Hurricane Nolo Disrupts Travel And Drops Maui Car Rental Prices
Updated: Oct 5
September 27, 2026. Another powerful storm, Hurricane Nolo, did a fly-by of the Hawaiian Islands this week, causing visitors already in the islands to leave in droves, and arriving visitors to delay or cancel their trips. The result was a dip in rental prices for most vehicles. But prices are expected to resume their climb to the usual early October peak, that coincides with the Columbus day three-day weekend, this year falling on October 12. This date is expected to mark the beginning of the fall roller-coaster ride for Maui car rental prices, with successive peaks on the Veterans' Day and Thanksgiving weekends - all leading up to the Christmas peak, usually the highest of the year. Separately, with the month of September ending, we have compiled the average prices for the month, and we compare them to the average prices in September last year. Keep reading for all the details.
HOW MUCH IS THE CHEAPEST MAUI RENTAL CAR ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2026?
Every week, we list the lowest available prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a range of different vehicle categories, with the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week beginning Monday, September 28, 2026.
Category Price Company
Economy $238 Thrifty
Midsize $273 Thrifty
Jeep $389 Alamo
Convertible - -
SUV $354 SiXT
7 St SUV $420 SiXT
Minivan $601 Thrifty
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 at Kahului Airport (OGG) this week is with Thrifty, at $238/week. Mid-size cars are starting at $273/week, at SiXT. Jeeps are starting at $389/week, from Alamo. The cheapest standard SUV's are $354/week, at Budget. Large 7-seat SUV's are $420/week, also at Sixt. Minivans, are at $601/week, at Thrifty. Convertibles are completely unavailable, from any source on the island, airport or off-airport.
HOW MUCH DID MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK?
This is how the lowest price for a one week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) starting on September 28, 2026 has changed from the week before, for every vehicle category:
Category This week Last Change Economy $238 $285 -16%
Midsize $273 $443 -38%
Jeep $389 $526 -26%
Convertible - - -
SUV $354 $371 -5%
7 st SUV $420 $411 +2%
Minivan $601 $483 +24%
The lowest price for a compact cars is down 16% from last week. Midsize cars are down 38%. Jeeps are down 26%. Standard SUVs are down by 5%, Large SUV's are up 2%. Minivans are also up, by 24% this week.
As we noted last week, convertibles are unavailable until further notice, because of end-of-life de-fleeting of the Chevy Camaro, and safety recalls on the Ford Mustang.
Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.
AVERAGE PRICES FOR SEPTEMBER 2026
With the month of September ending, we can compile the average prices for the month, and compare them to the average prices of the year before. The cost of renting each vehicle type, averaged over the entire month, for September 2025 and 2026, with the year-to-year percentage change, are tabulated below, and illustrated in Figure 3.
Vehicle 2025 2026 %Change Economy $218 $257 +18%
Midsize $273 $330 +21%
Jeep $335 $403 +20%
Convertbl $539 $548 +2%
SUV $306 $312 +2%
7 st SUV $407 $362 -11%
Minivan $447 $430 -4%
Year over year, the cost of renting an economy car, midsize car, or Jeep increased by about 20%. The cost of renting a convertible or standard SUV was nearly unchanged. And the cost of renting a large (7-seat) SUV or a minivan came down slightly.
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.
We have recently completed three full years of weekly monitoring of the lowest available price for a one-week rental at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), compiling prices for vehicles available at the Consolidated Rent A Car facility (ConRAC) as well as rentals from off-airport locations served by free shuttle. This survey covers 10 different companies, Ace (closed as of March 2026), Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, Nu, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty.
This price survey covering three years from July 2023 to this July is illustrated in Figure 3. This chart marks an important milestone in our multi-year price-tracking effort. We will return to it in future editions of this blog to discuss salient features like the significant rise in the price floor in 2026 compared to 2025 (clearly visible on the chart), and the repeating seasonal variation of prices (also clearly visible).
Beginning in July 2024, we expanded our data collection from just the lowest price available to the lowest prices in 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. Later this month we will have completed two full years of this data set - which will again give us plenty of salient findings to dive into, deeply.
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 4, 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. The company is a member of the Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau (HVCB) and the American Car Rental Association (ACRA). Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.
Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz
