Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Kaunakakai, HI
On Molokai, Fairly keeps a Kaunakakai-area vacation rental running from the island itself: a caretaker who lives here handles every turnover, while we list the home on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, price it for the winter peak, answer guests, and collect and remit Hawaiʻi's and Maui County's lodging taxes.
4.8
Average review in Kaunakakai, HI
Fairly is an Airbnb Superhost, and our homes average 4.84 stars across 21,000+ guest reviews. 87% of those reviews are five stars. Better reviews attract better guests, at higher prices, maximizing your revenue.
Kaunakakai market overview
Kaunakakai is Molokai's main town, a short main street of family-run shops and the island's harbor on the south shore, and the base for travelers who come for an island without traffic lights or crowds. Guests stay in oceanfront condominiums along the south shore and at the west end, and set out to the island's edges: the Hālawa Valley road along the east end, the long white sand of Pāpōhaku Beach on the west, and the fishponds that line the south shore. Most arrive on short inter-island flights into Hoʻolehua, a few miles inland.
Winter is the season. Top-rated rentals here fill about three nights in four in January and four in five in February, as mainland visitors escape the cold and humpback whales pass offshore, and March stays strong. Nightly rates hardly move through the year, so occupancy decides a good month from a slow one: demand eases through spring, August is the quietest month, and holiday travel lifts December into the next peak.
What homes earn in Kaunakakai, HI
The chart tracks top-performing vacation rentals around Kaunakakai — homes on Airbnb and Vrbo with a review score of 4.8 or higher that were available or rented at least 300 days of the year. Earnings peak in January and February, when winter visitors fill most nights, and reach their low in August. Nightly rates stay close to level all year, so how often a home books, more than what it charges, sets where it lands in the range. You can customize a projection for a specific home.
| Month | Total rent | Occupancy | Avg. daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $3,464 | 74% | $151 |
| Feb | $3,447 | 81% | $152 |
| Mar | $3,125 | 63% | $160 |
| Apr | $2,066 | 45% | $153 |
| May | $2,496 | 50% | $161 |
| Jun | $1,804 | 36% | $167 |
| Jul | $2,274 | 45% | $163 |
| Aug | $1,414 | 30% | $152 |
| Sep | $1,907 | 41% | $155 |
| Oct | $2,168 | 46% | $152 |
| Nov | $1,632 | 37% | $147 |
| Dec | $2,142 | 47% | $147 |
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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 Kaunakakai, HI
Can my Molokai home be a vacation rental?
For most owners, only if it already rents legally, and for many condos only until the end of 2030. Kaunakakai has no city government; the County of Maui's zoning code governs every home on Molokai, and it treats rentals of less than 180 days by type of property:
- Single-family homes. The county issues no Short-Term Rental Home permits on Molokai, so a house cannot be rented whole to vacationers under that permit.
- Bed and breakfast homes. A county permit allows renting rooms in a home whose owner is a Maui County resident living full-time on the same lot. It does not fit an owner who lives elsewhere, and the county limits how many operate on Molokai and how close together.
- Apartment-district condominiums that rent under the county's pre-1989 exception may keep renting only until a fixed end date. Ordinance 5909 phases vacation rentals out of the A-1 and A-2 apartment districts: outside West Maui, the last permitted night is December 31, 2030, and the use must stop on January 1, 2031. The new H-3 and H-4 hotel districts that let some buildings on Maui apply to keep renting do not apply on Molokai. Timeshare units and buildings operating under a variance are exempt.
- Hotel-zoned properties may rent to vacationers with no end date.
Buying to rent
A new vacation rental cannot realistically start on Molokai today. A buyer who wants a rental that lasts past 2030 should look elsewhere in Hawaiʻi: our Kihei page covers Maui's hotel-zoned condominiums, Kapaʻa Kauaʻi's Visitor Destination Areas, Hilo the County of Hawaiʻi's registration rules, and Honolulu Oʻahu's resort zones, most of Waikīkī among them.
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 Maui County's 0.5% surcharge. A home registers for both on one state application, and every listing must show its transient accommodations tax number. Maui County adds its own 3% transient accommodations tax, calculated from the state return and paid to the county Department of Finance. The state registration certificate, with the name, phone number and email of a contact on Molokai, must be posted inside the rental. Your Fairly caretaker lives on the island and can serve as that contact.
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.
Operating a vacation rental in Kaunakakai, HI
Many rentals here are units in oceanfront condominium complexes, so running one well means working inside the association's rules on check-in, parking and quiet hours as much as caring for the unit. Molokai is a small island with a handful of stores, almost all of them in Kaunakakai, and replacement parts and furnishings arrive by barge or plane, so a broken appliance takes planning and spares on hand save a booking. Salt air and steady trade winds wear on air conditioners, lanai furniture and screens, and the Central Pacific hurricane season, June through November, calls for a storm plan. Hawaiʻi requires each rental to post a local contact on the same island; your Fairly caretaker lives on Molokai and can serve as that contact. In an apartment-district condo, the booking calendar also has to close by the end of 2030.
Frequently asked questions
A flat 20% commission on the rental revenue your Molokai home earns, with no long-term contract and no hidden fees. It covers listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, pricing through the January and February peak, guest messaging, and collecting and remitting Hawaiʻi's and Maui County's lodging taxes. Your caretaker, who lives on Molokai, earns the cleaning fee guests pay plus a share of Fairly's commission.
Not as an owner who lives elsewhere. Maui County issues no Short-Term Rental Home permits on Molokai, and a bed and breakfast permit requires the owner to live on the property. Condos in the apartment districts that already rent under the pre-1989 exception can continue through December 31, 2030, and Ordinance 5909 ends the use after that. Hotel-zoned properties can rent with no end date.
Every stay carries Hawaiʻi's 11% transient accommodations tax, the general excise tax at 4% plus Maui County's 0.5% surcharge, and Maui County's own 3% transient accommodations tax. The state taxes are filed with the Department of Taxation and the county tax is paid to the county. Fairly registers your home for the state taxes and collects and remits all three on every booking.
In January and February, when top-rated rentals book about three nights in four and four in five as winter visitors arrive and whales pass offshore. March stays strong. Nightly rates barely change through the year, so occupancy drives the difference: bookings ease from April, August is the quietest month, and December's holidays begin the next peak.
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Fairly Vacation Rental Management
Serving Kaunakakai, HI and neighboring areas
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