European Special 
FAQ
Testimonials
Hawaii News *
Hawaii Top 10 Lists
Contact Us
About Us
6/22/2011 Today we received notice, as of July 1st, 2011, all Rental Car Companies (as described further down in the article) will be subject to an increased surcharge. Regardless of the booking date these increases will apply to no matter when the car was booked and what originally was quoted in taxes. The new tax will be apllied as of July 1st, 2011 for all Cars.
This change primarily effects cars rented from Off-Site (Airport) Locations. (Honolulu, Waikiki, Kaanapali/Maui).
Effective July 1, 2011 the Hawaii State rental motor vehicle surcharge tax will increase from $3/day to $7.50/day. This rate will be in effect from July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2012, at which time the rental motor vehicle surcharge tax will revert back to $3/day barring any further legislations.
Unfortunately this will come as an unwelcomed surprise for most customers as the car rental companies have not yet included this significant tax increase in their cost estimates and rental confirmation notifications as the bill was only signed by Governor Neil Abercrombie on June 9, 2011.
Ref: DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 2011-08
http://www.state.hi.us/tax/announce/ann11-08.pdf
Lawmakers covet fees on rental cars
A revenue-generating surcharge could replace one meant for airport fixes
By Derrick DePledge
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 22, 2011
Lawmakers are considering suspending a rental car surcharge whose revenue is marked for airport upgrades and enacting a new surcharge whose revenue could be used to help close the state budget gap. Lee and Nancy Bondurant of Idaho loaded their gear into their Avis rental car yesterday at Honolulu Airport.
Hunting for a ready source of cash to help balance the budget, state lawmakers might divert some of the daily surcharges that tourists and others pay on rental cars.
A surcharge on customers who rent cars at airports was increased last September to $4.50 a day — up from $1 — to help finance rental car facility improvements.
Under federal law, lawmakers can use that money only for airport-related projects. But lawmakers might suspend the surcharge and increase a separate surcharge on all rental cars by $4.50 a day — to $7.50, up from $3 — and divert the extra cash to help close the state's projected $1.3 billion deficit over the next two years.
While the switch has received little attention — the Senate Ways and Means Committee added it to a bill (House Bill 1039) earlier this month — it would generate about $60 million a year for the general fund, the second-largest potential source of new revenue to balance the budget after the temporary suspension of general excise tax exemptions on some business activities.
Tourists will likely not notice any difference — since most rent cars at airports and would pay the same $7.50 a day in surcharges regardless — but others, including many residents, who rent at other locations would have to pay $4.50 more per day.
LAWMAKERS ALSO would authorize the state to issue general-obligation bonds to replace the money that was supposed to go toward new rental car facilities at airports.
The bonds would require the state to make debt-service payments — a liability on all taxpayers — and could force the state to juggle or delay other construction proj ects to stay within debt limits.
The state Department of Transportation had expected to use the money from the rental car facility surcharge to finance a new complex at Honolulu Airport scheduled for construction next year and completion by 2016. The department planned to sell revenue bonds backed by the surcharge for improvements at airports on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island through 2017.
"It moves a lot of money that we need into the general fund, and it replaces it with bonds, which actually helps them do their proj ects now," said state Sen. J. Kalani English (D, East Maui-Lanai-Molokai), chairman of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee.
State Rep. Joseph Souki (D, Waihee-Wailuku), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said the proposal would not harm the department or the rental car companies that want new airport facilities.
"I don't know why anybody would complain," he said. "You're just replacing cash with another form of cash."
Souki said he does have concerns about the debt-service payments from issuing additional bonds, but he believes some trade-offs are necessary to balance the budget.
State Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai) has opposed the creation of special funds because lawmakers often raid the money for other purposes. Lawmakers would not be raiding the rental car facility special fund, but instead tinkering with the surcharge, and increasing a separate surcharge that normally goes into the state Highway Fund, to access cash.
The switch would also impose a higher surcharge on people — more likely to be residents — who rent cars at locations other than airports.
