Outrigger relabels 2 hotels as Marriotts

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Outrigger Enterprises Inc. is renaming two of its resorts with the Marriott label to attract corporate meeting business from companies more familiar with the Marriott brand.

The Outrigger Wailea Resort on Maui will be known as the Wailea Marriott, an Outrigger Resort. The Outrigger Waikoloa Beach on the Big Island will be called the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, an Outrigger Resort. The changes take place Jan. 1.

Outrigger, the largest Hawai'i-based hotelier, will continue to own and manage both properties. There are no expected work-force changes.

Outrigger will pay franchise fees, which typically include a percentage of revenue, to Marriott for the right to use the name and will be included in Marriott's sales system and the Marriott Rewards program.

Outrigger chief executive David Carey hopes the Marriott label will help counter low occupancy rates. Occupancy at the properties is in the 50 percent to 60 percent range, Carey said. He expects to see a 10- to 20-percentage point increase in occupancy after a year of the partnership. Corporate travel makes up 10 percent to 30 percent of business at each property.

"If you ask a corporate customer on the Mainland if they've heard of Outrigger, they may not have. But I can assure you they have heard of Marriott," Carey said.

Stan Brown, Marriott's vice president in the Pacific islands, said the two properties help Marriott continue to grow. The company will have nine hotels with these additions.

"This became an opportunity to expand our distribution in Hawai'i on Maui, where we have great demand and also get on the Big Island," Brown said.

The Outrigger Waikoloa Beach is a 15-acre, 545-room resort on the Kohala coast. The Outrigger Wailea Resort is a 22-acre, 521-room resort. No other Outrigger properties are being considered to take on the Marriott brand, but Outrigger has discussed managing Marriotts elsewhere, including in Australia and the Pacific islands.