Car Rental Shortage Leading Hawaii Tourists To Try U-Haul

Remember last week, when we told you all about the car rental shortage that is leading to a bad supply-and-demand issue that skyrocketed the prices of rentals to as much as $700 a day in some cities?

Well, the situation hasn’t gotten any better.

In fact, this is how bad it is – some tourists in Hawaii are resorting to renting small U-Haul trucks just to get around and avoid the exorbitant prices.

“We have seen a considerable uptick in U-Haul rentals from customers who are visiting the islands now,” Kaleo Alau of Hawaii’s U-Haul Company in Hawaii told Business Insider. “We realize this demand is occurring when tourists are unable to secure a rental car, or they learn that our rental fleet options are more affordable.”

Indeed, Travel+Leisure noted it was possible to rent an eight-foot pickup truck or a nine-foot van in Honolulu through U-Haul for as low as $19.95 a day plus tax and mileage.

According to Business Insider, when the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel around the country – particularly business travel – car-rental companies like Hertz, Avis and Enterprise sold off large portions of their respective fleets to save money. Hertz, in fact, had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year.

In turn, renting a U-Haul is now having an effect on the moving company.

“We are working every day with our primary customer base — the islands’ residential movers — to ensure we can still meet their transportation needs,” Alau told the outlet.

T+L said that Hawaii isn’t the only place experiencing what has been dubbed a “car rental apocalypse.” Other places — in particular, warm-weather spring break favorites like Florida, Arizona and Puerto Rico — have all faced shortages, too, with prices being about five to 10 times the average, AutoSlash CEO and founder Jonathan Weinberg told Insider.