"It is a question of taking the money and not using it for the purpose it was supposed to," Slom said. "I have been opposed to those raids, particularly where you have a situation where the public was led to believe that the money was going to be used for one purpose, it was not used for that purpose and is now basically being dumped into the general fund."
The Department of Transportation initially opposed the switch before officials learned of the bond component. Dan Mei sen zahl, a spokesman for the department, said department officials are talking with lawmakers about an acceptable draft.
The department has been planning a consolidated rental car complex at Honolulu Airport because of complaints from visitors about the cramped, open-air strip now shared by rental car outlets there.
Rental car companies have told senators that the rental car facility surcharge is an important source of dedicated revenue for airport improvements.
Garrick Higuchi, Hawaii area director of operations at DTG Operations Inc. — which runs Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental — told senators in testimony that rental car facilities have fallen behind in other infrastructure that serves tourists.
Higuchi said the rental car industry has been working with the department for several years on airport improvements and does not want to risk any disruptions.
"It is in Hawaii's best interests to continue to proceed quickly to accomplish the construction of state-of-the-art vehicle rental facilities," he said.
Cell phone citations are being issued, say police
January 7, 2011 - By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer Maui-News
WAILUKU - After issuing nearly 300 citations to drivers using cell phones or other electronic devices since a Maui County ban took effect in July, Maui police are applying for a grant that could lead to increased enforcement.
Lt. Michael Kaho'ohanohano, commander of the police Traffic Section, discussed the enforcement efforts during a police town hall meeting Wednesday night while responding to a woman's question about why police aren't enforcing the cell phone ban.
About 35 people attended the meeting hosted by Police Chief Gary Yabuta at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku.
Yabuta said traffic issues are the biggest concern of residents.
On Wednesday night, police officials fielded questions about noise from boomboxes in vehicles, Waihee School traffic and speeding on Mill Street, in addition to the cell phone ban.
Yabuta said police are enforcing the cell phone ban. But he said there's a cultural belief that it's OK to use cell phones while driving, comparing it with attitudes about seat belts before laws required their use.
"It took a while. It took enforcement, behavior modification, education to show drivers we're saving lives," Yabuta said.
Maui County now has a 97.5 percent compliance rate for seat-belt use, but police still issue 2,500 seatbelt citations annually, Kaho'ohanohano said.
He said most of the nearly 300 cell phone citations have been issued in the Wailuku Patrol District, which includes Central Maui and Upcountry areas.
If police receive the distracted driver grant, the money could be used for more enforcement of the new law, which covers not only cell phones but other electronic devices, including iPods, Kaho'ohanohano said.
"It's going to take a while for people to get accustomed to it," he said. "Hopefully, one day we can reach a 97 percent compliance rate."
In addition to talking on the phone, drivers have been cited for sending text messages and adjusting iPods, he said.
Contacted after the meeting, Traffic Sgt. Barry Aoki said drivers have been cited for holding cell phones while using them in speaker phone mode.
"People think because you don't have your cell phone up to your ear and do it on speaker phone, it's OK," he said. "Any kind of electronic device held in your hand while operating a vehicle is illegal."
Aoki said he recently saw a tourist holding a digital camera with his hand raised through the sunroof while driving, which is also a violation.
"You could have an electric shaver in your hand and that would be a violation," Kaho'ohanohano said.
The law provides an exception for hands-free electronic devices.
At times, Kaho'ohanohano said, a police officer may see an oncoming driver talking on a cell phone but may be unable to safely make a U-turn in traffic to cite the violator.
During a similar town hall meeting in Wailuku in November 2009, residents complained about speeding on nearby Eha Street, where the speed limit is 20 mph.
On Wednesday night, Wailuku resident Charles Kaili III said police have done a good job of enforcement to keep speeds down on Eha Street, but he wanted to see the same kind of effort on Mill Street. He said his girlfriend is afraid to drive from their house because of the speeding cars.
"If you can, make it on your agenda to help me out," he said.
