Travelers conflicted as Hawaiian Tourism Authority now encouraging trips to Maui

There’s confusion tonight for those with travel plans to Maui as the Hawaiian city works to recover from historically deadly wildfires.

Social media is abuzz with travelers complaining about the roadblocks they are encountering as they try to cancel or rebook plans to visit Maui.

This comes as the Hawaiian Tourism Authority is encouraging visitors to keep their plans but avoid the city’s ravaged west side.

But not everyone is following that advice. In fact, a Seattle-based travel agent is advising her clients not to go to Maui, at least not now.

So, when her clients arrive here at SEA for travel to Hawaii, they will almost certainly be going to a different island.

“Right now, we strongly discourage any travel to Maui,” said Danielle Turner, owner of Dani Travels.

That is the straightforward advice this Seattle-based travel agent is giving her clients after the disastrous wildfires that ravaged Maui’s west side, sending tourists scrambling.

And days later, she says of traveling to Maui, “We still discourage it.”

Turner says those with travel insurance should be able to easily cancel or postpone their trip. But those with no travel insurance?

“We recommend reaching out to either the airline on the accommodation directly, short-term villa, or Airbnb to see what you can get,” said Turner “Whether that’s an airline credit or a refund.”

After telling visitors to stay away, Hawaii officials, now facing catastrophic losses in tourism, the state’s economic lifeline, are saying only Maui’s west side should be avoided.

“But the rest of Maui is still open,” said Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. “We’ve not shut down. We’ve not shipped anyone out. We’ve not asked anyone to leave.”

“Our hotel is on the west side,” said Brooke. “So, that’s why. That’s the pickle that we’re in right now.”

Brooke is trying to reschedule her Maui trip. She waived travel insurance because of the hefty price tag. And she says Seattle-based travel giant Expedia told her it can’t help.

“Marriott, which is the brand that oversees the hotel, tells me it has to be Expedia,” Brooke said. “And Expedia is telling me ‘no.’”

She showed us the texts that show Expedia blaming Marriott and then Marriott, blaming Expedia. Meanwhile, she is stuck with a $3,000 trip she may not be able to take.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said. “With a lot of pointing fingers.”

In an email Wednesday afternoon, Expedia said they will waive cancelation fees through August 31. But Brooke’s trip is in November.

Danielle Turner says the way to avoid all of this is to always buy travel insurance. She says as the climate changes, it will become more and more important to protect your trip.

©2023 Cox Media Group