ACE Rent A Car Maui has shut down without warning and is telling the state it has no intention of honoring existing reservations. That leaves travelers arriving at Kahului Airport scrambling in real time, often after already paying in advance for a car that will not be there.
This is not a theoretical problem. People are landing on Maui right now who thought their transportation was locked in, only to find no shuttle, no staff, and no car waiting for them. As of this morning, Expedia still shows an active Ace Car Rentals in Maui page (see below). There is no warning, no notice of closure, and nothing to indicate to a traveler searching for a Maui rental car that the company they are about to book has already shut down.
Most travelers who see ACE in a car rental search assume they are booking with a single company, just as they would with Hertz, Avis, or Enterprise. That is not how ACE works. ACE is a licensing and reservations network. Each location is independently owned and operated by a separate local company that pays to use the ACE name and plugs into the ACE booking system, which is how ACE listings show up on Expedia, Kayak, and other travel sites.
The Maui location was run by a company called Tropical Holdings. The ACE location on Oahu is owned by a completely different operator. Same brand name on the website, no shared ownership, no shared accountability. When the Maui location shut down, it had no effect on the Oahu location, and the Oahu operator has no obligation to Maui customers. This is not obvious to anyone booking online, nor was it to us.
The Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection confirmed that ACE Rent A Car’s Maui operation has ceased doing business entirely. The company has reportedly told the state it will not honor existing bookings.
What stands out is not just the closure but how it is unfolding. There was no meaningful lead time for travelers, no orderly wind-down, and no transition plan for people who had already reserved and, in some cases, prepaid their Kahului car rental.
According to other reporting, the Maui operation had already experienced a pattern of complaints and customer disputes leading up to this point. That implies more than a routine business closure. Complaints about forced insurance charges, no-shows, and cars given away despite confirmed reservations were already part of the picture even before the doors closed.
If you have a reservation with ACE Rent A Car Maui, it should be assumed that it will not be honored. Travelers need to pivot quickly, especially if they are already en route or arriving soon.
The first step is to secure a replacement vehicle immediately through one of the other companies at Kahului Airport. One thing worth knowing is that ACE Maui was not located at the main Kahului Airport rental car facility. It operated off-site near Costco with its own shuttle.
At the same time, you should begin the process of recovering any money you paid. The Office of Consumer Protection is advising customers to contact the company directly and to dispute charges with their credit card company if refunds are not processed promptly.
Hold onto documentation. Reservation confirmations, receipts, and any correspondence could all matter if you need to escalate the issue or file a complaint.
The problems showed up consistently in traveler reviews we scoured, going back years. The experiences included an iPad check-in with a remote agent, insurance presented as required, and a final price at the counter that was significantly higher than the price quoted online. Multiple travelers also said they were told their existing coverage was unacceptable and that ACE’s own insurance was therefore mandatory. The state complaints were not a surprise to anyone who had already read the reviews.
For visitors, it is a reminder of something we have covered repeatedly. The weakest link in a Hawaii trip is often not the flight or the hotel but the smaller third-party providers in between, the ones that look fine until they are not.
Maui still has the full expected lineup of major rental car companies at the Kahului Airport rental car facility, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Sixt, and Thrifty. Unlike ACE, all of them are on-site.
This also connects to what we have been covering on Maui rental car pricing and availability. Supply shocks and sudden demand shifts create unpredictable costs for visitors, and this is another version of the same problem.
Unlike Waikiki, there is no realistic way to rely on walking or quick rideshares during your vacation on Maui. Beaches, restaurants, and activities are spread out, and visitors, more often than not, plan their entire itinerary around having a vehicle.
This is bigger than one company shutting down. Travelers are taking on more risk when booking through smaller or less-established providers in Hawaii, especially when trying to save money. It may work great, but in this situation, it did not.
For some readers, this reinforces a shift already underway, wherein paying more for a known brand appears less like overspending and more like common sense.
What’s your take? First, did you have a reservation with ACE Rent A Car Maui, or have you ever had anything like this happen on a Hawaii trip? How are you choosing?
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Comment policy (1/25):
* No profanity, rudeness, personal attacks, or bullying.
* Specific Hawaii-focus “only.”
* No links or UPPER CASE text. English only.
* Use a real first name.
* 1,000 character limit.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name**
Email**
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2008-2026 · Beat of Hawaii · All rights reserved.
All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners.

Website built by TechSpokes
Stay abreast of the latest island travel news, tips, deals, and more. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and let Hawaii come to you. Mahalo!

source