room rates than Maui.

Why are hotels so expensive in Hawaii right now (and all the time)? And how can you make sure you get the most value for your vacation dollars? I’m going to help you make sense of it all so you can plan your trip confidently.

As you’re looking for ways to save on hotels, choose the right Hawaiian island to meet your needs, then find the right area on that island:Where to stay on Maui (hint, Wailea is the most expensive)Where to stay on Kauai (the east side is cheaper but rainier)Where to stay on the Big Island (like Kauai, you’ll trade price for weather)Where to stay on Oahu (you’ll have more options on the cheapest island!)Where to Stay in Hawaii on Points – use your reward points for a free night.

Table of Contents

• Why are Hotels in Hawaii so Expensive?
  • Demand affects pricing.
  • Fees add to the total
• How We Save and Splurge on Hawaii Hotels
  • Travel in the shoulder season.
  • Check prices right before traveling.
  • Reward member pricing
  • Take advantage of multi-night stays.
  • Split time between hotel and vacation rental.
  • Use credit card rewards wisely
  • Go camping!

Why are Hotels in Hawaii so Expensive?

Demand affects pricing.

The tourism industry in Hawaii has been through some pretty extreme ups and downs since 2019 and so has hotel pricing.

Demand for hotels in Hawaii was pretty terrible in 2020 and slightly less terrible in 2021. But once all travel restrictions were lifted and people felt comfortable traveling again, demand for hotels saw a huge surge.

Room demand was up 58% in April 2022 compared to April 2021, so hotels adjusted their prices accordingly. The average daily rate for luxury hotels was up 18%, and for midscale and economy rooms, it was 14.5%.

Following the devastating August 2023 Lahaina Fire, hotel occupancy on West Maui fell 26.4% compared to the previous year as people (reasonably) canceled their vacations. Mixed messages from the media impacted tourism in Hawaii as a whole, and Maui continues to struggle over a year later.

Hotel rates fell accordingly, and in August 2024 the average daily rate (ADR) for hotels across the state of Hawaii was down 3% from 2023. Despite this fact, the ADRs for 2024 certainly don’t feel affordable:

Maui: $547.31 (down 7.6%)Big Island: $428.08 (up 1.3%)Kauai: $414.80 (up 0.5%)Oahu: $284.66 (up 1.1%)

Compared to the other islands, Oahu feels affordable, as it’s the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit.

Fees add to the total

Resort and parking fees are often overlooked fees that can add substantially to the bottom line of your bill, especially if you’re looking at one of the luxury accommodations.

For example, the Grand Wailea on Maui charges a $55 per day resort fee and a $65 per day valet parking fee (self-parking is not available). Turtle Bay on Oahu charges $49 – $90 per day for their resort fee and $40 per day for parking. So, at some of the luxury hotels, you’re looking at over $100 per night just in fees!

As of 2025, hotels were forced by law to be more transparent with their pricing. Resort fees are no included in the published room rate when you’re price shopping. Hotels will advertise their resort fee when you select a room. See how much it is and understand what is included in the resort fee.

You can save on your resort fee with our six strategies on How to Avoid Resort Fees in Hawaii.

Our things-to-do lists for the islands include plenty of free and low-cost options to keep you entertained. 21 Things to Do on the Big Island68 Things to Do on Maui with Kids35 Best Things to Do on Kauai10 Free Things to Do on North Shore Oahu

How We Save and Splurge on Hawaii Hotels

Traveling around Hawaii is our job, and it’s expensive. We are lucky to occasionally have discounts available to us through hotel media rates (though this is extremely rare for us). So, we are always looking for ways to maximize our travel dollars.

Here are some of the ways we save during our vacation.

If you’re looking for ways to save on guided tours on Maui, see our Maui coupon codes on our favorite Maui tours and activities.

Travel in the shoulder season.

This is our biggest tip to anyone with flexibility in their travel schedule. Traveling during less popular times is a huge help in getting better prices for accommodations, as well as making restaurant and activity reservations more easily. We try to do most of our island-hopping from September to November and April to May.

We were trying to make a trip to Kauai in June. We got started a little late on our travel planning and were shocked to find that not only were prices through the roof, but most hotels we were trying to book didn’t have availability. We pivoted and headed there in fall for much less than we were going to spend in June.

Shoulder season prices are just one of the many reasons we love traveling in October.

Check prices right before traveling.

While we try to plan as far ahead as possible, we rarely lock ourselves into a prepaid, non-refundable hotel room. With two kids and juggling different ideas for filming on trips, we like to keep things flexible. And we’ve been pleasantly surprised with cheaper hotel rates right before traveling. Last-minute price decreases aren’t incredibly common, but they do happen.

