Maui Car Rental Prices Surge As Minivans and Large SUV's Sell Out Completely
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June 14, 2026. This week, if you were hoping to rent a minivan or a large 7-seater SUV to move the entire family around for your Maui summer vacation, you're out of luck. These vehicles are completely sold out at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), and at all other off-airport locations listed in the online travel agent (OTA) systems. And the rental rates on all other vehicles have taken another upward leap. Worse yet, off-airport locations served by shuttle from the airport are completely sold out of everything. It's an unseasonable "Christmas in July" situation where we are seeing the worse conditions of the highest winter holiday peak season starting to show weeks ahead of the July 4 summer holiday peak - that is always expected to be busy, but not THIS busy. Visitors who did not plan ahead for this month's travel to Maui are being faced with prices ratcheting up at the last minute -more than double what they were a month ago for tomorrow's rental. Keep reading for the details...
HOW MUCH IS THE CHEAPEST MAUI RENTAL CAR ON JUNE 15, 2026?
Every week, we list the lowest available prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week beginning Monday, June 15, 2026.
Category Price Company
Economy $537 Avis
Midsize $700 Hertz
Jeep $1,255 Thrifty
Convertbl $797 Budget
SUV $930 SiXT
7 St SUV SOLD OUT
Minivan SOLD OUT
The prices quoted here include all applicable taxes and fees. Prices for these vehicle types charted week-to-week for the last 14 months are illustrated in Figure 1.
These are the lowest prices in every car category: The lowest price for a compact car from Kahului Airport (OGG) this week is with Avis, at $537/week. Mid-size cars are starting at $700/week, at Hertz. Jeeps are starting at $1,225/week, from Thrifty. The lowest price for a convertible is $797/week, at Budget. The cheapest standard SUV's are $930/week, at SiXT. Large (7-seat) SUV's and minivans are completely sold out with none available from any company serving the airport or any off-airport locations of these companies.
HOW MUCH DID MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK?
For each vehicle category, this is how the lowest price for a one week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) starting on Monday June 15, 2026 has changed from the week before:
Category This week Last Change Economy $537 $347 +55%
Midsize $700 $641 +9%
Jeep $1,255 $775 +62%
Convertbl $797 $477 +67%
SUV $930 $609 +53%
7 st SUV N/A $1,558 -
Minivan N/A $1,047 -
Prices for rental cars from Kahului Airport (OGG) were mixed, were up more than 50% compared to last week in every category that still had availability. Economy/compact cars were up 55%, Jeeps were up 62%, convertibles were up 62%, and standard SUV's were up 53%. MId-size cars, that had already surged 63% last week, were up again but only by 9% this week. Large SUV's and minivans had already soared to over $1,000/week last week, and this week they cannot be had at any price. .
Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.
COMMENTARY
Our analysis: We are almost a year out from last July's safety recall on Chrysler minivans that idled hundreds of vehicles, but its effects are still being felt,. This is certainly made worse by a recall on another people-mover vehicle, the seven-seat Ford Expedition SUV's, that was announced this March. We are still a few weeks from the busiest part of the summer season, that peaks around the July 4 holiday, and already minivans, large SUV's, and large transporter vans for 10-12 passengers (that we do not normally cover in this weekly survey) are completely sold out. There is no doubt that substitution effects will drive up the prices of all other car categories as the holiday approaches and visitors drive up the price of anything they can rent to get around on their holiday. The question is not whether prices will rise from here, but whether we will see a repeat of the absurd price levels of the Christmas season, with prices hitting several thousand dollars per week on the vehicles available to rent.
IS IT CHEAPER TO BOOK IN ADVANCE, OR AT THE LAST MINUTE?
In mid-December of 2024, we began to track the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. Every week, we checked the price of the most affordable car one week out, two weeks out, three weeks out, up to five weeks out, and saved the numbers for comparison.
From mid-February of 2025 until early October, the prices available one day in advance and one week in advance were consistently lower than the price five weeks in advance (see figure 3).
In October this pattern reversed, and prices for last minute bookings were consistently higher than prices booked in advance, with late booking often punished with extreme last minute increases.
The pattern reversed again a few months later in March of 2026. From then on, late booking was again rewarded, with sometimes generous last minute deals. This shift may have been catalyzed by the back-to-back violent Pacific storms that hit the islands causing widespread flood and wind damage in mid- to late March.
This trend is expected to continue and possibly get even worse in the next few weeks.
These price movements and reversals in advance booking advantage versus penalty are illustrated in Figure 3.
HOW DO WE GET OUR MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE DATA?
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 6, 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 Maui rental cars rate and availability 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.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Frank Saab is a thought leader in the rental car industry, quoted by influential publications like SFgate.com. He is the editor of this blog published by Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental LLC, an independent car rental company operating in Maui, Hawaii, since 2006. Frank's offers low prices on affordable older cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.
Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz
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