Using Craigslist on Maui (Safely)

Using Craigslist to Find Vacation Rentals

One of the most important aspects of planning your vacation to Maui is definitely booking your accommodations. After checking airline ticket prices, the first thing on our minds is where are we going to stay. For some, a hotel room or booking a resort suite in Maui seems like a feasible option. For others wishing for a different type of experience, renting condos or rooms on AirBnb seems a more appealing option.

There are a variety of sites and ways to book condos and rooms in people’s homes, but not all are created equal and each poses certain upsides and downsides. Finding the best possible prices is challenging and it’s hard to know you’re getting the very best deal. Thankfully, the advent of Craigslist has made this process a little easier. Often misspelled as Crsigslist, this is a platform designed to aid transactions of buying and selling, it includes products ranging from personal items up to home rentals and more.

Since the sellers are common individuals and not designer brands, the success of Craigslist is closely tied with the aspect of being pocket-friendly. As products vary, so do the price levels, and easily enough, one is able to find a seller willing to come down to the price they are offering, after negotiation. The element of bargaining is present in purchases made from Craigslist thus making it the go-to web destination for people searching for a deal that wouldn’t drain their vacation budgets. Craigslist is also a great place to look for things to do on Maui…

Be Careful of Scams on Maui Craigslist

A recent scam incident occurred during the Christmas holidays of 2019, which added to the list of fraud Craigslist rentals. On Christmas eve, Daniel and Sherry Shi came to Maui. They had booked a rental via Craigslist on Liholiho street. Alongside the booking, they had also been required to pay an upfront deposit and a few days of the rental fees. However, as they arrived on the Wailuku address, they found that the rental was in fact not a rental at all.

Imagine their surprise and worry that on Christmas eve, they stood stranded, without a place to stay at for the night. Also, due to it being Christmas eve, they were unable to find a room elsewhere, or even hail an Uber. Thankfully, the neighbors in the area helped and found them a room by the Maui Costco at the Courtyard Marriott Kahului Airport. The family, hoping for a wonderful holiday, were left scammed of their money – taking the Christmas spirit away, but the Aloha spirit of those neighbors did restore their faith in the island.

Maui’s Craigslist Offerings Are Unique

Displaying a wide range of products and services, almost everything you could ever want to purchase in Maui is available on Craigslist by way of the numerous sellers. Want to rent beach chairs, snorkel gear, or surfboards? You can find that on Craigslist. Need to furnish your own vacation home with these items but don’t want to buy new? Craigslist. Lessons of all kinds for watersports and even rental cars are on Craigs. When browsing guided tours, be careful not to opt into a tour with an unlicensed guide operating without insurance. All of our vendors are licensed with the state of Hawaii and provide safe adventures. However, one of the best features of this site is the wide range of vacation rentals it offers. Whether you are searching for an oceanfront home or a private Polynesian pole house, a luxury condo or a seaside studio, everything is available in negotiable rates on Craigslist. You can converse with the owner/renter beforehand, and decide upon the terms of rental, and there you have it – your holiday accommodation is ready without any hassle.

How To Avoid Craigslist Scams

We all know that Craigslist is

• Easy to use and access
• Presents affordable options
• Gives a variety of products and services
• Is your one-stop online shop

However, with this ease comes the opportunity for deception, and using Craiglist to book a room on Maui is, unfortunately, an example of this. With sellers and buyers conversing and making transactions behind a screen, there is no guarantee of authenticity on the surface. There is always the risk of the seller on the other side of being a fraud, especially when it comes to vacation rentals. There have been many incidences of tourists paying up for a 3-bedroom rental, as per the pictures they were provided. Only to find out it was 2 bedrooms when they visited, or some other discrepancy. 

Such frauds are an ugly truth of the world and often make their way into the best of websites, such as Craigslist. However, this certainly does not mean one should stop availing the benefits of such sites in fear of a possible scam. There are ways to prevent such incidences from happening – only watch out for the signs:

• The seller telling you a bizarre background story in efforts to sell you the rental.
• The seller can’t speak with you and has someone else communicate with you, often with poor English.
• The seller is not a resident of the island.
• The photographs of the rental appear like something taken off a site or made up.
• If a deal sounds too good to be true; a very low-priced condo or allowances that seem improbable like “pets are allowed”.
• Go with your instinct. Sometimes, you have a feeling that something seems wrong when conversing with a seller. Always go with your gut feeling.

A good accommodation makes vacation much better. Choose the one from ‘Crsigslist’ which appeals to you, whilst being wary of the signs of a possible scam. Craigslist doesn’t always have the best deals though, especially when it comes to activity tickets, take a look at our prices on Maui Luaus here. Take precautions, and you are set for a wonderful vacation!