Outrigger expands in Australia

By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Outrigger Beach Club, being built on four acres overlooking Palm Cove Beach in Queensland, will be the ninth Australian property managed by Outrigger Enterprises. Outrigger Enterprises rendering

Outrigger Enterprises, as part of its continuing strategy of expanding throughout the Pacific, has agreed to manage its ninth property in Australia.

The Outrigger will take over a $25.4 million, five-star boutique hotel that is under construction at Palm Cove, 18 miles north of Cairns in Queensland, when it is completed in June.

Outrigger, Hawai'i's largest hotel chain, has been benefiting from past efforts to diversify away from Waikiki. Occupancy has been running close to 85 percent at its four open Australia properties, said vice president of business development Bill Henderson. By comparison, Hawai'i occupancy is just now creeping back toward 70 percent.

"Thank God we have Australia," said Henderson. "That's kind of been our portfolio leader (since Sept. 11)," he said.

Before Sept. 11, occupancy in Hawai'i was consistently higher than in the Australia properties.

By 2005, Outrigger hopes to have 20 properties in Australia and nearby South Pacific locations, said Dave Lawrence, Outrigger's vice president for Australia.

The agreement to manage a new hotel in Palm Cove comes just two months after Outrigger said it plans to manage the Outrigger Port Douglas Resort, which is also scheduled to open in June and will be 12 miles north of Palm Cove.

Other markets that Outrigger plans to enter by the end of 2002 include Southern California and New Zealand.

"New Zealand is a natural for us after Australia," said Henderson. "It's another market that knows our brand really well."

Henderson added that despite plans for continued international expansion, "Hawai'i is always going to be the heart and soul of the company."

Outrigger is moving forward with efforts to condemn property for a $300 million redevelopment project on Lewers Street in Waikiki.

At the same time the company is looking for opportunities elsewhere.

"We figured Hawai'i growth was somewhat limited because we already have such a presence," said Henderson.

The Outrigger operates 46 properties, said Henderson. Of those, the family-run business owns 15, or about 30 percent of its total inventory. All of those are in Hawai'i, where Outrigger employs about 3,000 people.