Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Kailua-Kona, HI
On the dry, sunny Kona coast, Fairly runs your Kailua-Kona condo or home with a caretaker who lives nearby as your single point of contact, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and Hawaiʻi's lodging and excise taxes collected and remitted on every booking.
4.8
Average review in Kailua-Kona, 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.
Kailua-Kona market overview
Kailua-Kona is the town of the Big Island's leeward coast. Aliʻi Drive runs south from the historic waterfront and Huliheʻe Palace toward Keauhou, lined with oceanfront condominiums, surf breaks and beach parks, and Kona International Airport sits a short drive north. This is the island's dry side, and travelers come for the reliable sun: snorkeling among sea turtles at Kahaluʻu Bay, night dives with manta rays, sportfishing charters out of Honokōhau Harbor, and the coffee farms on the slopes above town.
Demand follows the mainland winter. Occupancy peaks in February and holds strong from December through March, then eases from April into a long, even summer. Nightly rates move within a narrow band all year, so the calendar is decided by how full a home is rather than by price: August is the least-booked month, September carries the lowest rates, and October and November begin the climb back toward the holidays.
What homes earn in Kailua-Kona, HI
The chart reflects top-performing vacation rentals in Kailua-Kona — 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. Kona earns most in winter: February is the fullest month, and January through March carry the year. Rates stay in a narrow band, so a home's strongest months are its fullest ones, and August and September are the softest. Size, view and distance from the water decide where a specific home lands. You can customize a projection for a specific home.
| Month | Total rent | Occupancy | Avg. daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $7,022 | 75% | $302 |
| Feb | $7,018 | 83% | $302 |
| Mar | $6,581 | 71% | $299 |
| Apr | $5,198 | 57% | $304 |
| May | $4,385 | 52% | $272 |
| Jun | $4,515 | 50% | $301 |
| Jul | $4,707 | 52% | $292 |
| Aug | $3,808 | 45% | $273 |
| Sep | $3,963 | 51% | $259 |
| Oct | $4,672 | 55% | $274 |
| Nov | $4,851 | 55% | $294 |
| Dec | $6,170 | 64% | $311 |
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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 Kailua-Kona, HI
Can my Kailua-Kona home be a vacation rental?
Most Kona condos can, and so can houses inside the resort areas. Kailua-Kona has no city government; the County of Hawaiʻi governs every home here and allows a new unhosted rental — one where the owner doesn't live on the property — only in certain zoning districts. Around Kona those are:
- condominium buildings in the multiple-family residential districts (RM), which hold many of the condo complexes along and above Aliʻi Drive;
- the resort-zoned parcels (V) strung along the ocean side of Aliʻi Drive from Kailua Village south to Keauhou;
- the village and general commercial districts (CV, CG) in and around Kailua Village;
- any residential or commercial lot inside the General Plan's resort areas, which in Kona are the Kailua Village waterfront and Keauhou.
Houses in single-family residential and agricultural districts outside the resort areas (RS, RA, A) cannot start one; there, only homes holding a Nonconforming Use Certificate may operate, and it is closed to new applicants. The county Planning Department confirms a parcel's zoning, and its zone maps show the districts. A condominium's own declaration and house rules can restrict rentals further. The County Council is weighing changes to these rules; this is the law in force today.
Registering with the county
Every transient vacation rental — any home rented for less than 180 consecutive days — must be registered with the County before it takes guests; homes already holding a short-term vacation rental registration or a Nonconforming Use Certificate are deemed registered. The registration names the owner and a reachable person who answers a call within an hour and can be on site within three, and requires the state tax licenses and proof that county property and lodging taxes are paid. It renews every year and lapses 90 days after a sale unless the new owner registers. For an unhosted rental, the owner or reachable person must live in the County of Hawaiʻi and be reachable around the clock. Your Fairly caretaker lives nearby and can act as the home's reachable person.
Lodging taxes
A Kona stay carries three taxes. The state Department of Taxation administers the 11% transient accommodations tax and the general excise tax — 4% plus the County of Hawaiʻi's 0.5% surcharge — and one state application registers a home for both. The County levies its own 3% transient accommodations tax, reported on the same state returns and paid to the county Department of Finance. Both transient accommodations taxes apply to the whole guest charge, cleaning fees included, and the state certificate is posted in the unit with the name, phone number and email of a local contact on the island.
How Fairly handles it
We register your home for the state excise and transient accommodations taxes, then collect all three taxes on every booking and file and remit the state returns and the county payments. We also assist with the county registration and each yearly renewal.
Operating a vacation rental in Kailua-Kona, HI
Most Kailua-Kona rentals are condominiums along Aliʻi Drive and the streets above it, so running one means working within the building as well as the unit: association house rules, parking passes, lobby and elevator access, and pool and quiet hours guests have to know before they arrive. Kona's dry, sunny weather is easy on interiors and hard on anything facing the ocean — salt spray works on lanai railings, sliding doors and outdoor furniture, and cooling earns its keep through the warm months. Vog from Kīlauea can drift up the coast, and the Central Pacific hurricane season, June through November, puts storm preparation on the calendar. County rules call for a reachable person who lives on the island, answers a call within an hour and can be at the home within three; your Fairly caretaker lives nearby, can fill that role, and handles every turnover in person.
Frequently asked questions
Fairly charges a flat 20% commission on rental revenue, with no long-term contract and no hidden fees, and earns it only when your Kona home books. The rate covers listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, pricing, guest messaging, and collecting and remitting Hawaiʻi's lodging and excise taxes. Your caretaker is paid the cleaning fee guests pay plus a share of Fairly's commission.
Most condos can. The County of Hawaiʻi allows unhosted rentals in condominium buildings zoned multiple-family (RM), on the resort-zoned parcels along Aliʻi Drive (V), in Kailua Village's commercial districts, and anywhere in the resort areas at the Kailua Village waterfront and Keauhou. Single-family houses elsewhere can't start one. Each rental needs a yearly county registration, and condo association rules can add limits. Fairly assists with the registration.
Three: 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. Both transient accommodations taxes apply to the full guest charge, cleaning fees included. Fairly registers your home for the state taxes, collects all three on every booking, and files and remits them.
Winter. Occupancy peaks in February and stays high from December through March, when mainland travelers come for Kona's dry, sunny coast. Nightly rates change little through the year, so the quieter months are simply less full: August is the least-booked month and September has the lowest rates, before bookings build again through the fall.
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Fairly Vacation Rental Management
Serving Kailua-Kona, HI and neighboring areas
Available 24/7