Several Maui hotels — that were lively with visitors enjoying the tourist season just 24 hours prior — stood quiet and empty Wednesday as the island found itself in the midst of natural disaster.
As of Thursday night, more than 50 deaths were confirmed as a result of the wildfires that swept through the west side of the Hawaiian island Maui. The town of Lahaina, a historic site and popular tourist destination, experienced the worst of the devastation, with hundreds of homes and essential buildings destroyed.
“What we saw was likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statement.
Maui, which has a permanent population of roughly 155,000, attracted 2.9 million visitors in 2022 alone. Given its status as a popular tourist hub, the island’s hotels are on the frontlines of relief efforts — though many are scrambling to take care of their guests and staff.
The immediate impact
Green said Hawaii will likely turn to hotels to help house those who have been displaced by the fires. However, the destruction is so severe, it can be hard to even reach those who have been displaced.
“It’s nothing that any of us have seen before,” said Lisa Paulson, executive director of the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association. “Comms have been completely shut off because there's no internet. There's no power. There's no landline accessible. The fires have taken out all of the infrastructure, even water.”
Evacuating tourists from the area — challenging on an island like Maui — has required coordinated work between hotels, emergency services and airlines. Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines have offered additional flights to Oahu “to at least get them to a place where we can shelter them,” Paulson said.
“It's been nonstop,” she added. “A lot of us are running on very few hours of sleep.”
Currently, most hotels on West Maui are working off of diesel generators, which will need refueling, and access to the area is limited.
“We’re trying to keep the lines of communication open to Lahaina and other parts of West Maui and the greater island," said Jerry Gibson, President of the Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance, in a statement.
Hotels affected
The extent of the damage has yet to be fully assessed. But one hotel in Lahaina will not survive: the historic Pioneer Inn.
"We are deeply saddened by the news from Lahaina, a very historic town that was home to the iconic 122-year-old Pioneer Inn, a longtime member of Historic Hotels of America," Lawrence Horwitz, executive vice president of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide, told Hotel Dive. "Our thoughts are with the people of Maui and the state of Hawaii."
The Pioneer Inn has been part of Historic Hotels of America since 2016, though it’s been in existence much longer. The hotel was the first lodging to open in Lahaina after it was built in 1901. The building featured Hawaiian plantation-style architecture and, at one point, even a movie theater with a massive organ that entertained guests.
Meanwhile, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa has “implemented emergency preparedness procedures,” according to a statement on its website.
“At this time, we can confirm the hotel is closed to arrivals and not accepting guests" through Aug. 17, the statement read. The hotel's F&B outlets remain open.
Other hotels have fared better.
The 547-room Wailea Beach Resort remained open as of Thursday. "We are grateful for the dedication of our resort teams who are working vigilantly to accommodate guests and minimize the impact of the fires, despite being impacted by the fires themselves," said Bryan Giglia, CEO of Sunstone Hotel Investors, which owns the resort.
The Four Seasons Resort Maui also did not have to evacuate. “Our hearts go out to all those impacted, and we thank you all for your outpouring of concern,” read a statement from the hotel on Instagram. “In support of those displaced or impacted by the fires, all non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time.”
Lending a hand
In response to the destruction, the American Hotel & Lodging Association has partnered with the Hawaii Hotel Alliance to support relief efforts.
The organizations are leaning on their hotel communities to find available rooms on Oahu to house displaced Maui residents and evacuating guests. Officials have also leaned on the hotels’ resources — such as ballrooms, equipment and staff — to support their efforts.
“We are monitoring this situation across the State of Hawai‘i, and we are in communication with our hotel community,” said AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers in a statement. “Given the state is discouraging nonessential travel into Maui, we encourage guests with pending travel to rebook at a future date.”
Elsewhere, hotel staffers have created GoFundMe pages to support workers, many of whom are among the residents most affected by the fires. One GoFundMe was made in support of workers at The Pioneer Inn. Another was created to help workers at The Whaler Hotel, an HEI Hotels & Resorts property. The company shared the link to the GoFundMe with a statement that read: “Our thoughts are with those affected and we extend our appreciation to the firefighters and all of those involved in relief efforts.”
Paulson told Hotel Dive that she encourages well-wishers to donate to the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund, which is currently being used to support affected communities.
“But right now we're fine with hot food, and we're overwhelmed with the donations everywhere,” she said.
