Feb. 1, 2026 - Prices for Maui rental cars from Kahului Airport (OGG) are following their annual pattern that takes them to a seasonal peak in mid-February. After dropping last week from the MLK Jr. holiday seasonal peak, this week's rates are back on the rise, and are on track to go even higher by the middle of the month, as they do every year. The difference with previous years is that rates are higher than they've every been. Last week we reported that average rates for the month of January 2026 were 30% to 45% higher than January 2025. This week, the year-over-year increase trend continues, with rates for the first week of February double what they were one year ago in the key categories of compact cars, mid-size cars, and SUV's. The cheapest car from Kahului Airport is nearly $1,500 for a one-week rental, more then double what it was in the first week of February 2025. Other vehicle categories also show dramatic year-to-year increases. The increase is not limited to airport rentals. Off-airport, the cheapest rentals listed in the online travel agent (OTA) systems start at nearly $900/week, which is 80% more than the lowest off-airport rate one year ago. Prices are expected to stay at this elevated level for the remainder of the busy winter travel season. Keep reading for all the details.

Fig. 1. Prices for Maui car rental at Kahului Airport (OGG) from November 2024 to now.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR IN MAUI ON FEBRUARY 2, 2026?

Every week, we list the lowest advertised prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the change from the previous week, and the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week of February 2, 2026.

Category Price Change Company

Economy $1,474 +65% Budget

Midsize $1,659 +65% Dollar

Jeep $1,789 +43% Budget

Convertbl $1,505 +21% Budget

SUV $1,476 +50% Budget

7 St SUV $1,685 +51% Payless

Minivan $1,530 +12% Hertz

The prices quoted here include all applicable taxes and fees. Prices for these vehicle types charted week-to-week for the last 14 months are illustrated in Figure 1.

These are the lowest prices in every car category: The price for the cheapest car from Kahului Airport (OGG) was $1,474/week, from Budget. The cheapest midsize car cost $1,659/week, from Dollar. Jeeps were up to $1,789/week, at Budget. Convertibles rose to $1,505/week from Budget. Standard SUV's rose to $1,476/week at Budget, and 7-seat SUV's rose to $1,685/week at Payless. Minivans rose to $1,530/week, from Hertz.

Fig. 3. Maui car rental prices at Kahului Airport (OGG) this week and last week, with the percentage change..

HOW DID PRICES CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK?

This week, the price for the cheapest car from Kahului Airport (OGG) was up 65% from last week. The cheapest midsize car also rose 65%. Jeeps rose 43%, convertibles were up 21%, standard SUV's rose 50%, 7-seat SUV's were up 51%, while minivans increased "just" 12% week over week.

Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.

This January, prices have followed the same trajectory as last year, with a dip right after the holiday peak, and a smaller secondary peak for Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week.

After dropping from the MLK peak last week, rates are on the rise again, on track to follow their annual pattern toward a peak in mid-February.

But the bigger story is not the week-over-week increase, it is rather the dramatic year-over-year increase that we discuss below.

HOW DO PRICES COMPARE TO ONE YEAR AGO?

Last week, we reported that average prices over the entire month of January this year were shockingly higher than January rates last year. For most vehicles, the increase was in the range of 30% to 45%.

For the first week of February, the year-over-year comparison is tabulated below, and is illustrated in Figure 3. It is beyond shocking. We are left speechless and at a loss to explain how prices could be this much higher than one year ago, even knowing all that we know about the factors driving the market, that we have discussed in our previous blog posts in 2026.

Vehicle Now Last Year Change
Economy $1,474 $688 +114%

Midsize $1,659 $861 +93%

Jeep $1,789 $1,279 +40%

Convertbl $1,505 $891 +69%

SUV $1,476 $762 +94%

7 st SUV $1,685 $1,250 +35%

Minivan $1,530 $971 +58%

In this first week of February 2026, prices for compact cars, mid-size cars, and standard SUV's are all about double what they were one year ago, in the first week of February 2025. Convertibles and minivans were about 60% higher than last year. The smallest increases were for Jeeps, up 40% year-over-year, and 7-seat SUV's, up "just" 35%.

