Just to add to this, we are also here at Aulani right now. While the crowds are definitely thin, I can tell you that DVC is actively throttling occupancy down. We originally booked 1/16-24 (about 11 months ago) and later wanted to add 1 extra night. We were waitlisted for months. The waitlist expired 7 days out, so as soon as we got here, we kept asking each day. We never got the night of 1/24. (So I just used Marriott points to stay in Honolulu for a night.) But if after months on a waitlist and a DVC member that is already here (who owns Aulani points) can't get a DVC room on a Monday night during a slow time, it looks like DVC is cranking things down.
I am guessing this is most likely due to renovating rooms and a hard schedule to take rooms offline. I did another trip report post that commented on Covid. While the mask and vax rules are real, after a week out here now I can say that pretty much everyone out here is ready to move on - individuals and businesses. As welcoming as the Hawaiian people usually are, the general feeling now is that they are happier than ever to have tourist back. We have had some great trips to Hawaii over the years but this one is probably our most enjoyable ever (we have been to Oahu and the Big Island this trip). Not because there are fewer tourists. It's just an overall vibe of "welcome back!" and "thank you for coming back!".
