It's Curtains For Curtains

Aloha Kakou:

If you are thinking about remodeling your bathroom, you may want to consider a commercial-quality shower door instead of a curtain. Glass is latest bathroom trend these days, making the shower area lighter and brighter for guests.

http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=18861

Hotel Defects Negatively Affect RevPAR

Aloha Kakou:

I know you're tired of hearing me carp on upgrades, but I've found a study that reinforces the notion that the fewer defects found in a lodging property, the higher the revenue. Note that this study takes into account the entire property and not individual units. Also note that, while the study does have some age, I would expect that today's more demanding guest would make for an even greater RevPAR loss.

Here are some of the salient parts of the article:

Financial performance is affected by higher quality in two ways: (1) firms can charge a premium price and (2) firms can increase market share. Although quality does not always have a direct impact on return on investment (ROI), the increase on market share may indirectly influence ROI.

Having even a single defect seemed to cost the hotels money. For example, in February 1990, hotels with at least one defect in the exterior had a RevPAR of $3.12 less than hotels with no defects in the exterior. Hotels with at least one defect in the guest room had a RevPAR of $2.01 less than hotels with no defects in the guest room. Hotels with at least one defect in the guest bath had a RevPAR of $1.32 less than hotels with no defects in the guest bath.

The RevPAR for the deficient hotels was consistently lower than that of the not-deficient hotels for all six test periods.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/79382266.html

A Bldg Parking Lot Improvements

Aloha Kakou:

The slab was poured this week for the new rubbish bin enclosure in the A building parking area. The cement block will be used to create a six foot high wall around the edge of the slab. The block will then be covered with stucco. The storm drain near the stairs has also been relocated.

Use Declaration Due

Aloha Kakou:

The attached letter from Scott Teruya of the County of Maui will explain the Maui Eldorado's deadline to report usage of your unit. All Maui county condo associations must file their report with the county by December 1, 2010. According to the letter, "failure to submit the annual Condominium AOAO Declaration report by December 1 may result in units within the project being classified according to their “highest and best” legal use, " which, in the case of the Maui Eldorado, means all units would be taxed at the hotel property tax rate.

Final Aoao Cover Generic

Maui Hotel Revenues Up But Not Like Before

Aloha Kakou:

Maui hotels have seen an increase in revenues in 2010 compared to last year. That's the good news. The bad news is that revenues are still off by 20% compared to 2007.

For the first nine months of 2010, occupancy is 68.9%, compared to 59.9% in 2009.

From the western US, the number of available airline seats has increased 12.8%. The number of available air seats from Canada has increased by 39% for the first nine months of 2010.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542947/Hotel-industry-continues-to-recover.html?nav=10

Small Parking Lot Work

Aloha Kakou:

Sam and his crew have begun work on some changes to the A building parking lot. They are building an enclosure for the rubbish and recycling bins as well as redoing the drain area near the steps.

J207's Done; K113 Still Working

Aloha Kakou:

Unit J207 has been completed, as you can see by the photos below, which will clearly maintain it's A rating. And they're still working on K113, which will be an A when it's finished.

J207 - Entry with new 18" travertine tiles.

J207 - Guest washcloset. Note the inset tile border.

J207 - Guest dressing room dresser and mirrored closet doors.

J207 - Guest dressing room with granite counter and undermount sink.
Note comfort height toilet in the washcloset.

J207 - Travertine kitchen floor.

J207 - Master dressing room. New vanity with granite top.

J207 - Master dressing room closet and dresser.

J207 - Previously done master wash closet.

K200 - Granite kitchen counters.

K200 - Closeup of glass tile backsplash.

K200 - Master vanity with shaker style doors.

K200 - An alternate approach to that dressing room dresser.

K200 - Guest dressing room vanity with glass tile backsplash.

K200 - Guest washcloset bathtub with one piece granite ledge.

2011 Travel Trends Survey

Aloha Kakou:

Nearly 50% of travelers will consider a vacation rental as lodging on their next trip, according to a recent TripAdvisor traveller survey.

The same number, 47%, will consider a property's eco-friendliness, including carbon footprint and green policies when looking at a hotel for their vacation stay.

Rising airfares accounted for 40% of the traveler's major concerns for 2011, with bedbugs running second at 20%.

http://www.hotelsmag.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=19651

Visitors, Spending Up

Aloha Kakou:

Maui's arrivals and visitor spending were both up for the first nine months of 2010 as compared to the same period last year.

