Apparently hoteliers are a little worried over on the Big Island. According to Pacific Business News, "Big Island occupancy dipped 1.3 percentage points to 57.1 percent, whole room rates plunged 10.1 percent to $156." I thought that must be a typo -- hotels never drop room rates that much because they understand they can never get them back up that high. What they do, of course, is package deals like extra-nights free, that leave room rates intact but reduce out-of-pocket costs. So when you see reported room rates dropping this much, its either a sign of extreme market distress or maybe a big hotel went offline for the month. Whatever the case, check it out as your fave Big Island hideaway may be a total bargain right now.

—Alex, 09/20/08