All non-essential travel to West Maui has been strongly discouraged by Hawaii’s government and tourism authority. However, officials want tourists to know that other parts of Maui and neighboring islands are open.
On Monday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks about the impact of wildfires on West Maui, including Lahaina, Napili, Kaanapali and Kapalua, and emphasized that only returning residents and emergency relief workers should be present in those locations.
The Maui wildfires began Aug. 8, and at least 115 people have died. More than 1,000 remain missing. As of Monday, the Lahaina fire is about 90% contained and burned through 2,170 acres of land. The Olinda fire in central Maui has burned roughly 1,081 acres and the nearby Kula fire burned about 202 acres. Both of those fires have been about 85% contained.
Green issued a sixth emergency proclamation Aug. 19, noting all non-essential travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged through Oct. 17.
“But all of the other areas of Maui … and the rest of Hawaii are safe,” Gov. Green said. “When you come, you will support our local economy and help speed the recovery of the people that are suffering right now.”
Locations that travelers are encouraged to visit on Maui include Kahului, Wailuku, Wailea, Makena, Paia and Hana, as well as other Hawaiian Islands such as Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai and Hawaii Island.
According to CoStar data and hotel reporting, hotels and lodging accommodations in Lahaina that have sustained damage or been destroyed include:
- The 34-room Best Western Pioneer Inn.
- The Plantation Inn, a 18-room property.
- The 13-room Hotel Lahaina.
- The 111-room Lahaina Shores Beach Resort and Hyatt Residence, a condo-hotel property.
- The 96-room Aina Nalu Lahaina by Outrigger condo-hotel.
A statement from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts notes the company has two hotels in Hawaii: the Days Inn by Wyndham Maui Oceanfront and the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Waikiki.
“While the Days Inn temporarily closed to assist with housing first responders, at this time, both hotels are now open to guests and operating business as usual. We’re continuing to actively monitor and are encouraging any travelers with questions about upcoming reservations to contact our Customer Care team at 1-800-407-9832. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those impacted by the fires,” according to the statement emailed to Hotel News Now on Wednesday.
According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, hotels in West Maui have temporarily stopped accepting future reservations and are housing employees and families, evacuees and first responders across more than 1,000 hotel rooms. Officials have also urged vacation rental owners to open accommodations to displaced Maui residents.
Additionally, Airbnb has launched an initiative that provides free, temporary stays to 1,000 people through its network of hosts.
In terms of airlift, major U.S. airlines serving Kahului Airport have implemented flexible travel policies as flights change or are canceled.
Green has also warned developers from the mainland U.S. and globally to not purchase land in Lahaina. Lahaina will have to be completely rebuilt over many years.
“We will be making sure that we do all that we can to prevent that land from falling into hands of people from the outside. It’s not easy to do in some cases,” Green said. “You can be sure I will not be allowing anyone to build or rezone or do anything of that sort if they’ve taken advantage of anyone here.”
Maui is among the most popular tourist destinations in Hawaii, attracting nearly 3 million visitors in 2022 and total tourism spending of $5.7 billion on the island.
David Peckinpaugh, president and CEO, Maritz, a global events management company, said via email that his team is not currently seeing event cancellations for Hawaii, "due to the timing and location of these programs."
"Our clients with events this fall are watching the situation carefully but planning to move forward at this time. Our industry partners on the islands are keeping us updated and many are open and ready for business. All of Hawaii needs our support and one of the best ways to support them is to maintain our current group plans, where appropriate, and continue to book future events," he added.
For the week ending Aug. 12, CoStar data shows hotel occupancy declined in two Hawaiian markets. Maui, which includes hotels in the destruction toll, had recorded a weekly occupancy of 57.1%, down 14 percentage points from the week before.
Occupancy was down by 5.1 percentage points in the Hawaii/Kauai Islands market to 76%. Measured to the comparable week in 2022, occupancy in Maui and Hawaii/Kauai markets was down 16.7 percentage points and 6.9 percentage points, respectively.