Honolulu-founded private equity real estate firm Trinity Investments has officially moved its headquarters to Florida, quietly updating its website to list Miami as its home base. Once a major Hawaiʻi hospitality player with assets like The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua and Hyatt Regency Waikīkī, Trinity’s local portfolio is now down to just The Westin Maui, purchased in 2017. Most of the C-suite has relocated to the continent or London, and recent acquisitions have focused on Europe and the U.S. Sun Belt. Though they will still have a regional office and staff in the islands.
For context, Trinity is a private equity firm. The model is simple: acquire hotels, improve the asset or performance, grow value, and eventually sell. Blackstone and KSL Capital operate similarly, and both have own/have owned Hawaiʻi resorts over the years.
Trinity says it’s still “always interested in Hawaiʻi.” Fair enough. But zoom out, and the you start to see a pattern. Ownership and management groups are consolidating on the continental US, and marquee assets, including the recent sale of the Royal Hawaiian, continue to trade hands far from our shores.
Hawaiʻi hosts the hotels. Increasingly, the capital and key decisions live somewhere else.
