Car Rental Agencies Cut Fleets as Tourists on Decline
With fewer tourists vacationing on Maui, car rental companies have decreased their fleets - some by double-digit percentages, leaving renters scrambling to find available vehicles. "We probably won't come (to Maui) until June, if we can get a car over there," said John Farmer, of Portland, Ore., who visits Maui five times a year. Farmer was planning a March visit but said cars were sold out at his usual rental agency, Alamo Rent A Car. He also couldn't find cars at National Car Rental and Avis Rent A Car. Hertz Rent A Car was offering a rental at $500 a week, which Farmer said was too much to pay so he canceled his trip. Oahu resident John Naughton and his wife were trying to find a rental car on Maui in February so they could attend a special ceremony in Hana to remember the crew members of the Sarah Joe, a lost boat from Hana that Naughton found years later on a remote atoll. "Several of us were trying to get over there and get cars. My wife and I had a big pro...