The cheapest car this week from the airport was $1,474/week, that's for a tiny toy car, a Mitsubishi Mirage. For just $2 more, you could have a standard SUV. It's a wonder that anyone would even look at the Mirage for that price, with the SUV just $2 more, or a convertible only $30 more. These prices defy comprehension. What high roller who can afford more than $200/day for a car would even choose a Mitsubishi Mirage, or a similarly priced Nissan Versa, and suffer the snickers of valet parking attendants at luxury venues island-wide. Yes, the valets do snicker when you show up in a POS. Long-short, the prices for all these vehicles are absurd.

We believe firmly that these prices are the result of "dynamic pricing" and "yield management" algorithmic price-setting methods now powered by artificial intelligence, running amok, while the humans in charge of administering them are asleep at the wheel. Perhaps we have too much faith in humanity, but we would like to think that there is no human car rental manager who would set prices at these crazy levels - just as there is no human customer who would be crazy enough to pay them. Already we have heard from customers that they are canceling their trips because of the high cost of car rental.

The pricing and product managers at the companies renting cars at these prices need to pull their heads out of wherever they are stuck. These absurd rates will have negative consequences in customer perception and customer preference, and encourage competitors to enter the market to siphon profits away from the established players. With car-sharing apps like Turo, there is practically no barrier to entry for competitors to conventional car rentals. We saw this scenario of a boom in car-shares play out during the rental car shortage of 2021, when travel resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic, and there was not enough conventional car rental inventory to meet the suddenly increased demand. Thousands of vehicles owned by individual parties flooded the market, with owners motivated to cash in on the easy money. People were taking out loans to buy cars and rent them out, thinking that the gold rush on rental cars would last forever. Many of these small operators suffered losses and had to withdraw after the Lahaina wildfire disaster: the post-pandemic Maui car rental bubble burst when tourism and car rental rates collapsed. But car-shares can return to market just as easily as they went away, if the lure of easy money gets strong enough. Even conventional lower cost operators like Ace and Sixt entered the Maui market immediately after the 2021 shortage - but they now seem to have succumbed to the siren call of predatory pricing and profiteering. Overall, the industry seems to be placing its bets on a calculated inelasticity of demand, meaning they bet that customers will be willing to pay for rental cars no matter how high the prices go. But our own gauges of customer sentiment disprove this, with many customers telling us they are either shortening their trips to Maui or canceling them entirely because of high prices. We have seen this trend play out with our own customers as they skip yearly trips or reduce their duration.

OUR REGULAR FEATURES RETURN NEXT WEEK

That's it for a shortened edition of the blog this week. Sections of the blog including the near-term price forecast, the rental timing analysis, and the neighbor island compilation will return next week.

HOW DO WE GET OUR MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE DATA?

Prices for Maui car rentals vary from week to week, and the company offering the lowest price also changes from week to week. Furthermore, one company may be offering the lowest price in one vehicle category, for example mid-size cars, while a different company has a better price on another category, for example mini-vans.

Beginning in July 2024, we've tracked the prices on seven vehicle categories - compact, mid-size, Jeep, convertible, SUV, 7-seat SUV, and minivan - from 10 different companies at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG): Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. Each week, for every vehicle type, we noted which company offered the lowest price. Our weekly price-tracking for the lowest price economy car category goes back to July 2023 - more than one year. These are the data for the charts we post every week.

Figure 8. Week-by-week variation of Maui car rental prices averaged over five years, from 2013 to 2018.

Previously we conducted a five-year price-tracking study for the lowest price economy car category beginning in February 2013 and continuing to February 2018. A sample of these results is in Figure 8, that shows the five-year average of the price over a one-year duration. For details of this massive price-tracking undertaking, and the most important findings on how and when to rent a car, see our blog post of July 14, 2024 titled "When is the best time to rent a car in Maui? "

HOW TO CHECK RATES AND AVAILABILITY FOR MAUI CAR RENTAL

Either click through to to our Cars & Rates section, or check our booking site at rentals.mauicarrental.biz. This site gives you access to all vehicles from eight different companies - Ace, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Payless, and Thrifty - at all their Maui locations, that include the Airport rentacar center, Kahului town locations nearby the airport, and resort locations in Kihei/Wailea, and Ka'anapali. With so many options to choose from, you are assured to find the rental car that matches your preferences and your budget for your Maui trip - and there is never a cancellation penalty if you have to change plans.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Frank Saab is the editor of this blog published by Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental LLC, an independent car rental company operating in Maui, Hawaii, since 2006. Frank's offers low prices on used local cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.

Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz