Free overnight parking is the latest enticement some Waikiki hotels are offering to both kama'aina and visitors to help attract guests at a time when business is slumping.

Overnight parking charges normally average around $20 in Waikiki, and can go as high as $29 at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa in Leeward O'ahu.

With visitor arrivals dropping in recent months, more hotels have been offering discounted room rates to local residents to help fill rooms and offset declining occupancy. To help sweeten the deal, some resorts are offering free guest parking to kama'aina.

That's the strategy at ResortQuest Hawaii, where regular parking rates rank near the low end of Waikiki hotels at just $9 to $12 a night. ResortQuest is running a kama'aina special that includes free parking through December at its Waikiki and Neighbor Island properties.

Shari Chang, senior vice president of sales, marketing and revenue management for ResortQuest, said the company aims to keep rates low for all customers.

"I've never had a complaint on parking," she said. "We're not outrageous with our rates."

Generally, Chang said her company looks at available parking, the guest profile and market prices to determine its parking fees. And she said the company caters to kama'aina visitors year-round as a significant part of the business.

"I think for the kama'aina, it's very important if they want to save a little money," she said, which people can spend on dinner or other expenses.

"I think having free parking is a plus. The last thing you want to do is nickel-and-dime on the parking when they've come to Waikiki to have a good time," Chang said.

Even the most high-end property in the ResortQuest family offers free valet parking at the luxury condo Waikiki Beach Tower, Chang said.

Aqua Hotels & Resorts is offering a "snooze-n-crooze" special to all guests that includes a room, rental car and complimentary daily parking. The offer is available at 11 of Aqua's Waikiki hotels.

Barbara Campbell, vice president of retail leasing/development for Outrigger Enterprises Group, said the resort chain keeps parking in the mid-range at Outrigger and Ohana properties.

"It's market-driven," Campbell said. "We have not raised our parking rates in a couple of years at least. We have some deals going on right now that offer some free parking."

Campbell said guests do shop around on the Internet and compare. "What is the guest willing to pay at the end of the day?" she said, including room rate, taxes, and the total bill.

Compared to big city resorts that charge $50 or more per night, Hawai'i rates don't raise too many eyebrows, she said. "There are people who come here from New York or San Francisco, and we look like a bargain," she said.

At the high end of O'ahu parking is Ihilani. Brian Soma, director of sales and marketing for J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, said the rate was increased in the past year from $20 to $29, partly in response to growing development in the area.

"Hotel activity has increased since the hotel opened 15 years ago," he said. And he's only handled one complaint about the fee, he said. "We do a market study nationwide," he said.

He said the parking fee is not unusual for the demographic of guests at the higher-end property. Soma noted that Ihilani does not charge a resort fee but includes other amenities in the price, like coffee, a daily paper and in-room Internet access.

At Turtle Bay Resort, general manager Bob Boyle said the hotel has instead opted for a $20 daily resort fee that includes parking, Wi-Fi Internet access, daily newspaper, coffee, one hour of tennis court time, and free snorkel gear for an hour.

"Once I explain it, they're fine with it," Boyle said. "We package it because people don't like to get nickel-and-dimed."