A few days before a trip, I do a quick check to see if I can find any better deals. Sometimes, I’m able to find a deal on Hotwire for the same hotel we’ve already booked. Other times, an alternative hotel nearby will pop up with great last-minute pricing.

When we shared this tip in our newsletter, two readers saved almost $1,500 each by rebooking their hotels!

Reward member pricing

This is an easy way to save a little. We are reward members with a number of different hotel chains. These programs are free to join and come with little perks (like free wifi or late checkout) plus you can earn points towards future free nights. But the most helpful, instant benefit I’ve seen is discounts for rewards members. I’m usually able to find 5%-10% discounts on room rates, but I’ve heard of other rewards members receiving up to 30% discounts on their room.

We end up staying at Marriott properties quite frequently as we can usually get at least a 5% discount through the free Marriott Bonvoy program. And when hotels are as expensive as they are out here, every little discount helps.

Take advantage of multi-night stays.

We rarely take two- or three-night trips—we’re generally traveling for a longer period, like most people visiting Hawaii. So, one of the first things I do when checking hotel pricing is to head to the offers page and see if the hotel is offering any discounts for extended stays. Often, hotels will have promotions where you stay for four nights and get the fifth night free (or some variation of that).

For example, the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island sometimes offers a fifth night free.

Many hotels are currently offering extended stay discounts through the Malama Hawai’i program. Participate in a dedicated volunteer opportunity and receive a discount on your hotel stay. Not only will you feel good about giving back, but it will enrich your vacation experience. There are a lot of opportunities that are actually really interesting, like restoring a fishpond.

Split time between hotel and vacation rental.

If we’re taking a long trip, we switch up the accommodations. While we used to be firmly in the “I love vacation rentals” camp, since having kids we’ve really seen the beauty of both picking a hotel and picking a vacation rental.

With a hotel, things are easy. We step out of the door and have grounds that we can quietly explore early in the morning and a pool that our son can spend hours in. We can easily head back for nap time, and most everything we need is at our fingertips (though we do pay a price premium). Staying at a hotel feels like a vacation for us parents, too.

Vacation rentals offer us more space, a glorious (and much-needed) kitchen, and they usually have much better pricing.

If we’re traveling for a week or more, we usually book a mix of hotel stays with a vacation rental booking. For example, we’re heading to Oahu for two weeks. Our first few days and our last few days are at a hotel with an eight-night stay at a vacation rental in the middle of the trip.

On previous trips, we’ve stayed our first week at a vacation rental and then enjoyed our last few nights at a hotel. When we adopt this strategy, we plan to go out on daily adventures more while staying at the vacation rental and then do more mellow pool and beach days while staying at the hotel.

Not only do we get to see more (and provide more reviews for you!), but we also get to save. The nightly cost of our vacation rental is less than half of what we’re spending per night at the hotels.

Trying to decide your vacation vibe? We help you choose between a hotel and a vacation rental.

Use credit card rewards wisely

We have mentioned before that 2022 was the year we finally learned how to maximize our travel rewards. Part of that includes using credit card promotions to our advantage. But as airline prices took a dive and hotel costs soared, we realized that we needed to use our points to book stays around the island.

(Note: It’s important to say that credit cards can be damaging if not used correctly. They can lead to a cycle of debt and large interest payments.)

We aren’t quite credit card point experts, but we’ve learned a lot in the past few years and have our Hawaii travel almost down to a science.

Here is Erica’s Travel to Hawaii for (almost) Free: A Beginner’s Guide to Credit Card Points.

For a luxury Hawaii hotel, the best offers are for Hyatt and Marriott properties. Hyatt Hotels in Hawaii will provide the best option for a free night.

We share Where to Stay in Hawaii with Points: 31 Top Hotels to help you find the right hotel for your group! We share the cards in our wallet in the button below. Click to learn more.

Best Travel Card Offers

We’ve been using a combination of travel credit cards help us splurge on some luxury hotels. Right now, we’re saving up our points for a trip to the Big Island, and we’re planning to spend a week at a VRBO in Kona Coffee Country, followed by a few nights at the Mauna Kea Hotel, where we can use some Marriott Bonvoy Points we’ve been working hard to accumulate.

Go camping!

This may have crossed your mind already because, let’s face it, is there a better place to pitch a tent than right on one of the most beautiful beaches in the country? We don’t think so.

Each of the Hawaiian islands offers a variety of ways to camp, from beachfront tent camping to fully equipped cabins. You can camp for as little as $3 a night (Kauai), pitch a tent on the side of an active volcano (Big Island and Maui), or camp in style on one of the world’s most famous islands for surfing (Oahu).

If you’re headed to Hawaii, you won’t want to miss our free in-depth island guides:

• Oahu Travel Guide
• Maui Travel Guide
• Big Island Travel Guide
• Kauai Travel Guide