The American Hotel & Lodging Association, in partnership with the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, has been supporting relief efforts in West Maui following devastating wildfires fuelled by Hurricane Dora.
On 14 August – one week after the fires first began ravaging the island – officials announced a new grim death toll of 99 victims, with more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, and an estimated 1,000 people remaining unaccounted for.
The governor warned that the number of fatalities could increase by up to 20 people per day as officials continue to search for survivors and victims.
American Airlines is waiving change fees for flights to Hawaii for travel through to 18 August. United Airlines has also issued a travel advisory for travel to Maui up until 31 August, 2023 for tickets purchased before August 9, 2023.
Delta Air Lines has provided a travel waiver for flights to Maui through to 20 August, 2023 with rebooking by August 31, 2023.
“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 Hawaii Hotel Alliance.
Access to the area is limited, and some hotels are running generators to help meet the basic needs of their employees, guests.
“Given the state is discouraging non-essential travel into Maui, we encourage guests with pending travel to rebook at a future date,” said Chip Rogers, president & CEO American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Kekoa McClellan, who represents AHLA, HHA, and several of Maui’s largest hotel owners, described the situation as “devastating”. “As an industry, we are leaning into this and doing everything we can to support those dealing with this crisis.”
Steve Jones, global chairman and CEO of facilities services provider Allied Universal, extended his and the company’s deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the Allied Universal security professional whose life was lost in the fires near Lahaina. “Like people around the world, I watched in shock as the deadliest wildfire in modern US history devasted Maui last week. I worried about the safety of our valued team members, our customers and the community. My worries were realised. The Allied Universal team lost a security professional in the fire. Several others remain unaccounted for.
“We’ve opened our Maui office as shelter to employees who lost their homes or are unable to access them. We are working to get much-needed supplies, grief counselling and additional support to our team members and others.
“We continue serving our clients on Maui where it is safe to do so, including Kahului Airport.
“Our thoughts go out to the victims, the survivors, their loved ones, the 29 customers we serve on Maui, the island’s community and the entire state of Hawaii.”
Travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged for the near future. The collective resources of the government, the West Maui community, and the travel industry must be focused on the recovery of residents who evacuated their homes and businesses, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said, 15 August.
Hotels in West Maui have temporarily stopped accepting bookings of future reservations and there is no access into the restricted zones of historic Lāhainā town until conditions improve.
Travel to the other Hawaiian Islands, like Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Lānaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island, are not affected at this time.
The island’s visitor industry, according to the Maui Economic Development Board, accounts for roughly four out of every five dollars generated and several business owners have expressed concern that the anti-tourist sentiment could hurt Maui further.
“What I’m afraid of is that if people keep seeing ‘Maui’s closed’, and ‘don’t come to Maui’, what little business is left is going to be gone,” Daniel Kalahiki, who owns a food truck in Wailuku, told the BBC.
