Updated on September 17, 2022
Like many, Angie Leone found her way into the vacation rental community by happenstance. She and her husband first moved to Maui in 2006 for her job as a speech pathologist. She stepped away from the role when she had her first son, but wanting to stay busy, she began renting their West Maui condo to vacationers. Soon after, others began asking her to manage their condos, too.
Today, that service has become Coconut Condos, a property management company of 60 luxury studio, 1- and 2-bedroom condos in resort areas on West Maui.
Most of their guests come for a week at a time, often for family vacations or destination weddings backdropped by the island’s striking mountains or glittering turquoise waves. They choose to stay with Coconut Condos, or at vacation rentals in general, because of the kitchen and laundry amenities, as well as the space to spread out but stay together as a family or group.
When they visit, they love Coconut Condos’ personalized local recommendations, from restaurants to boat tours and even which captains to ask for. “We profile a lot of the local businesses that we love to go to and know that they offer great service,” Angie said.
Coconut Condos shops local, too. The reusable bags supplied to guests are purchased from Williams and Associates across the street from their Lahaina office. Their linens are processed at Ali’i Linen Service, another neighboring business. Their organic and sustainably packaged toiletries come from Malie Organics on Kaua’i, and their bedding from Maka Sea is designed in Maui and sold at a local boutique shop Hale Zen.
Sharing the Aloha Spirit with Those Who Need It Most
Coconut Condos guests may not always realize their visits to Maui impact more than just the local businesses, vendors, and employees who service their stay.
“When I started this company, it really wasn’t to make money, it was just something to keep busy and a side hustle,” Angie said in an interview on the Sarah and T podcast. “When it really became our family business, I had to find something that motivated me more than money.”
Being able to give back was her ultimate motivation, so she built giving programs into every piece of her business.
A portion of every reservation is donated to Habitat for Humanity: Maui, which funds affordable housing projects. For each condo they manage, Coconut Condos also sponsors a child in need through Compassion International, an organization that helps children around the world break the cycle of poverty.
Unopened and non-perishable groceries guests can’t bring home are donated to The Maui Food Bank. Once linens are retired from the condos, they are donated to A Cup of Cold Water, an outreach program that distributes food, hygiene products, clothing and other essential items to the island’s homeless community.
In 2015, Coconut Condos partnered with the Dream Foundation to provide free Maui vacations to terminally ill adults. They have hosted eight of these vacations over the years, often working with other local businesses to create special experiences – even a wedding – for these guests.
And every month, the Coconut Condos team volunteers at Ka Hale A Ke Ola, a local homeless resource center, where they throw a pizza party and share a night of dinner and conversation with their guests.
Dreams Deferred
In the wake of Covid-19, the pizza parties and dream vacations have paused.
Maui vacation rentals have been shut down to all but essential workers since March 25. The rest of the tourism industry was stopped on a dime, too. The result on tourism-dependent Hawaii: a record unemployment level of 22.3%, second only to Nevada and a near ten-fold increase from pre-Covid low unemployment of 2.4%.
In Maui County, unemployment is even higher at 35% and 51% amongst civilian citizens, according to a Workforce Development Board of Maui report referenced at a late May Hawaii Travel Authority committee meeting. Coconut Condos isn’t immune to the downturn. The shutdown forced them to lay off three part-time and three full-time employees and reduce the hours or salaries for the remaining staff.
Meaningful relief for the tourism economy may not come until August at the earliest. Maui County officials announced June 12 that vacation rentals could open to interisland (in-state) travelers when the 14-day quarantine lifts for them on June 16. Earlier in the week, however, Governor Ige extended the out-of-state quarantine to July 31.
“Our businesses aren’t going to be able to start to get back to normal until after the 14-day quarantine is lifted,” Angie said. “But we believe that when tourism is able to resume, guests will be interested in staying in a vacation rental as a safe option.”
“So much of the data that’s coming out is showing that travelers will prefer to have a vacation rental option because you’re able to be more isolated with your group, you can cook more of your meals, and be more contained,” she added.
Angie and a group of other Maui professional property managers formed a condo coalition to voice their concern to Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino via a letter on June 5 when vacation rentals were still not allowed to be open for inter-island travelers. This group alone represented 750 employees and 500 independent contractors. This is merely a snapshot of the massive ecosystem of jobs and businesses that rely on vacation rentals on Maui and throughout Hawaii.
The letter from the group and letters of support from fellow business owners likely helped influence the county’s decision to open vacation rentals to interisland travelers. “Working together as a group is really helpful because our leaders face a really challenging job, and it’s a difficult position that they’re in,” Angie said. “So when they’re hearing from one person, another person, another person, they’re hearing that. But when a group of people come together and say ‘These are our needs, these are the needs of our staff, this is what we hope to achieve, and this is how we propose to safely and responsibly get there, would you consider this?’, when you lay it out like that and offer a solution, I think that’s an effective strategy to communicate with your leaders. It allows them to understand the issue and consider what you’re proposing.” It is the coalition’s goal to work together with local government for a safe reopening of Maui’s tourism economy.
The Call to Help, and Keep Helping
In the meantime and in true Coconut Condos spirit, Angie and her team have found new ways to help their local community. They’ve arranged for the restaurant to deliver their monthly pizza nights for to-go meal distribution instead. The team now volunteers at a food distribution site, where last week they handed out more than 1,100 boxes of food to Maui residents.
“My whole focus is about giving back and using the blessing that we have to benefit others,” Angie said. “That’s always my call: to encourage other small businesses and property management companies to consider how they can use what they’ve been given to help others. And even more so in our world now as we continue to navigate these turbulent waters.”
