The Great Hawaii Rental Car Crisis: Is It Ever Going To End?

[TexasTowelie]

A dire rental car shortage is forcing some would-be Hawaii visitors to cancel their trips — or empty their wallets.

The root of the problem is two-fold. When the pandemic hit and Hawaii imposed the nation’s strictest travel rules, car rental companies like Hertz and Budget started to sell off portions of their fleet and ship some of their inventory to the U.S. mainland, where they could still make money.

Now that Hawaii’s travel restrictions have eased and tourism is returning in full force, a national shortage of semi-conductor computer chips is making it difficult for car manufacturers to put new cars on the market. In turn, rental car companies are struggling to increase their fleets.

For those lucky enough to land in Hawaii with a rental car reservation, daily rates are sky high — in some cases up to $700. Some rental car companies in the islands have run out of vehicles even for those who have an advanced reservation.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/05/the-great-hawaii-rental-car-crisis-is-it-ever-going-to-end/

[ret5hd]

1. You know how to make the reservation...

but you don’t know how to hold the reservation…

[msongs]

2. ppl are renting uhaul trucks to cruise around, causing serious issues for ppl who need to move

their belongs from the old place to the new. at peak last yr huge parking lots were stuffed with parked rental cars. then it seems like in just a few weeks poof those cars were gone

[brush]

3. I understand Uber and Lyft drivers who stopped renting cars to work also had...

an effect on the market. Their work dried up during the pandemic so Hertz lost all that business. Hertz even had to file Chap. 11 bankruptcy.

I just found that out when I took an uber earlier this week. All along I thought the ride share drivers owned their cars. Many do but many rent cars to work.

[msongs]

4. one would think insurance cos would not insure personal vehicles doing uber nt

[brush]

6. Who knows how that works. I doubt the drivers are volunteering that info.

[PortTack]

5. It's easy enough to get around on Oahu per bus. The other islands not so much