Tourists Are Turning To U-Hauls Due To Rental Car Shortages

Rental cars are in short supply these days thanks to the pandemic. In Hawaii in particular. At the beginning of the pandemic, rental agencies couldn’t find enough people to rent cars so they sold off huge portions of their fleets. Now, the state is beginning to re-open and there just aren’t enough rental vehicles to go around. So tourists are solving the problem on their own: U-haul rentals.

Even if there is a rental car available, Hawaii News Now reports that prices are the highest they’ve ever been. It’s reported that the cheapest rental car on Maui last month was a Toyota Camry for $722 a day. Instead of spending their whole vacation budget on a rental, tourists are heading to the next rental option.

U-Haul Marketing President Kaleo Alau told Hawaii News Now that visitors are calling to ask for pickup trucks, cargo vans and yes, even box trucks. The problem with that (as smart as it may be) is that now there could be a shortage of vehicles for people who actually need to move and haul things.

So if you’re in Hawaii and get inundated with U-Haul vehicles don’t worry. There’s not a mass influx of people moving to or from the islands. It’s just droves of visitors trying to vacation on a budget.