02-27-2012, 05:33 PM
quote:We probably don't disagree that much, KeaauRich.
Originally posted by KeaauRich
I'd have to disagree with KathyH on one point: You can have a successful vacation rental that isn't near the ocean in Puna. The kind of beaches that most tourists think of when they think of Hawaii really don't exist on this side of the Island, so even Puna homes that are near the water won't be attractive to the "average" visitor who's looking for a place to plop down in the sand with a mai tai... But lots of tourists spend all or part of their vacation on the Puna side specifically so that they can explore the Volcano park, snorkel the tide pools, visit Hilo, see the botanic gardens, etc. As long as you are clear in your advertising that you are not near the water, you'll find that you can still have a steady stream of happy guests occupying your property.
I didn't mean to imply a rental can't be successful inland in Lower Puna. I think I said it can be, or meant to. Having a stream of happy occupants sure is a success in my book. I actually had a rental away from the water and all that where our occupancy was really good.
I should have said more successful in terms of rates you can get.
I have read hundreds of queries on rentals as part of volunteering for Tripadvisor, and queries from the type of visitors who mostly use TA are quite consistent. Either they want to stay in the Volcano area, or they want Hilo/north of Hilo, or they want Puna Makai.
Those who look at Puna Makai (often first timers to Puna) look mostly at HPP and Kapoho and they do want oceanfront or near it. They do understand that they can't swim right at HPP, but a number of the ocean front rentals have pools and hot tubs and they get the Mai Tai moments sitting at the edge of the world there ...
The desire for sand is easily gotten past for people who come here, but a prime ocean VIEW always has high value.
I'm talking here about people who expect to drop $200--$350 per night for a couple. It's real hard to interest this group in mid-HPP or other inland spots.
There are certain rentals that get buzz for their fabulous views and oceanfront ambience, and we hear very little about all the other rentals. We hear very few trip reports from people who stayed in the other ones. That doesn't mean the more affordable rentals are unsuccessful or undesirable.
I well know how beautiful it can be inland; it's just a little hard for the first time mainstream visitor to grasp. There will always be first timers who look at price and think, that's really cute and I'm going to be out and about most of the time. I catered to that market myself, and I really liked the guests we got at our alternative rental very much. They were super cool people.
So I am far from dissing all the non oceanfront. But because I don't really get a sense of the demand for that, I guess I'm not sure how much market demand there is for NEW vacation rentals that don't have some special feature, what marks a new rental out as the place to try rather than the ones that already have word of mouth, reviews, referrals.
btw, it isn't just oceanfront that people ask for -- they also love waterfalls, swimming holes such as is found at Reed's Island and north of Hilo, and they love the cute rain forest look they find in Volcano.
The default suggestion on Tripadvisor for people wanting to visit VNP is to stay in or very near to Volcano Village -- not from me but from the majority of west side residents and repeat visitors -- so there's the big competition, and the prices are great up there as well.