Nearly two years ago, on a visit to Honolulu, I stopped in and
had lunch with Rob Solomon, senior vice president of sales and
marketing for Outrigger. We talked about the Waikiki Beach Walk
construction and what it would mean to Outrigger and the city in
general. Rob was also excited, however, about what he saw as the
larger impact of the Beach Walk project. He expected any number of
hotel renovations and upgrades as well as other major construction
projects, such as the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and the
widening of Waikiki Beach timed to the completion of the Beach
Walk. He said I would be blown away by the unveiling of the “new
Waikiki” by late 2006 or 2007.
Flash forward to today, and Rob’s crystal ball is looking pretty
accurate indeed. As you’ll see in this issue’s cover story,
“Waikiki’s Extreme Makeover” (page 18), at least a dozen properties
have announced major changes, and that’s in addition to many other
public projects.
So what do these changes really mean to agents?
According to the Oahu Visitor’s Bureau, the main message for
agents is twofold. First, “the best approach is a new approach.” In
other words, agents need to sell Waikiki as if it’s a brand-new
destination. Next, education is key. Agents need to proactively
educate themselves about the new Waikiki as soon as possible in
order to best serve their clients from the get-go.
At TravelAge West, we applaud the changes taking place in
Waikiki. We also hope tourism authorities and hotel owners remember
what makes the city most marketable to agents, and not just pursue
change for change’s sake. If, after all these projects are
completed, it becomes a destination where all the resorts are
geared solely to high-end clients, or timeshares, and there are
more crowds with less parking and services, then the end result
will be a fiasco. And that would be a shame for everyone in the
industry. K.S.
