Outrigger has named Steve Nickerson VP of Operations for the Americas, overseeing a Hawaiʻi-centric portfolio as renovations and performance pressures raise questions about potential future expansion beyond the islands.
Castle Stacking Singles and Doubles
Castle Resorts & Hotels is quietly expanding its hotel footprint, adding new Oʻahu management contracts and soft-brand conversions as it builds momentum through steady deals rather than headline-grabbing trophy assets.
Intent vs. Execution
Maui’s Bill 9 aims to phase out more than 6,000 short-term rentals, but rejected zoning carve-outs and likely court challenges highlight the ongoing collision between housing policy and the island’s visitor lodging reality.
Right Pocket, Left Pocket, Slow Progress
Hawaiʻi’s Green Fee advisory council has proposed $126.4M in resilience and tourism projects, but a dispute over bond funding versus direct fee revenue, and new transparency demands, signals the program’s first political test.
Speed Lawmaking, Hawaiʻi Style
Hawaiʻi’s 60-day legislative sprint is underway, with bills targeting TAT marketing funds, comp room charges, vacation rental enforcement, tourism governance, and Michelin funding, all carrying real implications for hospitality.
Sheraton Waikīkī Says A Hui Hou to Tom Calame
After more than three decades with Marriott, Tom Calame is retiring as GM of Sheraton Waikīkī, closing a global career that culminated in leading five iconic Hawaiʻi resorts through some of the industry’s most turbulent years.
Two Rooms, One Message: The Math Isn’t Mathing
Takeaways from PATA and AHLA point to a K-shaped recovery in Hawaiʻi tourism, with luxury holding up while structural pressures, housing, labor costs, taxes, insurance, and weakening international lift, keep 2026 in a holding pattern.
A Star Is Born… If We Write the Check
A proposed Hawaiʻi bill would use state funds to bring Michelin to the islands, raising a broader debate over whether public dollars should pay for global validation of an already world-class dining scene.
Keep The Country, Waikiki?
Host’s $680M Turtle Bay acquisition includes $50M in expansion rights now facing legal pushback, as new development plans test whether large-scale growth can coexist with North Shore community priorities.
A $227 Million Plan. Zero Shovels. Now at Auction.
A planned $227M South Shore Kauaʻi resort, The ʻŌhia, is heading to bankruptcy auction after missing its 2023 debut, underscoring the financial and development risks facing large-scale Hawaiʻi projects.
