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Rental shortages frustrate visitors
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| Cleone Harrison and Lucinda Birch, visitors from England, were forced to drive a U-Haul pickup truck as their vacation vehicle after repeated attempts to secure a car from rental agencies proved unsuccessful. Leo DuBois/The Garden Island |
By Leo DuBois - The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — Visitors are facing long lines and tough times trying to find available rental cars on Kaua‘i and elsewhere in the state.
“We’re sorry, there are no vehicles available at this time” was the common refrain that Cleone Harrison and Lucinda Birch, visitors from England who recently island-hopped the state, heard as they desperately phoned every Kaua‘i car rental agency to find transportation for their dream vacation.
“After spending a few days on Maui, we thought it would be very easy to find a rental car on Kaua‘i,” Harrison said.
“We called every car rental agency in the phone book without any success,” Birch said.
Harrison finally hit upon the idea that U-Haul might be able to solve their problem. Calling from Maui, they were able to book a large van but upon arriving were graciously given a light pickup truck.
“Our vacation has been great and this pickup truck has been our savior,” Harrison said.
“Otherwise, we would have had quite a miserable time,” Birch said.
Sue Kanoho of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau says she is fully aware of the problem and called a special meeting with the rental car agencies to discuss the issue and find a workable solution.
“The whole problem began with the shortage of new rental cars that were late to arrive, followed by a sudden rush on available inventory during the long President’s Day weekend,” said Kanoho.
The following week, the shortage continued with the Waimea Town Celebration increasing rental demand.
“The rental companies have a small window to watch reservations and then shift their fleets to suit customer reservation demand,” Kanoho said. “The message I was given from the rental companies is simply not to wait until the last minute to make a car reservation. Reserve your car at the same time you make a reservation for a flight and room to be assured of an available car.”
A representative of Hertz, who asked to not be identified when he was reached Thursday, said no cars would be available until after the weekend but said the price of a mid-size car thereafter would be less than $50 per day.
“A lot of people want to pay the rates they get on Priceline and Hotwire,” the representative said, suggesting that visitors book their rental cars in advance to avoid car shortages or price increases caused by large groups on island. “We on Kaua‘i have a small fleet, so the later someone waits to make their reservations, there’s more likelihood they’re going to pay a higher price.”
Kanoho said the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau is working closely with county officials and the hotel industry for an upcoming heavy promotion and March will be the month to gear up for a smoother travel experience for visitors.
During their visit to Maui, Harrison and Birch were told of a rental company there that overbooked 400 reservations. Unable to meet the demand of customers queued up and begging for cars, it finally shuttled them off to their hotels.
Visitors to Kaua‘i are discovering similarly frustrating experiences and a trickle-down effect is happening.
Bill Gaus, who has managed Hanalei Inn for the past four years, said occupancy numbers there have been the same or better than last year but guests are now calling in from the Mainland to cancel their reservations because of the car rental shortage.
While some visitors say they enjoy saving money riding the county bus, they complain that they are unable to travel to sites like Koke‘e and other remote areas described in travel guides that public transportation does not serve.
Gaus said a recent Hanalei Inn guest called the Mayor’s Office in a fit of frustration to complain of the car rental dilemma. He was told that agencies like the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority have been notified and are looking into the problem.
Just before leaving Hanalei Inn, Harrison and Birch pondered if residents of countries like Germany, Canada and Australia who may not be feeling the economic crunch as much will still want to travel to Hawai‘i after they learn of the car rental hassle that is in store for them.
Some representatives of Kaua‘i rental car companies explained that the vehicle shortage dilemma started when gas prices skyrocketed last year.
Consumers were affected when a barrel of oil costing around $48 hiked to around $140 a barrel, shooting the price of gas up over $4 a gallon. Frightened by the future potential of enormous gas bills, the average consumer chose to keep his old beater instead of putting down a down payment on a new SUV.
Continuing poor SUV and truck sales forced the major auto companies to call for massive employee lay-offs and the production lines quickly dried up. As auto production slowed, fewer cars became available for the rental car market.
