Pakalōlō Panic, Loyalty for Sale, and a Hotel Site in ʻEwa

November 04, 2025

Aloha !

Welcome to this month’s Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui Insider.

First, a big mahalo to this issue’s sponsor, Tambourine - the hotel marketing technology pros behind some of the industry’s best websites. From full-service marketing to their new hotel and air booking engine, they’re helping hotels rethink digital strategy from top to bottom. If your online game needs a tune-up, give them a look.

In this issue: Hawaiʻi debates recreational cannabis as Japan side-eyes our policy shifts, Mandarin Oriental Honolulu continues its disappearing act, and a shovel-ready hotel site hits the market in ʻEwa. Plus, a look at hotel earnings (spoiler: flat is the new up), and browser wars that might matter more than you think.

And a heads-up: next issue, we’re officially launching the Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui website. More jobs. More news. More no-fluff insights, all in one place. Stay tuned.

Know someone in the industry who should be reading this? Forward it their way. The Hui is growing because of you.

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 😄

Pakalōlō Panic: Will Japan Ghost Us Over Ganja?

The Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi are fired up about recreational cannabis, and not in the celebratory sense. Their big fear? That legal weed could scare off Japanese tourists who still equate cannabis with hard drugs. Tour wholesalers, airlines, and even the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office are echoing concerns.

California legalized it, and its Japanese arrivals didn’t vanish. Neither did Colorado’s.

Let’s be real, Hawaiʻi already allows medical cannabis, and anyone walking through Waikīkī knows enforcement is inconsistent. What if, instead of hiding from it, we treat cannabis like alcohol or cigarettes: legal, taxed, and regulated?

Are we safeguarding culture or just high on our own supply?

Should Hawaiʻi legalize recreational cannabis?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Forget Armond, We’ve Got Konrad

Konrad Gstrein has been named regional VP and general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, returning to the same property where he began his Four Seasons career back in 2001.

The resort is owned by MSD Capital, Michael Dell’s firm. Sound familiar? It should. MSD also owns Four Seasons Hualālai (the hotel and the land), which we covered in the last issue.

Unlike the GM famously portrayed in The White Lotus, filmed at this very resort, we expect Konrad’s storyline will have less drama and more RevPAR.

Welcome back, Konrad, and best of luck in your new role!

For those who have not seen White Lotus Season 1, you really need to check it out.

The New Amenity Parents Actually Want
-Featured Partner-

Let’s face it, room upgrades are great, but time to relax? That’s priceless. Tutti Vacation Babysitters is redefining hotel childcare by connecting families with verified, background-checked local sitters who go beyond watching the kids. They lend a hand with the real stuff: unpacking suitcases, running errands, giving parents (especially moms) a moment to breathe.

This fair-trade platform gives parents the freedom to choose their own verified, background-checked babysitter. Families enjoy transparent pricing, low booking fees, and fair pay for sitters, creating a better experience for everyone. With Tutti Vacation Babysitters, parents can relax knowing their children are cared for, their needs are supported, and their choice helps empower local communities.

World Class Golf Course, Waterpark, Is a Hotel Next?

A 5.5-acre resort-zoned parcel fronting the lagoon at Wai Kai at Hoakalei is officially on the market. Fully entitled, utilities in, roadways done, ready to go. Asking $25 million, with room for 225–250 keys.

It’s part of the long-in-the-works Hoakalei Resort in ʻEwa Beach, 726 acres with homes, a private Ernie Els golf course, and the recently opened Wai Kai water adventure complex.

Colliers is leading the listing, and they’ve already had a few groups fly out. The pitch? Fee simple, lagoon-front, shovel-ready, Oʻahu. Those don’t come up often.

*Note to my friends at Wai Kai, I know you are not a waterpark, but a “water adventure” just didn’t work with our clever the headline.😉

Whatever Happened to the Mandarin Oriental Honolulu?

We noticed that Mandarin Oriental Hotels was recently taken private by its majority owner, Jardine Matheson. Which got us thinking: what’s going on with the Mandarin Oriental Honolulu?

There was a flurry of press releases a few years ago, but the last update we could find was back in 2023. Since then, radio silence, and the last time I drove by the site, I didn’t see a whole lot of activity. 

