Lahaina Fire Updates and American Red Cross Cooperation
In cooperation with the Hawaii Governor Josh Green's recommendation, Maui Resort Rentals will be welcoming visitors back to West Maui beginning October 8th. We are absolutely filled with gratitude for all the support we have received from owners, past guests, and future guests—many of whom contributed generously to our GoFundMe to help our employees who lost homes to the fire.
We are also immensely grateful to our Maui Resort Rentals employees. Although nearly 1/3 of our staff lost their own homes and personal belongings to the fires, many employees continued to dutifully come into work in the immediate fire aftermath. It required a massive team effort to assist the more than 1000 guests with near term reservations that all-of-a-sudden needed to either reschedule or cancel. We regret that some guests waited longer than we would have wanted for resolution, but considering the circumstances, we are proud of the overall job our team did.
In addition, we are proud to report that Maui Resort Rentals is currently working in conjunction with the American Red Cross to house dozens of our own displaced Maui Resort Rentals employees, and hundreds of displaced Lahaina residents. Many of the Lahaina residents who lost homes in the fires worked in the visitor economy and have spent years serving our visitors. We feel it is only right that we try to do what we can to help out these displaced residents during their time of need.
This last week marked the first opportunity we had as a company to get all of our Maui Resort Rentals employees together since the fires. Many of our employees had not seen each other since before the fires so it was nice to get everyone together for a BBQ at Airport Beach Park. Although many lost everything, a BBQ and some bingo with friends was enough to bring out the smiles.
Although, it may take many months for the Lahaina residents who lost homes to find their footing in new long-term accommodations, and although it will take much longer than that for the town of Lahaina to be rebuilt, tourism is the lifeblood of the West Maui Economy so we are looking forward to sharing our beautiful island with visitors once again.
Although many Lahaina businesses were lost, the surrounding areas from Kapalua to Kaanapali remain intact and in need of your support.
Many of our upcoming guests have expressed concerns about their upcoming visits and want to make sure that their vacations are not displacing any residents from temporary accommodations or otherwise creating additional hardship on our island and our residents after these historic fires. We do sincerely appreciate your consideration and thoughtfulness in this regard. We realize this has been a confusing issue.
The fact of the matter is that there is a diversity of opinions on the subject of reintroducing tourism to West Maui, so there is no way to speak for everyone, but we do feel like we can share a few main points that most West Maui residents seem to agree upon.
We would encourage any visitors with upcoming visits to consider these points if they wish to make their visit to Maui a respectful one:
- We kindly ask that visitors refrain from traveling to the fire zone to take pictures or otherwise explore. This area is restricted and should only be visited by people with a legitimate reason to be there.
- Certain beaches and parks are currently being utilized as support hubs and aid stations, including S Turns, Honokowai Beach Park, D.T. Flemings, and Napili Park. We would encourage you to refrain from visiting these areas. Their primary purpose is to assist residents in need. We are happy to advise on which beaches might be more accessible and suitable for your enjoyment.
- Please avoid asking any service workers or residents about the fires or what their experience has been. While some residents or workers may be happy to talk, many do not wish to continually rehash the experience. In 100% of cases it is going to be best to simply avoid the subject unless a Maui resident brings it up with you first.
- Most residents of Maui understand that tourism is crucial for the island's economic well-being and many in West Maui have been unemployed since the fires. The majority we speak to simply want to return to work and regain some normalcy in their lives. This, however, needs to be balanced with the prevailing sentiment on West Maui that nobody wants to see displaced residents kicked out onto the street to make room for visitors. This is a conversation that continues to unfold. From our own standpoint, we can emphatically say that none of the displaced residents we are currently sheltering will be evicted to make room for visitors. We have separate inventory set aside for our upcoming guests, and we aim to continue to work with the American Red Cross as long as we can continue doing so.
Upcoming visotors have also asked about which businesses are currently open on West Maui. Businesses have been gradually reopening by the week and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this list as the situation is constantly changing but here is a current list of open businesses as of 10/5/23.
List of open businesses:
Ka’anapali:
Leilanis
Round Table Pizza
Duke’s
Roy’s
Honokowai:
The Fish Market
Okazuya Deli
Honokowai Food Trucks
Pizza Paradiso
Farmers Market Maui
Kahana:
The Beach House Bar & Grill
Miso Phat Sushi
Dollie’s
Maui Brew Co
Napili:
Joey’s Kitchen
A’A Roots
Sea House
Kitchen 5315
Kapalua:
Pour House
Taverna
Plantation House
Merrimans
In an effort to support our community and give our guests the most positive experience, we are encouraging everyone to practice responsible tourism. The video below outlines what this means, and why it's so important!