Kaho'ohanohano said Kaili and other residents worried about speeding could call the police Traffic Section or their district commander to report problems. He said police would try to address the concerns.
As the meeting was beginning Wednesday evening, Wailuku patrol officer Keith Taguma was on Eha Street, working beyond his regular hours under grant funding to issue speeding citations, Kaho'ohanohano said.
"By him being present, what's everybody doing? Slowing down," Kaho'ohano-hano said. "But he can't be there 24 hours a day. We can't be every place at one time."
Officers sometimes have trouble issuing citations for boomboxes exceeding noise limits because drivers will turn down the devices when they see a police car, Kaho'o-hanohano said. But he said residents can provide license plate numbers and descriptions of the vehicles and sign complaints if they want to pursue prosecution.
As for Waihee School, where a resident complained about the traffic hazards for children, Kaho'ohanohano said the situation is created because parents drop children off on the roadway to avoid driving into the school when traffic backs up. He said a larger parking lot would be one solution.
*by Lila Fujimoto
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5/3/10 Today the last of the 5 National Rental Car Companies announced, that they no longer guarantee that the Standard SUV comes as a 4WD. Until Spring this year, Alamo had officially the Chevy Trailblazer as a Standard SUV and it came as a 4WD. (Budged, Avis, Thrifty, Dollar ec. changed there fleet to Standard SUV 2WD's already last year (2009). However, what that means is, that you may still get a 4 WD when booking a Standard SUV thru Alamo, but we can not guarantee it, since it depense on what models of cars are available at your pick up. The procedure with Alamo is, like, after you signed the paperwork at the desk, they tell you to go to the parking lot and pick a car of your choice in section B. And if there are Trailblzers available, you can get a 4WD. However, the only way to guarantee a 4 WD Car, is to book a Jeep Wrangler. And to make things easier... there is NO WAY to book a 4 Dooor Jeep Wrangler since they don't have enough. The only Jeep Wrangler which is available to book at this point is the 2 Dollar Jeep Wrangler.
4/6/10 Price drop. All rental agencies dropped there rates. We have now the lowest rates since 1995. For only 113 Dollars per week you can now rent a car in Hawaii. This is amazing. Book now as long as the rates are down. Once booked and confirmed your rate will not go up.
3/1/10 We got low rates all year long all the way till christmas 2010. Most likely the rental agencies will impose high season rates toward summer time (last year it was from 7/15 - 8/15). However, if you book your car now, you get the low rate and once the car is confirmed, you will not be subject for the High-Season-Rate". And since we don't need your creditcard information to book the car, you are "not on a hook", and you can cancel the car should you change your planes. Our suggestion is: BOOK YOUR CAR NOW! You have no risk and nothing to loose.
2/28/10 Merry Monarch is on its way and all cars are going to be sold out on the Big Island early April because of this event. We suggest to book your car right away, even if you are not sure if you are getting the Ticktes or not, you can always cancel the car (please do so) if for any reason you end up not going. But once it is sold out, you will not get a car or only for tripple rates. (One of the Companies had cars last year. They sold a Economy car for 1000 Dollars a week)!!!
2/10/10 Once again, cars are going to be short for Valentines Day and Presidents Day on all Islands. As usualy we suggest to book rather sooner than later.
9/1/09 Don't delay on booking a car for your Christmas vacation. All cars are going to be sold out, as they are every year, but this year cars will be sold out even earlier due to the reduced inventory. You can always cancel a reservation with us at NO CHARGE. Don't take a chance on ending up without car as happens to so many people each year. Or getting charged triple rates because there are no cars available.
NOTE: Since rental car companies are currently short on cars, especially during holiday seasons or when special events occur (see article below), we strongly suggest that you book your car well in advance of your trip. Book the car first and then get your airline tickets. You can still make changes to your car reservation after you buy your airline ticket, but you will have a hard time returning your airline ticket if you leave it too late and find out that all the rental companies are sold out. Or that the only agency which still has cars (usually Hertz) charges $800 for an Economy car for one week. With us, you can cancel your rental car at any time, right up to the pick-up day for FREE - NO CANCELLATION FEE!
