February 23, 2025 - This week prices fell for all car categories that we track. For the volatile Jeep and convertible categories this was the second week in a row of price decline. The price for the cheapest cars dipped below $500/week for the first time since early January. Also, the last minute price was below advance reservation prices for the first time in several weeks, signaling a transition from high-season pricing. Continue reading for all the details on Maui car rental this week.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR THIS WEEK?

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 24, 2025

Category Price Change Company
Economy $493 -28% SiXT
Midsize $506 -45% SiXT
Jeep $676 -34% Thrifty
Convertbl $1,068 -16% SiXT
SUV $795 -51% Dollar
7 St SUV $795 -51% Dollar
Minivan $902 -24% SiXT

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are down this week for every car category in the survey.

For the week of Monday 2/24/25, the lowest price for renting a car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) for one week is $493/week from SiXT, down 28% from last week. The lowest price for a midsize car is $506/week also from SiXT, down 45% from last week. A Jeep is $676/week from Thrifty, down 34% from the week before. Convertibles fell to $1,068/week from SiXT, down 16%. SUV prices fell to $795/week, down 51%, from Dollar, and minivans are $902/week, from SiXT, down 24% from last week.

Prices were down from the previous week for every vehicle type. For Jeeps and convertibles, this was the second week in a row that prices declined

MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE FORECAST FOR 2/23/25

Based on five years of price tracking and analysis, we expect prices to continue to decline from their current level. This is illustrated in the five-year average weekly price chart in Figure 2. Over the five-year period of our study, it was normal to see a mid-February high point in the prices coinciding with the Valentine's Day to Presidents' Birthday stretch at mid-month. This is the secondary price peak for the year, lower than the Christmas peak, but higher than prices for the rest of the year.

Fig. 3. Maui car rental prices from the last 13 months with forecast of the coming five weeks.

For the coming five weeks that cover the month of March, online reservation systems are showing a week-to-week decline in price that matches up with the five-year average trend (see Figure 3).

As of today the lowest advertised prices for a one week rental made in advance, both from the airport rentals and off-airport, are as follows:

DATE OFF-OGG OGG
02/23/25 $405 $493
03/02/25 $411 $382
03/09/25 $373 $376
03/16/25 $390 $404
03/23/25 $295 $277
03/30/25 $299 $282

These advance reservation prices, marked as "Forecast," are illustrated in the area highlighted in red in Figure 3.

Fig. 3. Maui car rental prices from the last 13 months with forecast of the coming five weeks.

The downward trend is clearly visible in these advance reservation prices. Based on historical analysis of price seasonality, we expect prices to continue to decline to a springtime low that corresponds to one of the low points of visitor travel to Maui.

DOES IT COST LESS TO BOOK IN ADVANCE?

The difference between last-minute prices and advance reservation prices is an indicator of the state of supply and availability from the car rental providers. When supply is limited, last minute prices ratchet up from their advance levels. When there is over-supply, prices drop at the last minute. These changes follow a seasonal pattern that we covered in a blog post titled "When Is The Best Time To Rent A Car in Maui? " On average, based on five years of historical price data, the last minute price is lower than advance reservation prices nearly 90% of the time. The cross-over points from higher last minute prices to lower last minute prices mark the seasonal transitions from high season pricing to low season pricing (see Figure 4).

Fig. 4. Average cost trends for renting a car in Maui over five years show varying prices based on booking time: renting last-minute typically leads to lower rates, except for peak periods around Christmas and Presidents' day holidays. Booking at the last minute typically offers the most savings.

From mid-December of 2024, we have tracked the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. For several weeks, since early January, prices have been consistently ratcheting up in the days or weeks before the reservation date. Notably, since early January, the last minute price has been significantly higher than the price one week in advance. For the six weeks from January 12 to February 17, the last minute price was on average $152/week more than the price one week in advance (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Price trends for a one-week car rental in Maui from December 2024 to February 2025 show variations based on booking timings: one day, one week, and five weeks in advance.

This week we see a cross-over with last-minute prices dropping below advance reservation prices for the first time in several weeks. This week, someone booking a one-week rental at the last minute would have saved $172 over booking one week earlier.

This cross-over is right on time with the historical data covering five years of price analysis (refer back to Figure 4). Based on the historical data, barring unforeseen events, we expect the trend to continue, with last minute prices coming in lower than advance reservation prices for the coming weeks. In this situation, booking a car at the last minute leads to price savings over booking in advance.

DOES IT COST LESS TO RENT OFF-AIRPORT?

Most of the time, Maui's off-airport car rental prices are lower than airport prices due to a number of factors that we have covered in a previous blog post, titled "Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024."

In recent weeks, we have seen a disruption of this pattern due to unexpected strong demand and limited supply at off-airport locations.

This week, we see a resumption of the normal pattern, with the prices from off-airport locations served by airport shuttle lower than the airport prices for most car categories. (See Figure 6).

Fig. 6. Price of one-week car rental in Maui, comparing off-airport locations with airport locations for popular vehicle types.

However, supply in the volatile categories of Jeeps and convertibles remains limited; this week, these vehicles are not available from off-airport locations.

These prices are from our survey taken on 2/23/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 2/24/25, for seven vehicle categories, Economy Car, Midsize Car, Convertible, Jeep, SUV, 7-passenger SUV, and Minivan. The rental companies covered in the survey are Ace, Alamo, Allsave, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, NU, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. For more info on the companies we cover, see our blog post on customer satisfaction ratings for these Maui car rental companies .

As we've noted in previous blog posts, the price for an off-airport rental is usually lower than an airport rental, due to two factors:

1. Higher mandatory taxes and fees that are added to the cost of an airport rental, and
2. A discretionary "convenience premium" that rental companies charge at the airport. For details, see for example Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024.

Exceptions do occur from time to time and we do report them when they do.

IS MAUI THE MOST EXPENSIVE HAWAIIAN ISLAND FOR CAR RENTAL?

Here's a quick survey of the one-week rental cost for the five major Hawaii airports, for a rental beginning on Monday, Feb 24.

COST AIRPORT
$286 Honolulu (HNL)
$451 Maui Kahului Airport (OGG)
$294 Kauai Lihue Airport (LIH)
$394 Kona Airport (KOA)
$354 Hilo Airport (ITO)

For the week of February 24, 2025, the cost for a car rental in Maui is the highest in the Hawaiian Islands, with the best deals in Honolulu and Lihue.

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.

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 3, 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.

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