Hawaii hotel bargains

With tourism in the dumps, Hawaii hotels are offering unprecedented discounts, freebies and other incentives in hopes of drawing tourists to the islands and surviving the economic slump.

The wide range of perks include free nights, rental cars, upgraded rooms, 2-for-1 activities, daily breakfast, a round of golf, free parking, spa treatments and discounted luau tickets. However, some are getting even more creative, offering everything from the use of $US200,000 Bentley convertible to a Nintendo Wii.

Hawaii prefers using the phrase "adding value." But truth is, it's getting down right cheap to stay here with only two-thirds of hotel rooms booked.

"It's the steepest discounts we've seen since we started tracking the industry," said Joseph Toy, president and chief executive of Hospitality Advisors LLC, a hotel-industry consultant. "Now we see a combination of incentives plus direct room discounts, and that we haven't seen in combination," showing just how dramatically "demand has fallen."

Get the full story at: Stuff