If any of our well-informed readers have intel on the status of this project, we're all ears. Otherwise, we may need to go into Keith Morrison reporting mode: “It was a bold announcement…. Two parcels. Billions of dollars. Five years, they said. But now? Just a concrete slab and questions.”

Hotel Performance

Hotel performance data will be published in the first issue of each month.

Flat Is the New Up? Q3 hotel earnings are out, and 2025 just got downgraded, again.

Inbound is soft, group is sluggish, and government travel is MIA. Most chains are shifting focus to 2026 and leaning into AI as a lifeline. Here’s the skinny on Q3 earnings calls:

  • Hilton: U.S. RevPAR down 2.3%; group business off 4%. AI and loyalty tweaks are the story, but 2025 guidance is now flat.

  • IHG: Gov travel dropped 20% in the U.S., pulling Q3 RevPAR to -1.6%. Still clinging to 1.4% growth next year, but it’s mostly hope.

  • Wyndham: RevPAR tanked 4.8% in Q3; 2025 outlook now down 2–3%. The AI assistant is live in 7% of hotels, and early results look promising.

  • Accor: The lone optimist. Q3 RevPAR up 0.8% (3.2% YTD), holding 2025 forecast at +3–4%, thanks to strong luxury and Middle East growth.

Three Ways Hotels Are Leaving Money on the Table
-Featured Partner-

Revenue leakage doesn’t start when you discount; it starts long before a guest hits the booking button.

First: pricing inconsistency. Even small differences in nightly rates or fees across channels erode trust and shift bookings away from your most profitable path.
Second: content friction. If room types, amenities, or photos don’t align everywhere guests shop, confusion costs you conversions.
Third: unleveraged direct value. If your best offer isn’t the easiest to understand or book, you’ve already lost – they’ll default to whatever feels simplest.

These fixes don’t require major system changes - just clarity, consistency, and planning. These are the quiet alignment fixes that ensure more of the revenue you influence actually reaches the bottom line.

Wyndham Solves Loyalty by Charging for It

Wyndham just launched Wyndham Rewards Insider, a $95/year subscription that feels more like a Costco card for travel than a traditional loyalty tier. Members get hotel discounts, airfare and cruise deals, concierge access, Gold status, and a few extras tossed in.

They’re not alone in the loyalty-for-cash game. IHG has its $200 Ambassador program. And not to be outdone by the global brands, Hawai’i’s own Outrigger offers a $299 Platinum Membership, with upgrades, resort credits, and other perks across its Hawaiʻi and Asia-Pacific portfolio.

Recurring revenue models (aka subscriptions) have been Wall Street’s favorite business model for over a decade, and, as usual, hotels are late to the game but are finally giving it a shot.

What sets Wyndham apart is the scope. This isn’t just about hotel perks; it’s about bundling in non-Wyndham perks. Flights, cruises, events, even a concierge. And notably, Wyndham says it’s absorbing the discount costs, not pushing them to franchisees. I am guessing that is until someone in accounting remembers how franchise math works.

If loyalty is going to evolve, why not turn it into a product people are actually willing to buy?

What do you think?

K-Shaped Recovery Joins the HHH Dictionary
(Like bifurcation, but with better branding)

Another addition to the HHH Dictionary: K-shaped recovery, where companies serving affluent customers thrive, while those targeting low and middle-income consumers fall behind. And in Q4, the travel industry is living it.

Winners: Delta, United, and Southwest are forecasting record holiday quarters, driven by premium international travel and high-spend customers. Amex users are still swiping freely, and luxury travel bookings are up double digits.

Losers: Hilton, IHG, and Wyndham are all reporting soft U.S. demand and falling RevPAR. Wyndham cut its full-year guidance after a rough Q3. Gen Z and millennial travelers are pulling back, and brands like Spirit and Frontier are feeling the squeeze.

The takeaway? If your business depends on volume over margins, this isn’t your recovery. But if you’re selling to the top of the K, things are looking just fine. 

Hope you're taking notes, all these new buzzwords will be showing up on the HHH final exam 😉

The browser wars just got agentic

Browser Wars: The Sequel No One Asked For (But Might Be Worth Watching)

Back in the ’90s, Microsoft steamrolled Netscape and crowned Internet Explorer the king of the internet. That is, until Chrome showed up and took the crown.

Now, the browser wars are back. Only this time, the fight isn’t about speed or tabs. It’s about who can think for you.

We flagged Comet a while ago, it’s Perplexity’s AI-powered browser with a built-in assistant that reads your screen and helps with email, scheduling, and research.

Now OpenAI has entered the ring with Atlas, currently only available for Mac. And it doesn’t feel like a browser at all, it feels like ChatGPT became your browser. There’s no traditional search bar. No frantic tab hopping. Just ask “What’s the latest on HTA governance?” or “Compare hotels across Waikīkī,” and it does the legwork. Add Agent Mode, and the AI doesn’t just find answers; it can complete tasks for you (e.g. make bookings, fill out forms, etc.)

It’s not perfect yet. But it’s clear where things are heading. The browser isn’t just a place to search and manage bookmarks anymore; it’s becoming your assistant. And no one’s going to announce when this shift becomes the norm, so it’s probably worth experimenting now, while you’ve still got the luxury of curiosity over necessity.

Want to dive deeper?
📎 Meet OpenAI Atlas
 📎 Comet by Perplexity

Industry Events

AHICE Aloha: Big Voices, Real Talk
-Vendor Pop-Up-

Over 50 hotel leaders will hit the stage at AHICE Aloha this November: Outrigger, Marriott, Wyndham, Springboard, Colliers, HVS, and, most importantly, Hawaii Hotel Hui! The event will be held at Prince Waikiki on November 7th.

The agenda? Development, operations, investment, tech... and the real-world issues shaping Hawaiʻi hospitality.

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

Spotlight on Hawai‘i Hospitality Opportunities

*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].

Mahalo for all the feedback, compliments, corrections, and cautionary tales alike. Whether you’re calling out our typos or calling out $160M roofing budgets, we appreciate that you’re reading. (And firing back.)

Here’s what’s landed in the inbox lately…

Correction Station:
An Akamai reader flagged an error in our last issue. We mistakenly said the Hampton Inn & Suites Kapolei was a new PM Hotel Group project. It’s not. That property's been open since 2016 and is managed by Aqua-Aston. The actual PM project is a different Hampton/Home2 Suites listed as “coming soon” on their site. Mahalo for keeping us honest.

Quick Comments

  • “Thanks for the new vocab word ;)”

    • Shoutout to those of you who learned “enshittification” from us.

  • “Is it just me, or does that price point seem obscene?”

    • This was about the $160M Convention Center repairs. Our reply: Not just you. That roof better come with solar panels, a heliport, and Beyoncé.

On the international travel slowdown:

  • “Once international tourists discover other destinations, their loyalty to the USA or Hawaiʻi may be gone for good.”

  • “There are so many factors contributing to soft international demand, and some seem more long-term than the current government shutdown.”

On Cultural Understanding:

These came in after we covered management turnover and hotel leadership dynamics. They speak for themselves:

  • “Understanding the intricacies of local and Native Hawaiian values is still paramount to doing business in Hawai‘i. If we begin to think or practice otherwise, then who are we as a destination?”

  • “Local understanding is crucial for a hotel operator. Not only to ensure properties hold Hawai‘i's spirit for the guests but also for those who are actively working within it.”

Want to weigh in on something we got wrong, or right? Disagree with our takes? Fire back at [email protected], and your comment might appear (anonymously) in the next issue.

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 to help hotels and travel businesses overcome challenges and thrive. With a team of seasoned industry professionals who call Hawaiʻi home, Sassato offers an intimate understanding of the market, culture, and key players, paired with decades of experience in technology, marketing, revenue management, operations, finance, and overall strategy.

While Hawaiʻi is our backyard, our global footprint enables us to bring best practices from around the world. At Sassato, we don’t just consult, we deliver results with a no-nonsense approach to getting sh*t done.

Recent engagements include brand transitions, system selection and implementation (e.g., website, booking engine, PMS, CRS, CMS, CDP, F&B, and other acronyms), feasibility studies, competitive analysis, strategic planning, training, meeting facilitation, and audits in marketing, distribution, and technology. If you need help, we’ll either assist you directly or connect you with the right experts. Our ultimate goal is to be a trusted partner and resource for Hawai‘i hotels.