Visitor spending was up 18.8% to $2.2 billion and arrivals were up 12.6% to 1.658 million.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542571/Tourism-rebound-apparent-in-report.html?nav=10

K200's Progress

Aloha Kakou:

Judging by the noise coming from K200 this last week, it sounded as though progress was being made and, as you can see by today's pictures, the unit is coming along nicely.

K200 - Master dressing room - paint is finished, vanity installed, awaiting shower tiling, vanity counter top and fixtures.

K200 - Master bedroom - There's no progress without tools and dust!

K200 - A portion of the dividing door with obscure glass between the master bedroom and the living room.

K200 - Kitchen waiting for counter tops and trim.

K200 - Raised panel doors have a more upscale appearance and add more interest than did the old flat doors.

K200 - Guest dressing room vanity.

K200 - Front door as viewed from guest bedroom. Note tile work in progress.

Today's Maui Eldorado Real Estate Listing

Aloha Kakou:

Here is today's list of what's for sale and for how much.

Maui Eldorado 2661 Kekaa Drive Maui HI 96761
Current Active Listings 11/4/2010

J-211 Studio $279,000 LH Susan C DeLoria Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext.533 / Cell 808-250-5948
I-203 Studio $299,000 LH Susan C DeLoria Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext 533/ Cell 808-250-5948
J-109 Studio $349,500 LH Nancy Montoya Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext.518/ 808-250-5073
C-202 1B/1B $385,000 LH Derek Escalera Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext.229 / Cell 808-264-4617
C-102 1B/1B $385,000 LH Betty Sakamoto Sakamoto Properties
669-0070 / Cell 808-870-7062
G-105 1B/2B $390,000 LH Susan C DeLoria Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext.533 / Cell 808-250-5948
D-206 1B/2B $395,000 LH Fred Haywood Realty
579-8848/ Cell 808-870-4904
I-201 1B/1B $398,000 LH Susan C DeLoria Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext 533/ Cell 808-250-5948
J-120 Studio $399,000 LH Anastasia Tagayuna Prudential Maui Realtors
661-5200 / Cell
K-202 1B/2B $408,000 LH Thomas Brozozowski Roos Realty Inc.
667-9163/ Cell 808-280-0113
C-201 Studio $425,000 LH Joline Dorner Lowson and Associates
661-8771 / Cell 808-276-9015
K-100 2B/2B $590,000 LH Robert J Cartwright Whalers Realty Inc.
661-8777 ext 223
A-211 2B/2B $875,000 LH Susan C DeLoria Whalers Realty Inc
661-8777 ext.533 / Cell 808-250-5948
I-204 2/2B $1,195,000 LH Casey Fukuda Sakamoto Properties Inc.
669-0070 / Cell 808-264-5362

G102's Done

Aloha Kakou:

The first phase of renovation of G102 is complete and ready for guests. The bathtub was replaced with a shower, a new vanity with mirror was installed, a new bedspread, sofabed and side chair were added, lighting valances were built in the living room and the entire unit received a new porcelain tile floor and a new coat of paint. The entire unit looks fresh and is ready to receive guests.

Renovation by Dan Hoffman (808-669-2562)

Furniture from Sharon at Mind's Eye (MindsEyeInterior.com)

Art from Christopher Egan Galleries (christopheregangalleries.com)

G102 - New vanity with undermount sink, mirror with frame and lightbar.

G102 - New 18" porcelain tile floors will be much more durable than the old ceramic tile.

G102 - Shower showing new tile surround, hardware and decorative tile insert.

G102 - A no-sand grout covering the usual sanded grout between the glass blocks in the shower means a more polished, easier to clean surface.

G102 - New art. This artist utilizes a special pearlized crystal photographic substrate in conjunction with a proprietary metal and lexan face-mounting process to create these striking images.

G102 - This picture of Makena Beach says "Maui" in a high-impact way!

G102 - Overall view of living room. Note the lighting valance and crown moulding.

G102 - Overall view of dining area toward kitchen.

Lahaina Halloween Attendance Down Again; Paia Up

Aloha Kakou:

With around only 8000 folks in Lahaina for Halloween this year, the Mardi Gras of the Pacific hardly lived up to it's nickname.

On the other side of the island, however, Paia picked up some of the slack, even though there was some rain during the evening.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542453/Paia-merchants-note-more-holiday-revelers.html?nav=10