July 2007 Archives

From Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

Hilton Hotels Corp. has posted a 15 percent higher spring quarter profit of $165 million, but says Hawaii operations did not lead the increase this time.

Beverly Hills-based Hilton (NYSE: HLT) said revpar -- revenue per available room -- was up 8.9 percent worldwide and 9.8 percent in North America compared to the second quarter last year. Overall company revenue grew 4 percent.

"Particularly strong revpar growth was reported at the company's owned hotels in New York and San Francisco, while the Hawaii market was soft during the quarter," Hilton said Tuesday.

This was the case despite the fact that the Hilton Hawaiian Village was one of its O&O properties coming out at the end of renovation activity that took a lot of rooms out of service earlier.

Hilton Grand Vacations Co., the vacation ownership division, reported a 21 percent decline in profitability during the second quarter.

"Unit sales declined 9 percent, however average unit sales prices increased 35 percent over last year, with the increase driven by new projects in Hawaii," Hilton said.

The quarter at a glance:

* Revenue: $2.085 billion. Year before: $2.005 billion.
* Net income: $165 million. Year before: $144 million.
* Per share: 40 cents. Year before: 35 cents.

The profit was about a nickel a share better than the consensus forecast of analysts.

Hilton recently announced agreement to be acquired for $26 billion by The Blackstone Group.

Airport security screeners are still confiscating about 22,000 lighters each day, but soon they won't have to take them -- and travelers won't have to give them up.

The Transportation Security Administration, in what it called a "common sense, risk-based security decision," is lifting its ban on "common" lighters in carry-on luggage as of Aug. 4.

The TSA will still ban the "torch lighters" that people often use for pipes and cigars. Those lighters have a consistent stream of air-propelled fire with a thin, needle-like flame that is hotter and more intense than the flame on common lighters, and have long been banned as a hazardous material.

Most lighters, however, are of the common butane type.

US private equity group Blackstone - owner of Galileo, Gullivers and Orbitz - is to buy Hilton Hotels Corporation in a $26 billion cash deal.

The group, which already owns 100,000 hotel rooms in the US and Europe, has pledged to expand Hilton, which has 480,000 rooms in 2,800 properties across 76 countries under brnads including Conrad, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn and the Waldorf Astoria Collection.

Blackstone said it viewed Hilton as an important strategic investment, adding: "No significant divestitures are envisaged as a result of this transaction".

Hotel workers in the US welcomed the deal, which is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Book your Hawaii travel plans at Travel-Hawaii.com

Join other dancers and fans of hula from around the world in a 3-day conference at the world class Hawaii Convention Center, November 15-17, 2007 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Many Hawaiian kumu hula (hula teachers) and halau (dance troupes) travel regularly outside of Hawaii, to share their hula with eager students. But hula enthusiasts yearn for the chance to study in Hawaii, knowing that the place which gave birth to the hula will nourish it best. The International Waikiki Hula Conference offers the rare opportunity to come here to Hawaii to learn, share and experience the hula firsthand, with a variety of respected hula masters, many of whom do not travel outside Hawaii to teach.

For more information, go to waikikihulaconference.com

Make your travel arrangements at Travel-Hawaii.com.

Four Seasons Resort Maui has completed a $50 million renovation aimed at keeping its status as Hawaii's first and only AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five-Star resort.

The resort, which opened in 1990 and sits on 15 acres of south Maui coastline, was the Four Seasons Hotel Inc.'s first resort and it immediately set the standard for all of the resorts that followed into the company's portfolio.

Earlier this year, Four Seasons Resort Maui was named the No. 3 destination spa in the world in the Zagat Survey 2007/2008 World's Top Hotels, Resorts and Spas guide, which is based on surveys of nearly 22,000 frequent travelers and more than 1,600 travel agents. The property also was named No. 3 among the Top 10 Resorts with more than 100 rooms.

A technology upgrade brings guests access to high-definition flat-screen TVs, iHome clock/radio/DVD/ipod/MP3 players, high speed wireless and a Braun Tassimo coffee/latte/ tea/hot chocolate machine. The hotel also upgraded its laundry facility to accommodate its changeover to 100-percent cotton linens.

The children's waterfall pool has been resurfaced with quartzite tiles. Three new oceanfront hales, built without nails or screws in keeping with Hawaiian tradition, have been added to the spa.

Four Seasons Resort Maui has also added two new restaurants: a premium steak and seafood restaurant, DUO, complements the award-winning Wolfgang Puck's Spago Maui and the romantic Italian favorite, Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante.

Book your room at the at the Four Seasons Resort Maui here.

For the first time, on-shore spectators can watch the jockeying at the starting line as the first set of yachts start the annual 2,225-mile race from San Pedro to Hawaii today.

About 74 sailboats will compete in the 44th Transpacific Yacht Race, which starts at Point Fermin and ends at Diamond Head, Honolulu. Entries include Roy E. Disney's famous racing sailboat, Pyewacket, and his Morning Light team of young sailors.

The smallest racing sailboats will cross the new starting line at Point Fermin at 1 p.m., followed by the departures of larger classes of boats Thursday and then Sunday.

Located in central Oahu, Hawaii's Plantation Village is now offering tours that emphasize Hawaii's historical and cultural diversity. The Village is an outdoor history museum showcasing restored buildings and replicas of plantation structures. Departing from Waikiki, tours include Honolulu's historic landmarks, Hawaii's Plantation Village, continues with a 45-minute narrated ride on a vintage locomotive and culminates at the Paradise Cove Luau. Tours ($109 for adults, $90 children 12 and under) are offered every Wednesday, with pickups at various Waikiki locations starting at 12:45 p.m., returning to Waikiki is at about 10 p.m. Call (808) 677-0110.

About two weeks after hundreds of earthquakes and new lava outbreaks, scientists say there was a new eruption inside Kilauea's crater.

The volcano observatory says it believes the new eruption began in the crater around 8 a.m. Monday. By 2 p.m. scientists noticed lava flowing across the crater floor. They could hear loud noises and spattering, but fumes made the new lava difficult to see. Lava was last spotted at the Pou-Pou ocean entry on June 20 before the new activity blocked it.

Book a room and see the volcano at Travel-Hawaii.

By Robert Shikina
Honolulu Star-Bulletin

The first Hawaii Superferry arrived after a 17-day journey from Alabama that took it through the Panama Canal to Long Beach and -- 7,600 miles later -- to its homeport of Honolulu Harbor.

People stopped to watch as the huge catamaran paraded past Diamond Head and Waikiki accompanied by several boats and the Honolulu Fire Department fireboat.

The Alakai, which translates in Hawaiian as "ocean path," will give interisland travelers an alternative, allowing people to take their cars between Oahu, Maui and Kauai. The trips will take three hours.

An exact start date has not been announced, but service is expected to begin next month.