Has the soft economy got you rethinking your vacation plans? How about staying at home this year, where your dollar can stretch a little farther? Hospitality Advisors president Joe Toy analyzes hotel trends, and says now's a great time for you to enjoy a five diamond property for three diamond prices.
"You can get a luxury product that's more affordable for Hawaii residents," he says, because hotels are suffering too, so to entice customers, they're offering big kama'aina discounts.
"People tend to stay close to home, or stay home. This is a chance for them to get to know their own area instead of going to Orlando or California. Whenever there's a downturn in the economy, especially in Hawaii, hotels always look to their base market because longer haul travel falls quite a bit."
John Blanco, managing director at The Kahala, agrees. "We have noticed changing habits. People are booking in shorter term windows. Before, we'd go into summer booked three to four months out, but this year it's different. We still had a great summer this year, but a shorter booking window.
“People are shopping airfares; that is a big impact. They're going online and looking for the best deals. It's a changing of habits. Those habits will remain through this year. I’m hoping in the new year things will kick back up.”
Toy says kama'aina makes up five to 20 percent of a hotel’s occupancy in soft periods. While that won’t make or break a hotel, Toy clarifies, “If they hadn't sold those rooms it’d go empty. Some is better than no revenue.”
Blanco adds, “I would love to see more kama’aina in the months to come. It certainly will help us keep our people employed and paying bills. It might be a quick fix for some hotels to layoff employees, but it's not the best solution in the long term. We aren't entertaining that thought. Instead, we drive locals in through venues such as having the Cazimero Brothers perform live, and other appealing events. It gets a few dollars in the door.”
Just how bad are the numbers? Toy breaks out the bad news. “It's a very trying time. We looked at our research. Some of the second quarter dips for 2008 are on par with the falls in occupancy we saw after 9/11 and the Gulf War. Not exactly to that extent, but certainly quite deep. If we have a soft summer and a steep decline in the fall, there isn't a lot of momentum into the first quarter of 2009, so then we're looking at 2010 as the first sign of a strong recovery.”
Blanco admits the mood across the industry is nervousness. "There’s no question the feeling is, ‘How do we weather this period and how long will it be? Could it go into the new year? How do we minimize that effect on our people?’”
The Kahala’s answer, like many hotels across the state and nation, is to roll out the deals. “Hotels immediately focus on kama’aina. This is a great deal for you. Locals can get into hotels they might not have afforded before,” says Toy. “And in this market, many hotels have just been renovated. Hotels are almost brand new with the renovations put into it.”
Blanco pitches in, “We happen to be completing a refurbishment. Through the end of November we'll be completing our Dolphin Lagoon wing. We had planned for that because we knew a softer period was occurring. The timing was good.”
Toy advises you to look for or even ask for specials. "Hotels become more creative in down times. They do things like add a fifth night, bundle activities, throw in a rental car, give dinner credits, and partner with tourist attractions like luaus."
And don’t go through the hotel’s 800 number. “When you call the hotel direct you're more apt to get a discount than if you call the 800 number because most hotels have the ability to reset rates when you check in or on the day of travel. The 800 number is a central reservation system on mainland and they may have the rates set.”
Toy reminds you that it’s a buyer’s market. “You can always negotiate the rate. People do that. They book the rate and continue to call, and if there's a fall in the rate they'll cancel and rebook. There are deals to be had. You don't have to look far to find them.”
CELEBRITY SUITCASE
What they can’t travel without
Former Governor Ben Cayetano, seen here with wife Vicky
You all know former Governor Ben Cayetano as a Hawaii’s two-term Democrat governor who retired from politics in 2002, after his term ended. Just because he left politics after 28 years in office doesn’t mean he’s leaving the spotlight entirely, though. Cayetano’s set to release his memoirs later this year in a 300 page tell-all book, "Ben, A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor.”
He is casual and relaxed for this interview, and actually quite funny – nothing like the straight-shooting, at times gruff, soundbite the public had come to know from countless television and print interviews. But he still tells it like it is. “I’m a house husband now,” he laughs, “and I like to get out and golf four times a month.”
He can be the stay-at-home ‘dad’ to their eight dogs (five Bichon Frises, one silky terrier, one German Shephard, and one silky terrier mix rescued from the pound) in part because his wife Vicky is the president and CEO of United Laundry Services. And he’s grateful. “I’m exhausted,” he explains, referring to a demanding career at the top rung of state politics.
During his political career, Cayetano also did a lot of traveling. “I went to Japan about 50 times,” he reflects. “We don’t travel much now, though. It’s too hard with the dogs.” His most recent trip was on a Hawaiian Airlines junket to Manila, in the Philippines, with his wife.
Cayetano says he cannot travel without his laptop computer, to write his book and surf the net; and a PDA, for the calendar function.
