Business briefs

Advertiser Staff

ResortQuest wins contracts

ResortQuest International, owner of Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawai'i, said yesterday it won contracts to manage two more Hawai'i properties.

LaeRoc Partners of Manhattan Beach, Calif., picked Aston to manage the newly renamed 255-room Aston Waikiki Parkside Hotel on O'ahu. Aston also has been chosen by Stanford Carr Development to manage the Waikoloa Colony Villas, a 168-unit luxury resort condominium community being developed on the Big Island.

ResortQuest said yesterday its net loss for the fourth quarter more than doubled to $5.8 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.5 million, or 13 cents per share, in the 2000 quarter. The company said revenues declined 9 percent to $23.4 million.

Cruises won't start on Maui

Norwegian Cruise Lines said it would stop offering passengers the option of beginning their seven-day Hawaiian Island cruise on Maui. As of Aug. 16, Honolulu will be the only place to embark.

The 2,200-passenger Norwegian Star has had problems getting passengers on and off the ship on Maui. Two months ago it switched the Star's port of call from Lahaina, where passengers had to be carried to shore by smaller tenders, to Kahului, where the boat can dock.

Lahaina will be back as an optional call on the May 3 scheduled starting, when the company plans to add a third 200-passenger tender to the two existing tenders that can carry about 150 to 175 passengers each.