Most car rental companies lease their fleets from the auto manufacturers and must turn back the leased vehicle somewhere around 30,000 miles. With no new vehicles to replace the ones returned, the car rental fleets were soon reduced and counter sales clerks are now facing angry customers due to unavailability.
Although the price of gas has dropped back to around $2.50 a gallon and the cost of oil has fallen below $40 a barrel, the economy remains in a recession.
Nationwide, car rental companies must address the compound problem of serving customers with smaller fleets. Sales clerks are calling it the “reservation situation.”
In recent years, many people choose to book their reservations online. This new technological development may contribute to the overbooking by the car rental companies.
• Leo DuBois, contributor, can be reached via interim managing editor Nathan Eagle at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or via e-mail at neagle@kauaipubco.com
“We’re sorry, there are no vehicles available at this time” was the common refrain that Cleone Harrison and Lucinda Birch, visitors from England who recently island-hopped the state, heard as they desperately phoned every Kaua‘i car rental agency to find transportation for their dream vacation.
“After spending a few days on Maui, we thought it would be very easy to find a rental car on Kaua‘i,” Harrison said.
“We called every car rental agency in the phone book without any success,” Birch said.
Harrison finally hit upon the idea that U-Haul might be able to solve their problem. Calling from Maui, they were able to book a large van but upon arriving were graciously given a light pickup truck.
“Our vacation has been great and this pickup truck has been our savior,” Harrison said.
“Otherwise, we would have had quite a miserable time,” Birch said.
Sue Kanoho of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau says she is fully aware of the problem and called a special meeting with the rental car agencies to discuss the issue and find a workable solution.
“The whole problem began with the shortage of new rental cars that were late to arrive, followed by a sudden rush on available inventory during the long President’s Day weekend,” said Kanoho.
The following week, the shortage continued with the Waimea Town Celebration increasing rental demand.
“The rental companies have a small window to watch reservations and then shift their fleets to suit customer reservation demand,” Kanoho said. “The message I was given from the rental companies is simply not to wait until the last minute to make a car reservation. Reserve your car at the same time you make a reservation for a flight and room to be assured of an available car.”
A representative of Hertz, who asked to not be identified when he was reached Thursday, said no cars would be available until after the weekend but said the price of a mid-size car thereafter would be less than $50 per day.
“A lot of people want to pay the rates they get on Priceline and Hotwire,” the representative said, suggesting that visitors book their rental cars in advance to avoid car shortages or price increases caused by large groups on island. “We on Kaua‘i have a small fleet, so the later someone waits to make their reservations, there’s more likelihood they’re going to pay a higher price.”
Kanoho said the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau is working closely with county officials and the hotel industry for an upcoming heavy promotion and March will be the month to gear up for a smoother travel experience for visitors.
During their visit to Maui, Harrison and Birch were told of a rental company there that overbooked 400 reservations. Unable to meet the demand of customers queued up and begging for cars, it finally shuttled them off to their hotels.
Visitors to Kaua‘i are discovering similarly frustrating experiences and a trickle-down effect is happening.
Bill Gaus, who has managed Hanalei Inn for the past four years, said occupancy numbers there have been the same or better than last year but guests are now calling in from the Mainland to cancel their reservations because of the car rental shortage.
While some visitors say they enjoy saving money riding the county bus, they complain that they are unable to travel to sites like Koke‘e and other remote areas described in travel guides that public transportation does not serve.
Gaus said a recent Hanalei Inn guest called the Mayor’s Office in a fit of frustration to complain of the car rental dilemma. He was told that agencies like the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority have been notified and are looking into the problem.
Just before leaving Hanalei Inn, Harrison and Birch pondered if residents of countries like Germany, Canada and Australia who may not be feeling the economic crunch as much will still want to travel to Hawai‘i after they learn of the car rental hassle that is in store for them.
Some representatives of Kaua‘i rental car companies explained that the vehicle shortage dilemma started when gas prices skyrocketed last year.
