Thinking of Maui

After our first trip to Hawaii, earlier this year, we've been kind of interested in visiting again and checking out one of the other islands. We figured it might be a while before we were able to go again but the news out of the hotel industry lately has indicated that we might not have to wait as long as we thought.

Apparently Hawaii is feeling the first effects of the financial meltdown and hotel occupancy rates are down overall in the islands. We feel compassion for the people whose livelihood is dependent on the tourist industry and believe that it would be charitable to help them out in this time of need. Especially if we can score some insanely great deal on a hotel room on the island of Maui, for instance. Because that's just the kind of big-hearted people we are.

At first I was suspicious how good the deals could be, when I considered that two airlines that used to service the Hawaiian market are no more. ATA and Aloha both went out of business this year and that would normally mean a rise in airline pricing to reflect the reduced amount of competition. However, airline pricing seems to be falling along with hotel rates and fares of $244 from LA and $452 from NY can be had. So it looks like even with fewer seats available, we can certainly find some deals if we look around.

As to hotel rates on the islands, there seems to be a plethora of opportunities for someone who likes to do a bit of checking around and research. I've noticed lots of deals like "third night free" and the like are popping up on hotel websites. We might just have to see if we can snag something. We do have another business trip out to LA this January, so we may just have to see if we can extend a little to the West. Though I suspect that waiting a little longer before making plans might be worthwhile in the long run. And the short run too.