Recent leadership departures and the appointment of John Dominguez at OUTRIGGER Kona Resort highlight corporate executive shifts, underscoring the brand’s reliance on veteran regional expertise to maintain commercial stability.
Too Risky for Residents, Just Right for Guests
Maui’s approval to tie hotel rezoning eligibility to sea-level rise risks allows thousands of short-term units to pursue permanent hotel status, undermining key residential housing conversion goals under Bill 9.
The Beach Is Public. The Park Isn’t.
The expiration of Hawaiʻi County’s lease at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach has forced facility closures, underscoring the ongoing operational vulnerabilities of maintaining public visitor infrastructure on privately owned coastal lands.
![[Aggregator] Downloaded image for imported item #86476](https://hawaiihotelhui.com/wp-content/uploads/image-1-503x282.avif)
Hotels That May Never Happen and Remembering the General
Delays on the Ala Moana tower extension and Nan Inc.’s complex Honolulu land acquisition highlight the lingering execution risks facing new high-density Hawaiʻi hotel developments.
The Storm Passes. The Message Doesn’t… And no, Honolulu is not on the Big Island.
Recent severe weather and viral media incidents highlight Hawaiʻi’s persistent visitor messaging challenges, underscoring the need for proactive destination management to combat geographic confusion and safeguard tourism demand.
Locked Bathrooms, Towers That May Never Rise, and Outrage Travels
Eleven men in a White House photo-op, locked bathrooms at Punaluʻu, and Maui puts tourists in climate hazard zones.
Is Aloha Human Reserved?
Bill Gates’ new essay on AI automation introduces the concept of Human Reserved roles, prompting hoteliers to re-examine which core hospitality functions should remain strictly human-driven.
Google Just Moved the Booking Funnel Into AI Mode
Google has launched direct hotel booking within its AI Mode, bypassing traditional search funnels and forcing independent properties and tech vendors to adapt to a compressed distribution landscape.
Everybody’s Helping Owners. Sort Of.
Major hotel brands are rolling out targeted fee cuts and franchisee rebates to address mounting owner complaints, offering modest cost relief without fundamentally shifting underlying hotel owner economics.
Value Over Volume: But What’s the Right Volume?
The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s new strategic plan doubles down on a value-over-volume model, raising critical questions about how reduced visitor arrivals will economically impact broader non-luxury hospitality businesses.
