Big Island Vacation Services

What Big Island Vacation Services does

Big Island Vacation Services is a privately held, bootstrapped luxury concierge service based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, that curates and coordinates travel experiences for tourists visiting the Big Island. It serves individual travelers as well as families and groups, with service coverage spanning the Kona Coast, Kohala Coast, Hilo, and Waimea. The company does not operate a proprietary technology platform; itinerary booking and reservation management is handled through the third-party FareHarbor system, and the service is delivered by a small dedicated team that includes founder Nathalie Whitfield and supporting staff such as Jamin.

The company's product is a customized concierge itinerary built from a curated set of local activity providers and lifestyle vendors. Key partnerships include Hawaii Forest & Trail (guided nature tours), Community Eats (culinary experiences), Baby Quip (baby equipment rentals for family travelers), Big Island Grocery Delivery (pre-arrival provisioning), and a referral network of vacation rental properties that route inbound guests to the service. The offering is positioned in the luxury segment, emphasizing personal curation rather than self-service booking.

Revenue is generated through two primary mechanics: (i) affiliate and referral commissions on activities booked through partner operators, and (ii) concierge coordination fees charged to clients for itinerary design and on-trip support. The business is small and founder-led, with no disclosed funding rounds, no enterprise accounts, and no public revenue figures. Customer relationships are transactional and one-off per trip, with growth dependent on Big Island tourism volume, vacation rental referral traffic, and the depth of the local operator partner ecosystem.

Name

Big Island Vacation Services

Legal name

Big Island Vacation Services

Website

https://bigislandvacationservices.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Big Island Vacation Services is a Kailua-Kona-based luxury concierge service that curates activity bookings and travel logistics for individual tourists and families visiting Hawaii's Big Island via a network of local operator partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Concierge Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (56151)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Island, Beach & Resort Travel Agencies (THAKAFAL)

Keywords

• Vacation concierge services
• Island activity booking
• Travel experience planning
• Hawaii tour services
• Luxury travel coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Waikoloa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Activity and Tour Commission/Referral Fees: The company acts as an aggregator and referral source for island tours and activities (luau, volcano tours, snorkeling, sunset cruises, etc.), earning commissions or referral fees from activity providers for bookings made through their platform. Customers can book directly via FareHarbor links or through the concierge team.
2. Concierge Service Coordination: Full-service concierge coordination including grocery delivery, private chef arrangements, in-condo massage and spa services, airport transportation, baby gear rentals, and custom special requests. Revenue may be generated through service fees, markups, or commissions on third-party providers arranged by the concierge team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Big Island Vacation Services is a luxury concierge company that plans and coordinates Big Island of Hawaii vacations for individual visitors. The company designs custom itineraries and books third-party tours, excursions, dining, transportation, grocery provisioning, in-condo spa treatments, and private chef experiences on behalf of guests. Activity reservations are routed through the third-party FareHarbor booking platform, while supplementary on-property services (private chef, massage, gear rentals) are coordinated directly.

