Paradise worth the price

Nab a room in a four-star hotel in Waikiki for well under $200 a night for six nights and get the seventh night free.

Book a five-night air/hotel package through Pleasant Holidays to the islands in May or next fall, and the travel company will throw in a rental car.

Signs point to a mild recovery for tourism in Hawaii this year after a long and steep slump because of the economic recession. But for now at least, Hawaii is still on sale.

The pressure is on for hotels to keep rooms filled, even if it means discounting rates heavily – something they’re willing to do if it boosts business in their restaurants, bars and activity centers, says Jay Talwar, senior vice president of marketing for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.

“No one is saying it’s changing in 2010. It’s basic Economics 101 that’s coming into play,” Talwar says. “The demand isn’t high enough to allow anyone not to give value, from the Four Seasons to the B&B.”

Rates at premium hotels in Honolulu for January and February dropped an average 9 percent, and 16 percent in Maui.

With average hotel occupancy down 3 to 15 percent on the various islands during the first 11 months of 2009, according to Smith Travel Research, some of the deals for travel in 2010 are even better than last winter.

Airfares

Bing Travel reports average airfares between Seattle and Hawaii were down 11 to 25 percent for January and 7 to 25 percent for February compared to the same period last year.

Delta, which acquired Northwest Airlines, has reduced service from Seattle, but Alaska increased flights. It now flies nonstop to Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii.

How long the low fares will last is anyone’s guess, but a recent check for midweek dates in late April showed Seattle-Oahu round-trips available for $309 and $320-$350 for the Big Island, Kauai and Maui.

Start an airfare search at www.kayak.com and www.bing.com. Both sites scan what’s available directly from the airlines and commercial sites such as Orbitz or Expedia, and provide links for booking.

Lodging

The best deals tend to be in Honolulu and Waikiki, where there’s the biggest concentration of hotel rooms, and on the Big Island, which tends to be less well-known than Maui or Kauai. (Travelers looking for a more low-key vacation will find it on the smaller islands of Molokai and Lanai.)

“Rather than reduce rates further, most of the major chains are responding with special promotions and add-ons, free-night stays being the most popular,” says Brian Ek, vice president of Priceline.com.

“They also tend to include free breakfast,” adds Steve Pomranz, vice president of travel services for AAA Washington. “Some of the chains will offer kids stay, eat and play free, and some that used to offer a fifth night free, now offer the third.”

Luxury hotels have been hard hit by the downturn.

“Two years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to see average daily rates (for four-star hotels) in the $300s,” says Stacey Meyer, a Hawaii marketing manager for Orbitz. “Now you can see rates from $179 for a four-star hotel on the beach.”

Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and other online-booking sites are offering Hawaii sales. Prices sometimes beat what hotels offer on their Web sites, but it’s always best to call hotels directly to check AAA or AARP rates or other discounts.

Priceline ( www.priceline.com) bidders are reporting snagging rooms for half the price quoted on online sites or available through the hotels. With Priceline, you pick the class of hotel you want (such as two- to four-star or resort) and the location, but don’t find out the name until your bid is accepted and your credit card charged.

Hotwire ( www.hotwire.com) offers similar deals. The difference is that Hotwire lists a price (i.e.: Four-star Lihue—Kapaa hotel for $102), and reveals the name of the hotel once you’ve paid.

Check www.biddingfortravel.comor www.betterbidding.com to see what other travelers report finding.

Packages

Pleasant Holidays, AAA, the airlines and various online-booking sites offer packages that combine airfare, hotel and sometimes a car.

Example: Pleasant Holidays is throwing in a free Hertz rental car on five-night vacation packages in May and from September through Dec. 15.

To find out how real the deal is, check the component prices individually on airline and hotel Web sites. Make sure all taxes and fees are included in the bottom-line price.

If booking online, be sure to uncheck any boxes that automatically add the cost of trip insurance or other services you may not want.

Vacation rentals

For longer stays, a house or a condo rented directly from the owner can be the most economical way to go.

Vacation Rentals by Owner ( www.vrbo.com) is a reliable site with hundreds of listings and photos organized by areas of each island.

Offerings include a two-bedroom, two-bath cottage on the Big Island’s Kona coast for a “stimulus” price of $80 per night, and a $150-per-night family mountain retreat on Molokai that sleeps up to eight.

Rooms in private homes can be found on Airbnb ( www.airbnb.com), an online marketplace where locals advertise vacation homes, spare rooms and apartments.

The site has 136 Hawaii listings. Among them: a $75 per night room in a tropical beach house on Maui and a $55 per night studio cottage four blocks from the ocean in the village of Pahoa on the Big Island.

Car rentals

With Hawaii’s hotel occupancy plunging last spring, car-rental companies decreased their fleets, leaving renters sometimes scrambling to find available vehicles during peak travel times.

Cars are available now, but prices vary according to the island and the rental-car company, so shop around. Enterprise usually has the lowest rates for refundable bookings.

Priceline and Hotwire often have the best deals, but bookings are nonrefundable. You’re guaranteed a car from one of the major car-rental agencies, but you don’t find out which one until after you’ve booked and your credit card has been charged.