Consumers were affected when a barrel of oil costing around $48 hiked to around $140 a barrel, shooting the price of gas up over $4 a gallon. Frightened by the future potential of enormous gas bills, the average consumer chose to keep his old beater instead of putting down a down payment on a new SUV.
Continuing poor SUV and truck sales forced the major auto companies to call for massive employee lay-offs and the production lines quickly dried up. As auto production slowed, fewer cars became available for the rental car market.
Most car rental companies lease their fleets from the auto manufacturers and must turn back the leased vehicle somewhere around 30,000 miles. With no new vehicles to replace the ones returned, the car rental fleets were soon reduced and counter sales clerks are now facing angry customers due to unavailability.
Although the price of gas has dropped back to around $2.50 a gallon and the cost of oil has fallen below $40 a barrel, the economy remains in a recession.
Nationwide, car rental companies must address the compound problem of serving customers with smaller fleets. Sales clerks are calling it the “reservation situation.”
In recent years, many people choose to book their reservations online. This new technological development may contribute to the overbooking by the car rental companies.
• Leo DuBois, contributor, can be reached via interim managing editor Nathan Eagle at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or via e-mail at neagle@kauaipubco.com
 |
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| Bus fares could see increase |
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
gramsof1 wrote on Feb 27, 2009 8:26 AM:
" At last someone told what the problem was. Who knew the rental agencies had to return the csars to the manufacturer at 30,000 miles. I sure didn't.
We had no problem when we were there in Sept/Oct. but we rented way, way early too. "
We had no problem when we were there in Sept/Oct. but we rented way, way early too. "
g-man wrote on Feb 27, 2009 9:29 AM:
" I'm sure this is a national problem brought on by the vanguard, and it is very difficult to be thrifty without getting hertz. "
IlikeKauai wrote on Feb 27, 2009 10:20 AM:
" What if the Superferry came to Kaua'i loaded with visitors with their own cars? Hmm... "
Sophronia N. Diego wrote on Feb 28, 2009 5:26 AM:
" With over 90,000 guests visiting our Garden isle yearly, it is time we explore other sustainable options for efficiently moving our guests around the island.
One idea comes to mind is using the County Bus System. If www.kauaivisitorsbureau.org website posted online bus routes and schedules that coincided with flight arrivals, it would make it more appealing and convenient for eco/ budget minded visitors as well as senior visitors, to utilize our county bus service to explore our island.
Not only would this get cars off our congested roads, but also our island would be
a lot safer for our guests and residents alike.
With the barrage of travel guidebooks written by authors who are not familiar with our Island, its terrain, weather, season, tides and surf enticing visitors to “go off of the beaten track” there have been way to many accidents resulting in injury or even death. By providing transportation for our guests, we will be keeping them in “safe zones” or “Aloha zones” along the current and perhaps “expanded” bus routes.
This would also create increased rider ship, make some money for the county to create more lines and stops, that will benefit local rider ship as well as allow our visitors the opportunity to intermingle with residents experiencing first hand, Kauai’s unique hospitality and sincere concern for our visitors comfort and safety. "
One idea comes to mind is using the County Bus System. If www.kauaivisitorsbureau.org website posted online bus routes and schedules that coincided with flight arrivals, it would make it more appealing and convenient for eco/ budget minded visitors as well as senior visitors, to utilize our county bus service to explore our island.
Not only would this get cars off our congested roads, but also our island would be
a lot safer for our guests and residents alike.
With the barrage of travel guidebooks written by authors who are not familiar with our Island, its terrain, weather, season, tides and surf enticing visitors to “go off of the beaten track” there have been way to many accidents resulting in injury or even death. By providing transportation for our guests, we will be keeping them in “safe zones” or “Aloha zones” along the current and perhaps “expanded” bus routes.
This would also create increased rider ship, make some money for the county to create more lines and stops, that will benefit local rider ship as well as allow our visitors the opportunity to intermingle with residents experiencing first hand, Kauai’s unique hospitality and sincere concern for our visitors comfort and safety. "
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spacini wrote on Feb 27, 2009 6:16 AM: