Aloha !

In January, I made a deal with myself: publish one Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui Insider every month for the entire year. Twelve issues. No excuses.

I did not keep that commitment.

Because we didn’t publish 12. We published 16!

Somewhere between Issue 1 and Issue 6, a few thousand of you showed up. Engagement levels most publishers rarely see followed, the feedback was incredible, and companies started asking how they could sponsor (definitely not on our bingo card). We had to upgrade the tech, hire Dylan, learn a lot about newsletters the hard way, and figure out sponsorships without making it feel like a billboard. It’s been a blast.

But the most meaningful part has been the community that formed around it.

We want to thank our community, our Hui, for their continued support throughout the process. We’re looking forward to putting out more honest, useful, occasionally opinionated content in 2026 and seeing what else grows out of this along the way.

None of this would have been possible without you. So Mahalo, Mahalo, Mahalo.

We also want to wish you all an amazing holiday season and a fantastic New Year!

But wait…there’s more… we still have one more issue for you before the year ends. In this issue, we’re digging into why Waikīkī’s shoreline is starting to feel uncomfortably close; the confusing economic headlines (up, down, or panic mode); how the U.S. keeps adding friction for international travelers; and why AI search is quietly reshaping who shows up in the booking funnel. And more.

Before we dive in, a big mahalo to this issue’s sponsor, Lights On, our local hotel marketing and revenue experts, and the team that built the new Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui website. Lights On understands that marketing and revenue management only work when they work together. Their integrated approach helps hotels drive direct bookings through modern channels like AI search, optimize ADR through seasonal shifts, and navigate Hawaiʻi’s uniquely complex market without operating in silos.

Not on the list yet? You can join the hui below, no spam, no cost, just real talk.

Thanks for sticking with us. The Hui’s just getting started!

Let’s dive in.

Mahalo,

Dan Wacksman
Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui Insider Editor-in-Chief 😄

Maui’s Bill 9 Promises Homes for Locals, Critics Predict Economic Apocalypse

We first flagged Bill 9 in an earlier issue as a potential game changer for Maui’s housing and tourism mix. The bill, which seeks to phase out short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts affecting roughly 6,000 grandfathered units, cleared the County Council on second and final reading yesterday, December 15, by a 5–3 vote.

The bill now advances to Mayor Bissen, who introduced it in May 2024 and has said he will sign it. As passed, Bill 9 phases out these short-term rentals, with implementation beginning January 1, 2029, in West Maui and January 1, 2031, for the rest of the county. The delayed rollout is intended to give owners time to transition their properties.

Supporters continue to frame Bill 9 as a long-overdue housing correction. Opponents point to the administration’s own financial analysis and UHERO modeling, which suggest millions in losses in visitor spending, tax revenue, and jobs, at a time when Maui’s economy is still recovering.

The bill’s passage is unlikely to be the end of the story, with legal challenges expected and parallel discussions already underway about carving out certain properties from the phase-out through future zoning changes.

By the numbers

• Maui hotel rooms: ~9,600

• Maui legal vacation rentals today: ~13,000

• Total visitor Hotel + VR today: ~23,600

• Vacation rentals targeted by Bill 9: ~6,000

• Hotel and Vacation Rental accommodations after full implementation: ~17,600

What that means

• Roughly a 25 percent reduction in Maui’s total Hotel + VR accommodation supply

• Roughly a 40 -45 percent reduction in the vacation rental inventory

Data sources: UHERO, HTA 

One line from the debate captured the emotional core of the issue. As Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez put it, “Profits are replaceable. Generational communities are not.”

Whether this creates housing for locals, reshapes the visitor economy, or gets rewritten in court remains an open question. This story is certainly not over.

Read More

Back on Oʻahu, the 90-day rule is still stuck. Nothing has changed since we reported back in August. A federal court has ruled it can’t be enforced until the city builds a process for legally existing rentals. That hasn’t happened, so 30-day rentals remain the standard in residential and apartment-zoned areas.

Big Slippahs to fill at Hilton Hawaiian Village

According to a recent Hawaii Hotel Alliance newsletter, Hilton is losing a major leader with the retirement of Debi Bishop, the Managing Director of Hilton Hawaiian Village. We didn’t know her personally, but her strong reputation across Hawaiʻi’s hotel community made it clear she set a high bar. Congratulations on an amazing career, and wishing Debi a fantastic retirement.

