Hawaii Tourism Not Starting Up Until Late Summer

There’s an article at the Star Advertiser that says they’re sticking with Aug 1.

For some reason it won’t let me post the link here.
 



For sure. You’re right it is most definitely NOT. All the island mayors and even the LG are saying that delay is imminent. Ige himself is the only one who has not. There is a lot behind the scenes and a lot of factors. That particular article is 2 days ago and it keeps evolving.

Reading between the lines, I cannot help but wonder if the organized messaging of delay is to save face for the mayors while the Governor holds a different line. There are lesser articles also floating that the public has to step up and be responsible since there is no end in sight that would make it better to open necessarily in the coming months either.
 


:( We just cancelled our October trip. Had been planning to reschedule for December but after the announcement we are feeling too discouraged and will just wait.

Yup, I've already written off Hawaii this year and made plans to go elsewhere. Just returned from a weeks long vacation at an all inclusive resort in Playa Del Carmen and I couldn't be happier. It had everything I wanted in a vacation with a beautiful resort, beaches, cenotes, parks, Mayan and Mexican culture events, and great food. Quite frankly the US tourism and entertainment industry can learn a thing or two from the Mexican tourism industry. They have done a fantastic job of limiting the spread of the coronavirus as much as they possibly can. It's now up to each individual to take personal responsibility for their safety. They will enforce social distancing, mask wearing and you must use hand sanitizers quit often especially when entering the resort, or any restaurant on the property.
 
And there’s so much downstream effect too. Will have to work to get my Airbnb fees back (one site only offers 50% at present). Four flights, two interisland, with varying credit policies. It’s a real mess.
 
Airbnb website is crashed. Hawaiian airlines had 250 flights a week.. now they’ll likely be back to a standstill.

Easy for me to be a backseat driver but I really think a better course of action that would have satisfied most issues would have been:

1) negative testing 7 days before (this addresses the current long turnaround time issue).

2) 2nd test 48 hours before (this addresses locals concerned that 72 hours was too long).

3) deny entry to anyone without the negative 7 day test. Quarantine not even an option. This addresses shirkers given the high volume.

4) visitors to register and remain relatively quarantined while 2nd test returns.

5) meanwhile. Even the passengers on the plane can feel better knowing that everyone on board was negative 7d or less before.

6) pre register before arrival so they know who / where you are. Skip the line out this way.
 
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Do not cancel your Airbnb until your travel dates get closer if you want a full refund. Currently they are up to August 15th. They extend to the end of August on July 15th. First half of September on August 1st, and so on.
 
The AirBnB host refuses to soften on the 50% cancellation fee citing official policy. I’d be out $1000. I think it’s cruel. It is frankly illegal to even rent out to anyone under quarantine rules.

I offered a reasonable compromise even.

I’m awaiting a specialist from AirBnB to call me back but I am not hopeful. Any advice?
 
The AirBnB host refuses to soften on the 50% cancellation fee citing official policy. I’d be out $1000. I think it’s cruel. It is frankly illegal to even rent out to anyone under quarantine rules.

I offered a reasonable compromise even.

I’m awaiting a specialist from AirBnB to call me back but I am not hopeful. Any advice?

Well the extension is only until September 1st, so I'm not sure how this can even be seen as illegal. Also something to keep in mind is that if the quarantine gets extended another month, what is AirBnB's cancellation policy due to COVID? I was also in a similar situation back in April when I tried to get clarity from VRBO for my resort booking on Waikiki. VRBO just told me to work with the property owner as they can't do anything about it. Lucky for me the property owner was understanding, but had they not been I would have been out around $3k.

All this uncertainty and lack of planning by the Hawaiian government is really hurting alot of people. Their lack of leadership and ineptitude is the reason why I have completely written them off and will not book anything until I actually see the state open and tourism in operation for a couple of weeks. It's just too risky, and to be honest there are other places around the world that is just as good if not better then Hawaii to vacation at so why bother wasting your time and money on hope that they somehow get their act together in the near term future?
 
The AirBnB host refuses to soften on the 50% cancellation fee citing official policy. I’d be out $1000. I think it’s cruel. It is frankly illegal to even rent out to anyone under quarantine rules.

I offered a reasonable compromise even.

I’m awaiting a specialist from AirBnB to call me back but I am not hopeful. Any advice?

Per AirBnB's policy it doesn't look good for you. In summary AirBnb in their policy basically said you know COVID19 can ruin your vacation so if you still decide to go you do so at your own risk and don't expect them to bail you out. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article...cumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19

"Our extenuating circumstances policy is intended to protect guests and hosts from unforeseen circumstances that arise after booking. After the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the extenuating circumstances policy no longer applies because COVID-19 and its consequences are no longer unforeseen or unexpected. Please remember to carefully review the host's cancellation policy when booking and consider choosing an option that provides flexibility."
 
Per AirBnB's policy it doesn't look good for you. In summary AirBnb in their policy basically said you know COVID19 can ruin your vacation so if you still decide to go you do so at your own risk and don't expect them to bail you out. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article...cumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19

"Our extenuating circumstances policy is intended to protect guests and hosts from unforeseen circumstances that arise after booking. After the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the extenuating circumstances policy no longer applies because COVID-19 and its consequences are no longer unforeseen or unexpected. Please remember to carefully review the host's cancellation policy when booking and consider choosing an option that provides flexibility."
Get your credit card company involved and review accordingly (perhaps even preview your review with the owner)
 
Thanks all.

For clarification, the “illegal” part was that the state of Hawaii has a law that short term vacation rentals cannot engage in housing anyone subject to quarantine, subject to fine and jail time. So, in theory, to execute this contract now is technically “illegal”. Hoping that is a mitigating trump factor.
 
Thanks all.

For clarification, the “illegal” part was that the state of Hawaii has a law that short term vacation rentals cannot engage in housing anyone subject to quarantine, subject to fine and jail time. So, in theory, to execute this contract now is technically “illegal”. Hoping that is a mitigating trump factor.

Once you reach an outcome please let us know what happened. I'd be curious to see if that argument can work. I think I read somewhere that Hawaii had reached deals with AirBnB and Vrbo to crack down on illegal vacation rentals. I wonder if this will bolster your case because that would mean the rental company would then be violating the AirBnB policy for Hawaii rentals.
 
Using Disney speak, I am a friend of Airbnb. It is critical that you do not cancel your reservation yet. Airbnb is allowing full refunds to those who booked before March 14th, currently for travel dates up to August 15th. This will be updated to include the rest of August tomorrow. If you cancel this month you will be under your host’s policy period. There are no exceptions to this.

You need to wait until your dates are included. Airbnb has followed this pattern for several months now. The first of the month extends to the 15th if the next. On the 15th of the month the policy extends to the end of the next month. Policy is updated noon PST. Sometimes they are a few hours late with this, so make sure you see the update before processing the cancellation. Or give Airbnb a call.

Once you qualify you don’t have to even involve your host. You will have the choice of a full refund via travel credit or you can submit documentation (a screenshot of the quarantine requirement in this case) to receive a cash refund.

DM me if you would like more specifics.
 

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