I recently attended The Hospitality Show Hawai‘i, sponsored by The Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance (HHA) and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). It was really great to hear the latest hotel updates from a legislative perspective, as well as to hear directly from Governor Green and three out of the four county mayors. The event also included some tech talk and an inspiring update from Dr. Aaron Sala on the new direction of HVCB. Some interesting items that were mentioned:
- The convention center will be closed to large events in 2026 as it undergoes long-needed repairs that the legislature consistently failed to fund.
- January saw a 55% drop in government, military, and contractor business (see Trump Effect below).
- After the latest union contract, the average housekeeper will earn $85K in salary, benefits, and tips, and bartenders will earn $165K.
- While Governor Green expressed support for hotels, he also said he supports additional taxes. He did assure us that the taxes will be used for their intended purpose (isn’t that what they said about the TAT that got sucked into the general fund?)
- Of the fines levied on illegal vacation rentals, only a tiny portion has been collected, leading VR owners to simply ignore the regulations.
Attending the event put on by HHA and AHLA got me thinking about the alphabet of organizations and associations that are super helpful to Hawaiʻi hoteliers, but that not everyone might be familiar with. If you are interested in learning more about Hawai‘i and Global associations worth joining, we have created a “glossary” of organizations here.
Note: For those unfamiliar with the headline, it is from Ronald Reagan. The full quote is: “I think you all know that I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.’”
