Car Rental Hawaii
by NKT Travel
Australia NZ UK 
European Special 
FAQ
Testimonials
Hawaii News *
Hawaii Top 10 Lists
Contact Us
About Us
7/1/10 Today, the state of Hawaii decided to increase the " Customer Facility Surcharge"to 4.50 per day per Septermber 1st. That means they increased it from 1 Dollar per day to 4.50 per day - a 3.50 Dollar increase. PER DAY!! This is 24.50 Dollar for a weekly rental in additional surcharges on tourists, visiting our beautiful islands. All rental car companies are forced charging this fee as of September 1st. The surcharge will also be added to cars which where booked before the official increase. If you compare rates with different companies, we strongly suggest to compare mainly the price before taxes since some companies do not show the new increased rate as of now - but you will still be charged when picking a car up after Sept. 1st.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AIRPORT RENTAL FEES TO RISE (Star-Advertiser By Sean Hao) 7/6/10
Money generated from a $3.50-per-day boost will pay for new facilities for auto agencies
Airport rental car users face a $3.50-a-day fee hike starting in September to finance a $497 million plan to build consolidated rental car facilities at four Hawaii airports.
The increase to $4.50 from $1 a day will last 20 years or more and was pushed by rental car agencies and state airport officials. Their goal is to create close, centralized facilities for auto rental companies that will improve customer service and reduce costs.
"The goal is, if they improve their operational efficiency, then they can save on costs because now they have some shared areas," said state Transportation Director Brennan Morioka. "The intent obviously is for them to pass the savings on to their customers in terms of lower rates."
The estimated $50 million a year raised will finance a planned four-level, $229 million facility at Honolulu Airport located on the site where the Avis, National, Budget, Hertz and Dollar agencies share an open-air lot at the Diamond Head end of the airport.
Another, $190.5 million project is planned for Kahului Airport, and smaller facilities are planned for Lihue and Hilo.
Those new facilities, which could start opening sometime in 2013, depending on when construction begins, will be financed by raising a current $1-a-day rental vehicle facility surcharge to $4.50 a day. The Legislature approved the increase earlier this year.
That hike represents about a 30 percent increase in the $11.47 in typical fees and taxes due on a $45 a day airport car rental. However, the added $3.50 a day charge represents a fraction of the typical visitor budget. Through May the average Hawaii visitor from the Western U.S. spent $141.20 a day, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
At least one tourism executive questioned whether Honolulu really needs a new $229 million rental facility. Visitor money spent on that facility is money that otherwise would have gone to restaurants, tour operators and others that cater to tourists, said Reg White, vice president for project development for Paradise Cruise Ltd., which operates the Star of Honolulu.
"It hurts us. It hurts the restaurants and other businesses," White said. "All of them get beat up when you take money away from them.
"I don't see why they need something like that. If the (auto rental) industry wants this facility, they should pay for it themselves," White added.
Honolulu's new facility will allow for enhanced security for rental vehicles and increased comfort for customers, who'll no longer have to wait outside when renting vehicles, said Aaron Medina, general manager for Hertz Hawaii operations.
The construction of consolidated rental car facilities is part of an industry trend, said Medina, who is also president of Catrala-Hawaii, a nonprofit trade group representing major rental car companies. Centralized facilities allow rental agencies to share some physical resources along with services such as shuttle buses.
Similar consolidated rental car facilities exist at mainland airports ranging from Anchorage, Alaska, to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Costs vary widely and include $170 million spent in Las Vegas and a $419 million five-story facility at the Seattle-Tacoma airport.
According to a feasibility study conducted by the state, Honolulu rental agencies will get about one rental car day of business from every five air passengers to Oahu.
Whether that number declines once fees rise remains to be seen.
Medina said there's no concern that consumers will balk at the higher price resulting from the fee hike. If anything the new facility should increase business, he said. "The industry has pursued these facilities in many airports around the country, and in no cases have we seen a drop in business as a result."
Customers who don't want to pay the higher fee can always rent from a rental agency that's not located on airport property, Medina said. Customers of those agencies aren't subject to the $4.50-a-day fee.
"A customer has a choice," Medina said.
