Rental Car Demand Pushes Hawaiian Tourists Toward U-Haul

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

With car rentals crippled through 2020 as society collectively stopped traveling in response to the pandemic, businesses entered 2021 with the perfect excuse to charge exorbitant fees to lend out some of the cheapest vehicles on the market. Cities have it particularly bad as rental firms find themselves with a surplus of locals wanting to escape and not enough vehicles to serve them. Daily rates now surpass three figures in metropolitan areas and can balloon by hundreds more if a customer wants to return the vehicle out of state (depending on the agency).

However, Hawaii is where things start to get really weird. The islands are reportedly in such short supply of rental cars that tourists are borrowing U-Hauls, where the biggest concerns of mileage and finding a parking space pale in comparison to the upfront cost of something more typical of vacationing families.

According to Hawaii News Now, via Carsoops, the cheapest rental car on Maui in March was a Toyota Camry which cost $722 per day. Convertibles were alleged to set you back hundreds more. But we couldn’t verify that for April since they’ve become impossible to find. While you can bring rates down by booking in advance, those hoping to find a vehicle for less than $200 a day will need to reserve a car roughly a full month in advance or just walk in and hope they get lucky.

By contrast, U-Hauls (cargo van or pickup truck) can be obtained for as little as $19.95 plus $0.89 per mile driven. But some vacationers reportedly spent more on box trucks when nothing else was available in March. It’s definitely one of the sadder life hacks we’ve come across. But it could save you a bundle if the alternative is spending almost a grand per day for a car you don’t even like driving.

From Hawaii News Now:

“The uptick from tourism, the uptick from companies opening back up, from the economy restarting — everybody seems to need a vehicle,” said U-Haul Marketing President Kaleo Alau.

Alau said Hawaii U-Haul facilities are the busiest they’ve been in years.

“Most of the time they’re saying that they can’t get a vehicle from any of the rental spots. They’re all sold out,” Alau said.

We’ve little sympathy for the rental firms here. Hertz was just one of a handful of companies that had to file for bankruptcy in 2020 and dumped their surplus vehicles in a desperate bid to remain solvent. But competitors weren’t interested in taking the risk of buying up a bunch of cheap vehicles just because they might someday see their customers return. Instead, agencies played a similarly conservative game and waited to see who among them could best endure the financial drought. While the lapse in supply might make it seem like they’ve missed an opportunity, they appear to be making up for it with the kind of pricing our older readers might reference as “highway robbery.”

We’re doubtful prices will come down anywhere close to what we saw a few months ago. Most rental agencies were fairly conservative in the number of fleet vehicles they thought they might need going into 2021 and the automotive industry is dealing with supply chain issues that are creating rolling work stoppages. Resupplying rental fleets is going to take some time and companies might not be all that interested when they can charge ludicrous prices in just about every region. We’ll be crossing our fingers for your summer vacation plans, whether you manage to snag the rental you wanted or have to stuff your family into the back of a Ford Transit wearing the U-Haul livery.

[Image: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Azmtns Azmtns on Apr 28, 2021

    We visited family on the Big Island last month. The last time we were there was pre-covid. Rental cars rates were high, especially for 4x4's. That was the only type of vehicle that seemed in short supply. Scopkins, I agree with a lot of what you said. At least Hawaii (Big Island) has more space than Maui so we can get away from these people.

  • 3SpeedAutomatic 3SpeedAutomatic on Apr 28, 2021

    Just received my second vaccine. Attempting to use up some airline credits before they expire with a trip to Ft Lauderdale. It's amazing what the airlines are charging for seats that used to go for $175 to $250 roundtrip coach pre COVID. Also surprised at the quoted rental car rates on Expedia. Normally pay $30 to $45 per day, depending on type of car. Now quoting $75 to $85 per day for the weekend prior to the Memorial Day weekend. Even the offsite agencies are quoting big bucks. WOW!!! No fun!!

  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
  • SCE to AUX "...the complete Mustang model lineup to peruse"Will the fake Mustang show up, too?
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