OGG Number Five

Aloha Kakou:

Of the top ten US travel destinations booked for the remainder of 2009, Kahului is ranked number 5, right after Honolulu, according to a new survey of travelers.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/08/31/daily56.html

K Building Powerwashing, Etc.

Aloha Kakou:

In preparation for next week's painting, the last phase of K building was power washed today. Meanwhile, even though the lobby lanai area is finished, work continued on the handrails and area above the lobby, the spalling on K building's first floor and touch up on other buildings. Sam's crew has begun scrubbing the walkways in preparation for the Futurastone refinishing.

2010 Maui Economic Forecast

Aloha Kakou:

This morning I attended the 35th annual Business Outlook Forum. This seminar, produced by First Hawaiian Bank, brings the bank's economic advisers together with Maui's business community to discuss the current and future economic situation.

Some interesting points from today's discussion:

*Annual visitor growth was down 10.6% in 2008 and down 6.5% for 2009
*Hawaii tourism will not fully recover until the US mainland economy regains strength
*Maui's reliance on tourism as the dominant economic engine means more needs to be done to promote Maui as a destination
*Maui's marketing strategy to attract higher spending visitors means a steeper drop in visitor spending due to the new trend of frugality
*Tourists are spending less per day, less on non-essentials like activities and are in general buying less
*Maui county unemployment is currently about 10%
*General Excise Tax revenue is down about 12% in both 2008 and 2009
*The median condo price has declined from 2008's $575k to $420k this year, down 27%
*Maui condo sales are down 46% (510 units in 2008, 275 units in 2009)

You'll see the article in tomorrow's Maui News but I wanted to give you the inside scoop first.

Maui Fifth

Aloha Kakou:

For the first six months of 2009, Maui has the fifth highest occupancy among the top 10 competitive international island destinations.

Maui's occupancy was 64%, compared with the top island, Oahu, at 70.9%.

Of the ten islands, Maui ranked fifth in ADR at $242.36 and fourth in RevPAR at $155.01.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090901/BUSINESS02/909010314/O+ahu+hotels+No.+1+in+report

Maui Prince Hotel In Receivership

Aloha Kakou:

The owners of the Maui Prince Hotel in Makena have defaulted on their loan, forcing the hotel into receivership.

While there are rumors that the hotel may close, apparently at least two different hotel operators have expressed interest in running the property on behalf of the lender.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/523087.html?nav=10
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090902/BUSINESS02/909020328/Maui+Prince+lenders+seek+receiver

Lobby Lanai Painting Underway

Aloha Kakou:

After yesterday's masking, it was encouraging to see the painting crew hard at work this morning. The painters are using rollers on the lanai walls, ceiling and columns in order to allow the windows to remain unobstructed and to permit guest access to the lobby. There's been a lot of prep work and it looks like there also may be a bit of spalling that needs to be addressed.

New Zealand Ad

Aloha Kakou:

This 4 color newspaper tabloid double page spread was published in New Zealand papers. House of Travel is the wholesale arm of a chain of about 100 retail agencies. The $1899 price for the Favorite Maui Holiday, including the Outrigger Maui Eldorado, is in New Zealand dollars; the equivalent of USD$1165.

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