Travel Agent breaks down the latest luxury hotel happenings from Hawaii, including the recent acquisition of a popular hotel in Honolulu.
Read on for more details of that story and other luxury hotel news from the Aloha State.
Diamond Resorts Acquires Luxury Honolulu Hotel
Diamond Resorts has announced that it has closed on the acquisition of The Modern Honolulu, a luxury hotel in Honolulu. The Modern Honolulu is Diamond Resorts' first managed property on Oahu.
According to a Diamond Resorts news release, the company intends to make several enhancements to the resort, including opening a new sales center. The Modern Honolulu has also commenced a search to re-launch its signature restaurant.
In October of 2016, The Modern Honolulu announced that famous chef Masaharu Morimoto was closing his restaurant at the hotel after six years. Diamond Resorts, according to the news release, also intends to commence a repositioning plan to gradually convert guest rooms into larger suites.
The hotel currently has 353 rooms and suites with ocean, city, pool and yacht harbor views. Also, many of the rooms come with furnished terraces. The Modern Honolulu also includes a spa and two swimming pools. In addition, guests have immediate access to Waikiki Beach, and shopping and dining on the popular Kalakaua Avenue and at the Ala Moana Center.
Who to Pitch to
In an interview conducted with Jack Richards toward the end of 2017, the president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays told Travel Agent that The Modern Honolulu is becoming a hot spot for bachelor and bachelorette parties, mainly because of the location and its “array of gathering spaces.”
Corporate clients also should not be ignored, as the hotel has more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 9,200-square-foot ballroom, as well as outdoor venues overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Visit www.diamondresorts.com
Four Seasons Resorts in Hawaii, Bora Bora Partner With The Private Suite
Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora and Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii have partnered with The Private Suite at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for an experience exclusive to Four Seasons hotel guests.
The Private Suite is a newly-built private terminal at LAX. Guests enter LAX through a special gate and are welcomed inside the compound where they can work or relax while all travel and baggage needs are handled by The Private Suite. A team of eight people is assigned to each member of The Private Suite.
Guests spend their pre-flight time in private suites, each with its own bathroom, its own food-service pantry, a two-person daybed and a runway view of aircraft landing and taking off.
Guests also get private Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening, on-site customs and immigration processing and direct transportation across the tarmac to their aircraft in BMW 7-Series sedans.
The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and The Private Suite experience includes a one-time use of The Private Suite and its services, and roundtrip private transportation to and from the selected Four Seasons hotels. It also includes added value at the participating resorts.
The experience is priced at $3,500 and can accommodate up to three guests. The cost also includes a 12-month membership to The Private Suite.
Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii includes the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Four Seasons Resort Lanai and Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. Among the airlines that fly to Hawaii from LAX are United Airlinesand Hawaiian Airlines.
Visit www.fourseasons.com/borabora and www.fourseasons.com/hawaii
Tomo Kuriyama Named New General Manager of The Royal Hawaiian
Harris Chan, area vice president for Marriott Internationalfor Hawaii and French Polynesia, has announced that Tomo Kuriyama has been appointed general manager of The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort in Honolulu.
Most recently, Kuriyama served as deputy general manager of the 1,636-room Sheraton Waikiki.
Kuriyama got his start in the industry more than 15 years ago as an intern at Sheraton Waikiki. He then went on to becomes a guest service agent at the Sheraton Maui Resort.
During his tenure at Sheraton Maui, he took on additional roles such as guest service manager, outlet manager and assistant front office manager. He eventually returned to the Sheraton Waikiki as a front office manager, until being promoted to director of rooms.
As a 28-year-old director of rooms at the Sheraton Waikiki in 2006, he helped oversee the resort’s massive $200 million renovation project that overhauled the resort.
Opened in 1927, the 528-room The Royal Hawaiian celebrated its 90th anniversary in February of last year.
Visit www.royal-hawaiian.com
Four Seasons Resort Lanai Launches Charter Flights for Guests
Four Seasons Resort Lanai has announced an exclusive way for hotel guests to travel to Lanai.
The luxury hotel now allows guests to bypass the airport wait to Lanai from the the U.S. mainland or international destinations and fly private daily air charter service from Honolulu on Lanai Air.
Parties as small as two passengers can book the entire aircraft for their own personal journey, with fares starting at $500 per couple.
Two Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, operated by Mokulele Airlines, will offer daily service for travelers. Each flight will be manned by two pilots, and each plane seats up to eight passengers.
At the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, guests will be greeted at their arrival gate and escorted to baggage claim for their luggage (if needed), then to Lanai Air for their flight.
Upon landing on Lanai, a Four Seasons Ambassador will await to escort guests into a Mercedes Sprinter or SUV. For return flights, Ambassadors will deliver guests directly to the aircraft, where the pilot will greet them plane side. Upon arrival in Honolulu, guests will be transported to their designated terminal for pre-flight agriculture inspection as they continue their journey home.
Visit www.fourseasons.com/lanai and www.lanaiair.com. And keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest travel news. Be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.
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