short term rental in kailua-kona (Honolulu, Waimea: extended stay, sublets, rentals)

[Celestyn]

My husband has been offered a job in Kailua-Kona but we would like to do a short trial of the job before we commit to selling our home on the mainland and moving there. The employer would like him to come out as quickly as possible, which would be after he gives two weeks notice to his current job. I will stay here on the mainland while he tries out the new job.

The plan is for him to work in Kailua-Kona for two months. At the end of the two months if they are mutually happy with his work, his new employer will allow him to take a month off to come back and pack up the house and get it ready to go on the market. At that point we would get a longer term rental and plan to rent for a year.

We are having difficulty finding an affordable short term rental for the two months, due to the lack of notice. Most places on airbnb and vrbo are booked up here and there. We contacted the realtor recommended by the employer, but he doesn't do short term rentals. Is there anywhere we should look to find more short term rentals? I would like to find one place for him to stay rather than moving from place to place depending on vacancies. I am concerned about craigslist because I heard there are a lot of scams - is it worth pursuing craigslist or are we better off trying more realtors?

We can pay cash for the two month rental. His employer will also cover half the cost, but we don't want to start off by hitting him with a huge rent bill.

[OpenD]

The typical vacation rental of two weeks lines up a little differently than the 1-6 month "short term" rental market. There are landlords who have an ohana to rent at least part of the year, but don't want to deal with the constant churn of tourist business.

Are you checking "Sublets & Temporary" on Craigslist? I see lots of possibilities listed there. And try an internet search on "extended stay kailua-kona." You'll get a lot of noise, but probably a few decent leads.

Good luck.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

One more note -- don't rent anything sight unseen! You will more than likely be very unhappy.

[mdand3boys]

Have your husband ask the employer for suggestions on housing. For just two months, maybe a vacation rental condo in Kona would be appropriate, especially if it is just him.

Congrats BTW. You are doing the right thing by being able to "check it out".

[Celestyn]

Thank you for the information. We tried several avenues and haven't found anything yet, so the employer said he would start looking as well. We also got a referral to a Realtor that does the extended stay rentals and we will call her tomorrow if the employer hasn't found anything.

I did find a few options on the extended stay Google search but none of them post prices, so I suspect we will be calling around quite a bit if the employer or the Realtor doesn't pan out.

This is such a huge change for us that I am thankful we have a chance to check it out in advance.

[EarthItinerant]

OpenD, I see your reference to craigslist, but I don't know how to find CL for The Big Island; all I can locate is one for Honolulu. Can you help?

[davephan]

What's your budget for short term housing? We rented a couple of places on VRBO for about $1K per week. Many of the short term weekly rentals are higher than that rate. You might expand you search farther from Kona for more choices. We stayed in Waikoloa Village, which is about a 20 minute drive. You could look farther north in Waimea, which is about 40 minutes away. You could also look south, but the roads are much better to the north with less twistings.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by EarthItinerant

OpenD, I see your reference to craigslist, but I don't know how to find CL for The Big Island; all I can locate is one for Honolulu. Can you help?

I know it's confusing, the Honolulu Craigslist is actually the main listing for the whole state. Once you're on that site there are tabs that allow you to select for specific islands. Or you can just enter the site at the subcategory level for the Big island:

https://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Celestyn

Thank you for the information. We tried several avenues and haven't found anything yet, so the employer said he would start looking as well. We also got a referral to a Realtor that does the extended stay rentals and we will call her tomorrow if the employer hasn't found anything.

I did find a few options on the extended stay Google search but none of them post prices, so I suspect we will be calling around quite a bit if the employer or the Realtor doesn't pan out.

If my calculations are correct, your husband should be close to time to travel. If you haven't found anything yet, here are a couple of suggestions...

Looking in the Craigslist Sublet/Temporary category I see several listings for cottages in the S. Kona area for around $500/wk. Since time is short, perhaps his new employer can assist in checking them out in person for suitability.

Another possibility is the older hotels in the area that cater to frugal travelers. Uncle Billy's Hawaiian Family Hotel, across the street from the Kona Inn is one. It's humble accommodations, worn but pretty clean in my experience, and within very convenient walking distance to a lot of restaurants and shops. Parking can be hard to find though. They have an internet special (ie., booked on the internet) on their least expensive room for $786 total per week, incl. taxes. When I checked availability just now they had a week available at that rate starting 5/13, but not two weeks. Then the third week is available at that rate. The next step up, at $1,024/wk is currently available. But if you have interest, better get booked now! But keep in mind that June to August are prime summer tourist season and places do fill up early.

Kona Seaside Hotel is another budget hotel, currently showing availability in May at $95/day, so $665/wk plus taxes of about 88.50 = roughly $753.50. And there are others. The big advantage with a hotel stay is generally having more flexibility to leave if he finds a permanent place. But do check cancellation policies.

Uncle Billy Family Hotels
Family Owned | Kona Hawaii, The Big Island | Kona Seaside Hotel

Good luck!

[Celestyn]

Thank you for the responses and the additional information. You are right, he is flying out this Saturday.

We were starting to get very concerned about finding something, but his employer came through for us at the end of last week and has found a friend with an ohana unit that will rent to us for $1000 a month. I think it will be ideal for him because it is remote and modest, which is how we would like to live if the job trial works out. It is up on the hill in the dry area, which is the area that we would prefer if we move.

I was getting ready to book something a lot more expensive on vrbo, so it was a very welcome call to let us know that he had made the arrangements.