Product overview

Big Island Vacation Services is a luxury concierge and vacation planning service for the Big Island of Hawaii, offering a concierge platform with integrated service modules and a curated marketplace of over 25 activities and experiences. The core offering consists of Concierge Services (private chef coordination, grocery delivery, in-condo spa, airport transfers, baby gear rentals, and custom requests), complemented by an Activities & Experiences portfolio that includes Manta Ray Snorkel/Dive Tours, Volcano Tours, Lūʻau Experiences, Sunset Cruises, Snorkeling Tours, Scuba Diving, Zip Lining, Whale Watching, Waterfall Adventures, UTV Tours, Surf Lessons, SUP & Kayak, and Submarine Tours. The company also provides Recommendations for restaurants, beaches, hiking trails, coffee farms, and farmers markets. Bookings are facilitated through the FareHarbor reservation platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concierge Services A per-trip coordination package in which the concierge designs a custom day-by-day itinerary and books and reconciles tours, dining, transportation, and on-property services for Big Island visitors.
• Activities & Experiences A portfolio of bookable Big Island tours and water-based experiences (snorkel/dive tours, volcano tours, luaus, sunset cruises, submarine tours, zip lining, whale watching, waterfall adventures, UTV tours, surf and water sports lessons) guests can add to their itinerary.
• Recommendations Curated Big Island recommendations covering things such as beaches, restaurants, towns, and excursions, provided to guests as a standalone offering.
• Manta Ray Snorkel/Dive Tours Night snorkel and dive excursions with manta rays off the Kona coast, with prices shown from $169 per person and a 7-hour duration window including pre-arrival gathering.
• Volcano Tours Daytime guided volcano tours on the Big Island (including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park itineraries), priced from $240 per person and available in approximately 7-hour excursions.
• Luau Experiences Cultural luau dinner shows on the Big Island with adult/child/infant pricing tiers and optional premier/upgraded seating at an additional cost.
• Sunset Cruises Big Island sunset cruises with price points starting from $80 per person in approximately 1.5-hour and 2-hour experiences.
• Snorkeling Tours Daytime Big Island snorkeling tours with prices shown from $99 per person and durations such as 4 hours.
• Submarine Tours Underwater submarine excursions off the Big Island with prices from $159 per person and approximately 1.5-hour experiences.
• Scuba Diving Big Island scuba diving experiences priced from $169 per person, available to guests as a standalone activity booking.
• Zip Lining Big Island zip lining courses open to guests as a stand-alone adventure booking, priced at $175 per person.
• Whale Watching Seasonal Big Island whale watching excursions priced from $79 per person on approximately 3-hour experiences.
• Waterfall Adventures Big Island waterfall hiking/adventure excursions priced from $99 per person on approximately 6-hour experiences.
• UTV Tours Big Island UTV (utility terrain vehicle) off-road tours priced at $175 per person.
• Surf Lessons Big Island surf instruction for beginners and others priced from $129 per person on approximately 2-hour group lessons.
• SUP & Kayak Stand-up paddleboard (SUP) and kayak excursions on the Big Island, including guided tours priced from $89 per person.
• Private Chef Services Coordination of a private chef to prepare meals at the guest's vacation property on the Big Island, arranged and managed by the concierge team.
• Grocery Shopping & Delivery Pre-arrival grocery shopping and delivery to the guest's vacation property on the Big Island, arranged and managed by the concierge team.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• Hawaii Forest & TrailcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawaii Forest & Trail is the primary provider of curated land-based experiences including the Volcano Unveiled tour, Hidden Craters Hike, Kohala Waterfall Adventure, and Kohala Zip & Dip. These tours are prominently featured and bookable through Big Island Vacation Services.
• Baby QuipsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBaby Quip provides baby and vacation gear rentals (cribs, high chairs, strollers, toys) delivered directly to vacation rentals. Big Island Vacation Services directs customers to Baby Quip for family travel gear needs.
• Community EatsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity Eats is a catering service recommended for special events. Beth is noted as wonderful to work with and puts together outstanding dishes. Big Island Vacation Services highlights this partner on their Instagram and recommends it to customers planning events.
• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationFareHarbor is the reservation and booking platform integrated throughout the Big Island Vacation Services website, enabling customers to book tours and activities directly. FareHarbor tracks bookings attributed to Big Island Vacation Services as an affiliate partner.
• Vacation Rental Properties and Property ManagerssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerVacation rental property management companies and individual property owners (e.g., Mauna Kea Resort rental) refer guests to Big Island Vacation Services. This is a key customer acquisition channel for the concierge service.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• GetYourGuide: Global OTA for tours, attractions, and activities with similar affiliate/commission mechanics and overlapping Hawaii inventory. Represents the direct, scaled form of what BIVS does locally.
• Viator: Global tours-and-activities marketplace (owned by Tripadvisor) that aggregates Hawaii experiences and pays commissions to affiliates. BIVS effectively competes for the same tourist booking flow via a localized concierge layer.
• Tours4Fun: Online tour and activity aggregator offering Hawaii experiences on an affiliate/booking-fee basis. Same intermediated booking dynamic, focused on leisure travelers searching for tours.

Broad incumbents

• Klook: Asia-Pacific travel activity and experience platform with Hawaii offerings on a commission basis. Larger geographic reach and supply relationships compete for the same Big Island activity bookings.
• Tripadvisor: Broad travel research and booking platform that funnels users toward Hawaii attractions and tours, often via Viator. Adjacent demand-capture funnel to BIVS's referral model.
• TourRadar: Multi-destination guided-tour marketplace that lists Hawaii tour packages and competes for similar traveler demand via an affiliate/commission model. Broader catalog, narrower concierge depth.

Emerging players

• Airbnb Experiences: Online marketplace for bookable local experiences and activities that competes for Hawaii tour bookings via a tech-native direct channel, potentially bypassing local concierge intermediaries.

Others

• Hawaii Forest & Trail: Premier Big Island land-tour operator (volcano, hike, waterfall, zipline) and BIVS's core supplier partner. Operates direct bookings; expansion of its own direct channel would disintermediate BIVS's commission stream on those tours.
• Fair Wind Cruises: Established Kona snorkel and dinner-cruise operator serving the same Big Island visitors. Direct booking site competes with BIVS referrals for cruise bookings, particularly during peak season.
• Atlantis Adventures (Atlantis Submarines Kona): Operator of Kona submarine tours listed on BIVS for booking. Direct booking capability and brand recognition make it both a critical supplier and a partial substitute for the concierge's booking role.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bigislandvacationservices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-island-vacation-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Island Vacation Services