Now, Hilton is searching for a new Managing Director with proven large-scale resort experience, commercial sharpness, and the ability to lead a huge union workforce while staying grounded in Hawaiʻi’s culture and community. It’s one of the biggest roles in Hawaiʻi hospitality, and the next leader will be stepping into some very big slippahs. If you think you have what it takes, you can check out the job description here.

How The Kahala Hotel & Resort Achieved 106% Revenue Growth
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The Kahala Hotel & Resort just proved what's possible when hotels stop operating in silos. Working with Lights On, the luxury property achieved 106% direct revenue growth since 2023 through integrated marketing and revenue management.

The results? A 35.97x Google Ads ROAS → nearly double the typical industry benchmark of 10-20x. 89% direct revenue growth in year one, sustained with 9% growth in year two. Revenue per user up 81%. Exceptional performance across paid search, Facebook/Instagram, organic, and direct traffic.

Hawaiʻi-based with decades of hotel experience, Lights On knows what it takes to drive direct bookings while protecting ADR. Because the best marketing strategy means nothing if your revenue strategy isn't in sync.

Ready to stop leaving money on the table?

When the Waves Reach the Hotel Walls

A recent PBN article made me stop and think. It also brought to mind a few recent walks through Waikīkī, where watching waves lap directly against the sides of hotels felt less like a beachfront resort and more like standing on the deck of a cruise ship. In the PBN piece, attorney Norman Cheng noted that one trend popping up more often in Hawaiʻi real estate deals has nothing to do with interest rates or RevPAR. Sea level rise concerns are now impacting transactions for oceanfront assets.

This concern is not unique to Hawaiʻi. Coastal hotel markets around the world are grappling with similar questions, from rising insurance costs in parts of South Florida to tighter setback and retreat rules in Europe and island destinations that now factor long-term shoreline stability into underwriting.

What makes this more than a theoretical discussion is the growing reliance on intervention. Waikīkī’s last major beach replenishment wrapped up in 2021, when sand was dredged offshore and placed along Waikiki Beach to restore lost shoreline. The roughly three and a half million dollar project was funded through a public-private partnership between the state and Waikīkī hotels. That effort followed a similar effort in 2012; it is clear that Waikīkī’s beachfront now depends on recurring intervention rather than natural recovery.

You might recall that shoreline protection and beach replenishment were cited as potential uses for the recently approved Green Fee. So far, things have been relatively quiet on how those funds will actually be deployed, even as the need becomes more obvious. And this is not just a Waikīkī issue. Kā‘anapali, Kahana, and many other beaches continue to wrestle with erosion and beaches that are literally disappearing.

This isn’t climate modeling or long-term speculation. It is underwriting, capital planning, and real money. And it is beginning to influence how buyers value some of the world’s most desirable oceanfront hotel assets, Hawaiʻi very much included.

Growth, Flat, or Mild Recession? Pick Your Headline.

If you skim the headlines, Hawaiʻi’s economy looks like it is warming up. DBEDT just raised its 2025 growth forecast to 1.6 percent, visitor spending in October jumped seven percent, and Japanese arrivals were up sixteen percent year over year (though still about 45 percent below 2019). All seemingly good news.

Step away from the headlines and look at the data, and the picture becomes clearer. Year-to-date hotel performance is essentially flat statewide. Occupancy and ADR are largely flat, and RevPAR only looks healthy if you happen to own a luxury resort. Maui’s room revenue remains seventeen percent below 2022 levels, Oʻahu is down three percent, and midscale and upscale properties are taking the brunt of it.

Forecasts split. DBEDT sees modest growth, while UHERO is calling for a mild recession in 2026, driven by softer tourism, rising prices, and a weakening job market. Visitor arrivals are expected to dip again before conditions improve later next year.

So which version is real? Both? Hawaiʻi is getting a lift from higher spending and a slowly recovering Japan market, but the broader outlook still points to modest to flat growth, not a surge. Add rising insurance, utilities, shipping, and labor costs, loans that may need to be refinanced at higher rates, and it is easy to see why some are worried.

America Continues to Pull in the Welcome Mat

In previous issues, we’ve talked about the growing friction involved in visiting the United States. Higher fees. More paperwork. Longer waits. Stories about interrogations at entry points and even being refused entry. Now there’s a new one on the table. Hand over your social media.

A recent proposal from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) would require travelers from visa waiver countries like the U.K., France, Germany, and Japan to submit up to five years of social media history as part of their travel authorization. Not optional. The proposal would also expand the personal data required, including email addresses going back a decade and detailed family information. This proposal is now accepting pubic comment. Read the bill and learn how to comment here.

Here’s what international visitors are already facing, or soon may be:

In effect now:
• ESTA fee increased to $40, up from $21
• Land entry fee increased to $30, up from $6

Approved, rolling out soon:
• $100 surcharge for non-U.S. residents entering 11 major national parks

Passed but not yet implemented:
• $250 visa “integrity fee” for many non-visa-waiver travelers

Proposed:
• Mandatory disclosure of social media history for visa waiver travelers, as well as detailed biographical data (email addresses, family members, etc.)

U.S. Travel Association now projects a 6.3 percent decline in international visitation for 2025, the first drop since the pandemic. National Travel and Tourism Office data shows overseas arrivals have now fallen year over year for seven straight months, with November visitation still running at roughly 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Western Europe travel is down sharply, and Canada, historically the most reliable inbound market, continues to slide.

Visiting the U.S. is becoming more expensive, more complicated, and more intrusive, at a time when destinations around the world are competing aggressively for international travelers.

Which raises a simple question. If you were planning a vacation and another country asked for higher fees, more paperwork, and years of your online history, would you still want to go?

2026 Hawai’i Hotel Hui Predictions

As we close out 2026 and our first year of producing HHH, we couldn’t resist but to give our top 10 Predictions for 2026. It will be fun to look back at the end of 2026 to see how we did. If you have any predictions, please email them to us, and we will include them in the next issue! 

2026 prediction list

1. Flat is the new up, and holding ground is now considered a win for non-luxury properties.

2. Luxury holds, widening the gap between properties that can push rate and those that cannot.

3. Green Fee dollars become the most discussed pool of money, with very little actually allocated to their intended use.

4. Japan continues a slow recovery, but the old 2019 baseline is gone and should no longer be used as a comparison metric. 

5. Maui’s Bill 9 limiting short-term rentals is far from settled and likely headed for the courts.

6. AI hype cools, but AI search gets real as hotel visibility, click costs, and direct bookings are increasingly set by opaque, AI-driven ranking and ad systems, with Google regaining its crown.

7. Hotel debt, refinancing pressure, and slightly better terms than 2025 drive more deal activity, expect a few big ones!

8. HTA finally lands a permanent CEO and more funding, but remains well below peak levels, limiting how aggressive statewide marketing can be in 2026.

9. The Mandarin Oriental Ala Moana project gets scrapped.

10. The Lost City of Atlantis will still be lost with no movement and/or potential announcement of a different use for the land on the west side.

Holiday Cheer, Executive Edition

And finally, as you wrap up the year and wrap up your Christmas presents, you might not want to give one to the CEO. Reported hotel CEO compensation jumped again this year, rising from roughly $9.8 million to $11.9 million on average, driven largely by long-term incentives, while the average hospitality salary stalled just under $58,000. I included OTA CEOs as well, so you can see where your commission is going ;-).

1. Glenn Fogel, Booking Holdings: ~$44.8M

2. Anthony Capuano, Marriott International: ~$29M

3. Chris Nassetta, Hilton: ~$22M

4. Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt: ~$18M

5. Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts: ~$13–14M

6. Ariane Gorin, Expedia Group: ~$13–14M

7. Elie Malouf, IHG: ~$8–9M

8. Sébastien Bazin, Accor: ~$7–8M

Read More

Everyone Loves New Acronyms! And AI Just Added a Few More

Not that long ago, driving organic traffic was mostly about one thing: making sure your website was optimized for search (which mostly meant Google). We called it Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Get the keywords right, clean up the site, earn some links, and hope you showed up on page one.

AI has quietly rewritten those rules.

Today, travelers aren’t just searching, they’re asking. Tools like Google’s AI results, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing are answering questions directly. That shift has spawned a new batch of acronyms. You’ll hear GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), meaning whether your hotel shows up in an AI-generated response at all. You’ll hear AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), which is about how that response describes your hotel and whether it nudges someone toward booking.

These terms are very new and are still being defined and redefined as things evolve. The bottom line is simple: you want your hotel to show up in AI search, and you want it to show up in a positive, accurate way.

It’s no longer just about ranking well. It’s about whether the AI understands your property correctly or includes you at all. These systems pull from everything already out there: your website, OTAs, reviews, press coverage, online chatter, and so on. If your story is inconsistent, the AI fills in the blanks for you.

This is an emerging field, and anyone claiming to have a magic bullet is probably overselling it. What we do know right now is that these things help:

• Search for your hotel in AI tools and see how you’re described.

