At first glance, Keala Nui (Royal Pathway) seems like a misnomer
for the 1.4-mile tunnel running beneath the Hilton Waikoloa
Village. With exposed pipes hugging the ceiling, windowless
corridors lined with laundry bins and motorized vehicles toting
boxes of supplies, the road looks anything but regal. During the
Back-of-the-House tour, however, clients find out just how
appropriate that name really is. Without Keala Nui, the hotel
simply couldn’t operate.
Stretching from the Lagoon Tower to the Ocean Tower, the
subterranean corridor lets Hilton Waikoloa’s 1,400 employees access
most hotel areas without inconveniencing guests. A world unto
itself, the no-frills passageway buzzes with activity like the
backstage of a play.
“We don’t use the public areas except when we are serving
guests,” said Hilton concierge and tour guide Denise Kanda.
In the front of the house, guests glide around the resort on
Swiss-made trams and Disney-engineered boats. Underground,
employees walk or ride around on tuggers and three-wheel bicycles,
minding the stop signs and other rules of the road.
Like a docent in a museum, Kanda relates fascinating facts about
the inner workings of the 62-acre resort. In the luggage area,
directly under the lobby, guests see how tagged suitcases, golf
bags and duffels travel downstairs on an airport-style baggage
conveyer belt for alphabetical storage. During an average month,
the hotel’s staff moves about 156,200 pieces of luggage, Kanda
said.
At the back of the hotel’s Convention Center, Kanda talks about
how the Hilton serves 14,000 daily meals to groups. By the main
kitchen, she rattles off mind-boggling numbers of ingredients used
for the hotel’s nine restaurants: 800 pounds of meat and seafood
per day, for instance, and 20 cases of pineapples. Clients also get
a look at where the employees eat: the Lava Rock Cafe, a bright,
air-conditioned setting serving as many as 2,500 meals daily.
In the wardrobe department, Kanda shares Hilton Waikoloa’s
system for tracking over 25,000 staff uniforms, neatly arranged on
hangers and racks. Equally astounding is the efficiency of the
laundry room, which handles 35,000 pounds of dirty linen during
peak occupancy.
Since Hilton Waikoloa recently won the Hawaii Green Business
Award, Kanda points out areas where the resort has been especially
successful at conservation. At the loading dock, a bailing press
recovers 10,000 pounds of cardboard each month. In the laundry
room, new machines and computerized technology have increased
productivity while decreasing fuel intake. Other conservation
efforts include installation of low-flow shower heads,
ultra-low-flow toilets and energy-saving light fixtures.
“When the hotel first opened in 1988, we were using 9 percent of
the island’s electricity,” said Kanda. “Through dedicated efforts,
we’ve been able to reduce that figure to 4 percent.”
The Back-of-the-House tour ends as elevator doors open to the
lobby level of the Palace Tower. Clients leave with a newfound
appreciation for what it takes to run a 1,240-room resort, while
the rest of the guests enjoy their vacation, oblivious to what’s
happening beneath their feet.
| THE DETAILS
Hilton Waikoloa Village’s free Back-of-the-House tour provides a
glimpse into the inner workings of the mega-resort.
Tour times are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. The
tour lasts approximately one hour. Participants must be at least 12
years old. Groups are limited to 12 people, so clients should sign
up ahead of time with the concierge. 800-445-8667
www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com |
