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A Few Reasons to Choose a Hawaii Vacation Rental for Your Next Visit to the Islands

A Few Reasons to Choose a Hawaii Vacation Rental for Your Next Visit to the Islands

One of the most important decisions you’ll make when planning your vacation is choosing where to stay. Should you book a room at a charming inn, an all-inclusive package at luxury resort, a shared AirBnB or a Hawaii vacation rental property? While all accommodation types have their own benefits and uses, staying in a vacation rental is often the better choice for folks looking for more space, comfort and privacy. And don’t forget the savings galore!

If you have never booked a vacation rental in Hawaii or are even unsure of what it is, read on! We’ll explain the benefits and show how to find your dream vacation property. We specialize in Hawaii Vacation Rentals, but most of the information can be applied to vacation rentals elsewhere.

In the United States, a vacation rental is typically defined as a furnished house, townhome or condo in a resort-condominium complex that is rented on a temporary basis to tourists as a hotel alternative. In Hawaii, you find most vacation rental condos in so called Condo Hotels or Resort Hotels, which are zoned to be rented on a short-term or a long-term basis. Each condo is individually owned and can be rented by owners, who received the appropriate tax license. This Maui Banyan privately-owned condo is an example of a typical well-maintained and comfortable Hawaii vacation rental.

Comfort

Typically, a room at a shared home, hotel or another similar type of accommodation, is going to be more cramped, and can be especially uncomfortable when you have more than one or two people traveling together. Vacation rental properties provide the comforts of a home in a much larger space, and you can choose a property with two or more bedrooms to suit even big groups. You’re sure to have plenty of room for entertaining, and you’re likely to have a fully-equipped kitchen and other amenities you wouldn’t normally get, along with more privacy too.

A typical living room in a vacation rental condo.

Your own kitchen

With a fully-equipped kitchen, you can make your own meals and save a ton of money on dining out, sometimes close to what you’ll pay for the accommodation itself. It also means no worries about trying to meet any particular diet needs for every single meal as you’ll have total control.

A typical kitchen in a vacation rental condo.

A stronger connection with local life

Staying in your own private vacation rental property often means the surroundings are less touristy, affording a much better opportunity for an authentic travel experience. Mingling with the locals, shopping when they shop, and perhaps even being let in on some insider travel secrets, can make your vacation a truly memorable and unique experience

Saving on vacation

This may be the last on our checklist of benefits but definitely not the least of the gains. Not only do you get more space, but you often can find it for much less money than a hotel room in the area. Add to this the savings on food – that’s triple savings! If you agree that a vacation rental can be a great choice for you, let’s discuss how to find one.

There is a difference in the cancellation policies of hotels and vacation rentals. Being a much better value, Hawaii Vacation Rentals come with more strict cancellation policies, that can range from 30 days during the slow time to 90 days in high season. Or even longer depending on the length of stay and the value of the accommodation. The good news is that you can spend a fraction of the savings to buy a good Travel Insurance policy, that not only refunds your cancellations, but reimburses and assists in case you arrived to Hawaii but had to terminate your stay due to illness or a disruptive event. The string of hurricanes of 2019 terminated many Hawaii vacations in Hawaii, and COVID-19 pandemic is happening right now. So, a good travel insurance is your friend, and can SAVE YOU MUCH MONEY!

Finding a Vacation Rental

Referral. If you have a great referral for a Hawaii vacation rental from someone you trust, if that place fits your needs, and if it is available for your dates – bingo! Otherwise, you might need to spend some time to find your dream property online.

Searching large listing portals. Let’s say, you are heading to Hawaii and would like to stay on Maui. You can easily find huge advertising websites with thousands of listings. One example is this large collection of Maui listings on HomeAway. Those portals have their perks, but they also charge additional fees on top of the advertised rates, which can make them a lot pricier than renting directly from owners.

Renting directly for owners. By finding more localized listing sites, you may rent the same property but on better conditions. Plus, you will also be able to converse with the owner before booking and make a more informed decision about the area and the property. You might find a vacation rental website for all Hawaii or a more localized and specialized Maui vacation condos collection to be good resources for finding those listings.

Other online booking systems. There is another type of websites, usually by property management or other rental groups, that offers a convenient online booking system as well as phone agents to answer your questions, but you might not have direct access to the owners.

If you have decided to choose a Hawaii vacation rental for your next vacation, educate yourself about the area you want to stay and the vacation places available there. Do the work in advance, and your vacation will be a success!

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4 thoughts on “A Few Reasons to Choose a Hawaii Vacation Rental for Your Next Visit to the Islands

  1. My boyfriend and I want to go on vacation to Hawaii, and we are looking for advice to choose the best place to stay at. Thank you for the variety of places you offer and for the very interesting blog!

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