Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Hilo, HI
From Hilo Bay to the road up to the volcano, Fairly runs your Hilo home end to end — a caretaker who lives nearby as your single point of contact, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and the state and county transient accommodations taxes and the general excise tax collected and remitted on every booking.
4.8
Average review in Hilo, HI
Fairly is an Airbnb Superhost, and our homes average 4.84 stars across 21,000+ guest reviews. Fewer than 4% of stays rate below four stars. Better reviews attract better guests, at higher prices, maximizing your revenue.
Hilo market overview
Hilo is the Big Island's windward town and the County of Hawaiʻi's seat: a working harbor city on Hilo Bay, set beneath the rain-forested slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Travelers base here for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, less than an hour's drive south, and for the waterfalls, gardens and rugged coastline of the Hāmākua Coast to the north and Puna to the south. Each spring the town fills for the Merrie Monarch Festival, a week of hula competition, Hawaiian arts and a parade through Hilo town.
Demand here is steadier than on the resort coasts. Nightly rates barely move through the year, so occupancy does the work: February is the busiest month, January through July hold firm, and the calendar softens from August through November, with September the quietest month before December brings holiday travelers back. A Hilo home earns by staying booked rather than by surging in one season.
What homes earn in Hilo, HI
The chart reflects top-performing vacation rentals in the Hilo area — homes on Airbnb and Vrbo with a review score of 4.8 or higher that were available or rented at least 300 days over the year. Hilo's earnings follow occupancy more than price: nightly rates stay within a narrow band all year, so the strongest months are the fullest ones, led by February, and the softest run from August into November. Size, location and views decide where a specific home lands. You can customize a projection for a specific home.
| Month | Total rent | Occupancy | Avg. daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $5,312 | 72% | $238 |
| Feb | $5,398 | 80% | $241 |
| Mar | $5,156 | 72% | $231 |
| Apr | $5,076 | 72% | $235 |
| May | $5,091 | 69% | $238 |
| Jun | $5,240 | 71% | $246 |
| Jul | $5,109 | 67% | $246 |
| Aug | $4,355 | 63% | $223 |
| Sep | $4,177 | 63% | $221 |
| Oct | $4,305 | 64% | $217 |
| Nov | $4,000 | 59% | $226 |
| Dec | $5,208 | 70% | $240 |
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This is based on properties listed on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com with an average review score of 4.8 out of 5 or higher, limited to homes available or rented at least 300 days a year. Earnings vary based on the unique amenities and qualities of each home.
A guaranteed $5,000 increase in earnings
We guarantee that homeowners coming from self management or other managers will make an extra $5,000 in their first year with Fairly.
Vacation Rental Taxes and Regulations in Hilo, HI
Can my Hilo home be a vacation rental?
Yes, where zoning allows it — and a home already operating legally carries forward. Hilo has no city government; the County of Hawaiʻi governs every home in the market. The county regulates unhosted rentals — a whole home with no host living on the property — by zoning: they are allowed only in certain districts, and a home outside them may operate only under a Nonconforming Use Certificate, a pathway now closed to new applicants. A home that already holds a short-term vacation rental registration or a certificate is deemed registered under the county's newer transient vacation rental law. Whether a specific Hilo address can operate unhosted turns on its zoning, which the county Planning Department confirms.
Registering with the county
Every transient vacation rental on the island — any home rented for less than 180 consecutive days — must be registered with the County before it operates. Registration names the owner and a reachable local contact, lists the bedrooms offered, includes a site drawing, and requires an active state general excise tax license, a transient accommodations tax registration, and proof that county real property and lodging taxes are paid. It renews every year, and it lapses 90 days after a change in ownership unless the new owner registers. Registration is not a permit and does not change what zoning allows.
Lodging taxes
The state Department of Taxation administers two taxes on every stay: the 11% transient accommodations tax, and the general excise tax at 4% plus the County of Hawaiʻi's 0.5% surcharge. A home registers for both on a single state application. The County adds its own 3% transient accommodations tax, reported on the same state returns and paid to the county Department of Finance. The transient accommodations tax applies to the whole guest charge, mandatory cleaning fees included. The state registration certificate, with the name, phone number and email of a local contact on the island, must be posted inside the home.
How Fairly handles it
Fairly registers your home for the state general excise and transient accommodations taxes, collects all three taxes on every booking, and files and remits the state returns and the county payments. We also assist with the county registration and each annual renewal.
Operating a vacation rental in Hilo, HI
Hilo is one of the wettest towns in the United States, and a rental here is maintained against the rain. Humidity works on linens, closets and window tracks, so dehumidifiers, airflow and mildew checks belong in every turnover, and gutters, roofs and drainage need attention before heavy weather rather than after. Yards grow fast enough that landscaping is a standing job, salt air off the bay is hard on metal fixtures and lanai furniture, and the Central Pacific hurricane season, June through November, puts storm preparation on the calendar. County registration carries ongoing duties too: it renews every year, and it names a reachable person who answers a guest, neighbor or County call within an hour and can be at the home within three. Your Fairly caretaker lives nearby and fills exactly that role — a single point of contact who handles every turnover in person.
Frequently asked questions
A flat 20% of rental revenue, with no long-term contract and no hidden fees. Fairly earns its commission only on the bookings your Hilo home actually takes, and the rate covers pricing, guest messaging, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and collecting and remitting the lodging taxes. The cleaning fee guests pay goes to your caretaker, who also earns a share of Fairly's commission.
It depends on zoning and on whether you live on the property. Unhosted whole-home rentals are allowed only in certain zoning districts; elsewhere a home needs an existing Nonconforming Use Certificate, and that pathway is closed to new applicants. Homes already registered carry forward, and every rental must hold a current county registration, renewed each year. Fairly assists with the registration and renewals.
Hawaiʻi's 11% transient accommodations tax, the County of Hawaiʻi's 3% transient accommodations tax, and the general excise tax at 4% plus the county's 0.5% surcharge. Fairly registers your home for the state taxes, collects all three on every booking, and files and remits them — your payout arrives with taxes already handled.
In its fullest months, because nightly rates in Hilo hold within a narrow band all year. February is the busiest month, January through July stay strong, and demand softens from August through November, with September the quietest. December brings holiday travelers back, and the Merrie Monarch Festival fills the town each spring.
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Fairly Vacation Rental Management
Serving Hilo, HI and neighboring areas
Available 24/7