• Align descriptions, amenities, and positioning across your website and OTAs.

• Pay attention to reviews, press, and third-party content that shape perception.

• Create one clear version of your brand story and use it everywhere.

• Track AI-driven traffic separately. These guests tend to arrive closer to a decision.

And here’s the kicker: once you do show up and the searcher falls in love with your property, how will they actually book? Unless we’re very deliberate about what comes next, you can probably guess where that booking goes. And yes, that path has its own familiar three-letter acronym.

Industry Events

• Visitor Public Safety Conference - January 7, 2026 (Oahu)

• PATA 2026 Annual Outlook & Economic Forecast Forum - February 6, 2026 (Oahu)

*If you have industry events to share, please email me at [email protected].

Spotlight on Hawai‘i Hospitality Opportunities

• Managing Director – Hilton Hawaiian Village (Oahu)

• Director of Sales & Marketing – Kaimana Beach Hotel (Oahu)

• Reservations Manager – Rosewood (Big Island)

• Area Director of Sales – Hilton Hawaiian Village (Oahu)

• Sales Manager – Royal Lahaina Resort (Maui)

*If you happen to have any job openings, let me know. I will be glad to include them in the newsletter; send the job link to [email protected].

As we close out the year, it feels right to pause on this section for a moment.

When we launched Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui Insider, this wasn’t even part of the plan. After the first issue was released, emails started coming in with opinions. Pushback. Corrections. Praise. Strong disagreement. We quickly realized two things: people were reading, and whatever this was, it couldn’t stay just between us.

Flash forward 11 months, and this has become one of my favorite parts of the newsletter.

The original goal of HHH was never consensus. It was meaningful discourse. Whether we agree or disagree with what’s below is beside the point. What matters is that people are thinking critically, challenging assumptions, and engaging with ideas that impact our industry and Hawaiʻi more broadly. We’re not always going to land in the same place, and that’s okay. The important part is not shutting the conversation down.

With that in mind, here are a few year-end thoughts from the Hui.

Fun Stuff

• “I read the Don Don Donki in the tune of the song in my head. The Donki song is stuck in my head now… thank you. 😊”

  • Editor’s note: You’re welcome.

Praise

• “Mic drop for sure in this issue. Well done.”

• “I liked all the comments at the end from people. Good to know that people are paying attention.”

• “Just want to reiterate my thanks and appreciation for writing about basic truths and honest perspectives beyond the government-approved slop that doesn’t go through the sterilizing editorial processes of other ‘journalistic’ outfits.”

Strong Opinions (Not Mine!)

• “Lost in all the headlines about increased spend is the continued have and have not between luxury and everything else, with the ‘everything else’ down double digits and in desperate need for something positive… Airbnb enforcement (have we given up?), real marketing, some direction from HTA?”

• “The ‘Right Kind of Tourist’ doesn’t even sound good on a panel and is just stupid. We’re painting ourselves into a very narrow corner when the only successful kind of tourist is luxury, even though we aren’t really a luxury market.”

Reality Checks

• “I’ve often heard ‘don’t lower rates because we don’t want that kind of guest.’”

• “The most damage I’ve ever seen done to a room was by a famous pop star paying a really high rate… cigarettes on sofas, a crystal bowl through an 80-inch TV, and heels scratching wood floors.”

Constructive Criticism

• “Looking for the ‘right kid’ in school is laziness. In tourism, it’s also an attempt to sound smart without really saying anything.”

• “If you provide essentially the same experience as any other beach destination, you will never get the ‘right’ tourist. Differentiate the product and create a real sense of place.”

• “Becoming a playground for billionaires might not attract visitors who are mindful of the land, ocean, and local residents.”

Agree? Disagree? Either way, mahalo for thinking, responding, and being part of the conversation. Hit reply or send yours to [email protected]: you might end up here next year.

About Us

Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui was started by hotel industry veteran Dan Wacksman, the CEO of Sassato, a Hawaiʻi-based consultancy that combines deep local expertise with a global perspective.

Our team brings decades of experience across operations, marketing, revenue, tech, and finance, all aimed at helping hotels and travel companies make smarter decisions and move faster. Whether you need additional expertise, extra horsepower, or just someone who thinks like you and moves things forward, we’ve got you. From local independents to global brands, we show up with a no-nonsense, results-focused mindset. To be blunt: we get sh*t done.

Recent projects include brand transitions, system selection (PMS, CRS, CMS — all the acronym soup), implementations, project management, feasibility studies, training, audits, and everything in between.