Here is what we recommend:KAHULUI - With fewer tourists vacationing on Maui, car rental companies have decreased their fleets - some by double-digit percentages, leaving renters scrambling to find available vehicles.
"We probably won't come (to Maui) until June, if we can get a car over there," said John Farmer, of Portland, OR, who visits Maui five times a year.
Farmer was planning a March visit but said cars were sold out at his usual rental agency, Alamo Rent A Car. He also couldn't find cars at National Car Rental and Avis Rent A Car. Hertz Rent A Car was offering a rental at $500 a week, which Farmer said was too much to pay so he canceled his trip.
Oahu resident John Naughton and his wife were trying to find a rental car on Maui in February so they could attend a special ceremony in Hana to remember the crew members of the Sarah Joe, a lost boat from Hana that Naughton found years later on a remote atoll.
"Several of us were trying to get over there and get cars. My wife and I had a big problem: We couldn't find cars anywhere," he said.
Naughton said his wife, who works in the travel business, called Hawaiian Airlines, which helped them get a rental from a national chain.
"I never had a problem before," he said.
Terryl Vencl, executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau, said bureau officials are aware of the rental car shortage and are working on the problem.
"Obviously, visitors need a car in a destination such as Maui.We are hoping that the situation is remedied soon and always stand ready to assist if we can," she said.
Apparently, Maui isn't the only place where the rental car pool has shrunk. Rental car chains said it's also a trend elsewhere.
Alice Pereira, a spokeswoman for Avis and Budget Car Rental, said in an email that, in response to lower demand, the companies have also decreased their fleets "everywhere, not just Maui."
"There's no secret that the economy has had a dramatic impact on tourism to the islands," said Chris Payne, senior manager of corporate communications for the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. "With fewer vacationers, we've had no choice but to cut fleet in order to remain profitable and be able to serve customers to the area."
In an email, Payne said Dollar Rent A Car Systems and Thrifty Car Rental decreased their fleets on Maui by a double-digit percentage, but he said he couldn't be more specific because such information is proprietary.
Adjustments to the fleet began in the second quarter of 2008, following and as a direct result of last year's shutdowns of Aloha Airlines and ATA, he said.
Payne compared the drop in business with falling hotel occupancy rates. But unlike hotels that can't "unload" rooms, car rental companies can lower their inventories and are fortunate to be able to make such "nimble adjustments," Payne said.
"If we had not cut fleet consistent with decreased traffic, we would have had to dramatically cut pricing to the point that it would have a negative impact on our business," he wrote.
"Our fleet size is continually adjusted to correlate to customer demand," wrote Laura Bryant, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which also owns National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car. "In addition, we are positioned for - and committed to - future growth in Maui."
Alamo plans to launch service on Molokai in June and hire locally for the operation, said Alamo Vice President and General Manager Paul Kopel.
A Hertz official did not respond to an inquiry last week.
Kim Schauman of Oahu received rides from friends and borrowed cars after she couldn't find a rental car on Maui over the President's Day weekend in February.
"I was really surprised to not be able to find a car to rent on Maui, especially since all reports pointed to lower-than-usual hotel occupancy rates," she said via email.
She said she tried Hotwire.com and searched for cars on Dollar, Hertz, and Alamo Web sites, but found nothing. A smaller rental car company, Word of Mouth Rent-A-Car, was also booked, she said.
Schauman found a flight-and-car package with Hawaiian Airlines, but it would cost her $158 plus tax to rent a car for a day. That was too expensive, she said.
Schauman, who is with the nonprofit group Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, was heading to Maui to attend the opening of the exhibit "Key Ingredients: America by Food" at Maui Community College.
"If I had just wanted to travel to Maui for vacation, I probably would have canceled my plans when I couldn't find a car to rent," she said.
Farmer warns that the lack of rental cars could be another hit for Maui's visitor industry, which is already suffering.
"People won't come over if they can't get a car," he said.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