However, the number of off-airport rental agencies in Honolulu is expected to decline as some, including Alamo and Enterprise, relocate into the new facility, according to the state.
That should result in increased revenue for state airports, Morioka said.
"Because we're consolidating all the rental car companies onto airport properties, we do expect to see some of our concession revenues go up because there are some rental car companies that are off property (and) they don't pay any revenue into the airports, but their customers are coming from the airports," he said. "We would have had issues if all ofthem did not come on" to airport property, Morioka added
Honolulu Airpoort Car-Rental hub envisioned to help visitors
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer (1/15/2010)
The state is moving ahead with plans to build a consolidated rental car facility serving the Honolulu International Airport and to pay for it with a tax of up to $5 per day on car rentals.
The planned multistory Honolulu facility is expected to house six current airport rental car providers as well as other rental car agencies now near the airport.
The main purpose for building a consolidated rental car facility is to improve the rental car experience for Honolulu visitors.
Co-locating in one building should create operational efficiencies and economies of scale, said Aaron Medina, president of Catrala-Hawaii, a car and truck rental association.
Honolulu visitors needing to rent a car deal with crowded shuttle buses, airport traffic congestion and, once they arrive at the rental car lot, are exposed to sun and rain, Medina said. Current airport rental facilities also have limited room for staging rental cars, which can cause delays, he added.
"That's a complaint we get from our customers every day — what a terrible facility," said Medina, general manager for Hertz in Hawai'i. "They don't know the difference whether it's the (fault of the) airport or us. All they care about is it's just a bad experience."
As of October, the state had raised nearly $12 million from a $1-a-car daily fee that took effect in September 2008. Lawmakers passed the surcharge to pay for design and construction of consolidated rental vehicle facilities statewide.
The new rental car facility, which could open sometime in 2013 depending on when construction begins, could be partly financed by raising the current $1-a-day rental-vehicle-facility surcharge to as much as $5 a day, Medina said.
In June, the state awarded a $3.5 million contract to design the facility. That was followed by an October $295,000 contract to conduct a statewide rental facility study. Now the state is in the process of awarding a nearly $1.5 million rental facilities management support contract.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
So far, the state isn't ready to disclose where the planned Honolulu facility might be built or how much it may cost. Those details will be disclosed once an ongoing feasibility study is completed a few months from now, said state transportation Director Brennon Morioka.
"Everything is still in the preliminary or draft phase," he said.
The $1-a-car fee was expected to raise $16 million a year. Actual collections were lower because of a decline in visitors, Morioka said.
The plan is to build one facility at Honolulu and Neighbor Island airports where consumers can conveniently rent vehicles.
Currently the Avis, National, Budget, Hertz and Dollar agencies share an open-air lot at the diamondhead end of Honolulu International Airport.
"The goal is to consolidate operations (and) make it more efficient for the car rental companies, but also make it as convenient as possible for the tourists so they don't have to worry about which (rental shuttle) bus they're going to catch, where are they going to catch the shuttle or how far it is," Morioka said.
Similar consolidated rental car facilities exist at Mainland airports ranging from Anchorage, Alaska, to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Costs vary widely and include $170 million spent in Las Vegas and a $419 million five-story facility now being built at the Seattle-Tacoma airport.
INCREASED FEES
Increased fees aren't expected to reduce visitor demand for rental vehicles, Medina said.
"If anything, it's the other way," he said. "The customer has a significantly enhanced rental car experience, and that's the fee that supports that."
Lowell Kalapa, president of the nonprofit watchdog Tax Foundation of Hawaii, agreed that Honolulu rental facilities need improvement. Moving all rental agencies into one facility also could free up room for eventual Honolulu airport expansion.
However, Kalapa questioned why the state proceeded with a design contract for the facility before choosing a location or identifying the project 's cost.
"How can you do a design contract if you don't know if you're going to be on flat land or on a hill," he said. "The geography has to have an impact."It does raise the question of why are they moving so quickly on what should be the middle part of the process?"Having the design contract in place will allow the state to proceed with the project once a feasibility study is completed, Morioka said."Once we do that, the design consultant is already on board so we can just start going," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
