The tourist grins and replies, "It was great, thanks."

Waikiki beach boys have long been the embodiment of aloha — always smiling, always polite. And that's what Fletcher Miranda hopes to perpetuate as he sets up the first new surfboard rental stand on Kuhio Beach in five years.

Miranda's Hawaiian Ocean Waikiki opened this week after winning a city bidding process for the coveted beach location.

Two of the three Kuhio Beach surfboard rental stands were up for bid earlier this year. Miranda and Clyde Aikau, owner of C&K Beach Service, were the winners. A third stand, run by the nonprofit Palekaiko Beachboys, was not up for bid.

The latest round of bidding resulted in some surprisingly high rents. Aikau was the highest bidder, offering to pay $34,333 a month to stay on the beach where he has operated since 1999. Aikau had been paying $8,150 a month plus 10 percent of his monthly sales under his previous contract. The new contract is a flat rate.

Miranda had the second-highest bid, at $26,950 a month.

"Times have really changed for these guys," said Barry Fukunaga, director of the city's Department of Enterprise Services.

"We're going to be OK," said Aikau. "I've been here for years, so I know what the numbers are. ... We just have to tighten up around here."

With the highest bid, Aikau got first-pick on location. He chose the one closest to Diamond Head, farthest from the other stands on the beach. It had been run by longtime beach concessionaire Gilbert Hisatake before the city evicted him in May for not paying his full rent of $12,001 a month.

Hawaiian Ocean Waikiki, which Miranda owns with Hubert Chang, operates at the stand where Aikau's C&K Beach Service had been since 1999. It's near the food concession, restrooms and lifeguard tower.

The nonprofit Palekaiko Beachboys, whose mission is to perpetuate the "beach boy tradition," pays $4,000 for its spot.

Tourism boom

Fletcher Miranda is paying the city $26,950 per month to operate his concession stand on Kuhio Beach near Duke's statue, formerly run by Clyde Aikau's C&K Beach Service. Aikau, the top-bidding beach boy, chose to move to a stand down the beach. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

As Hawai'i tourism boomed, so did business for the beach boys, who achieved a legendary, if not celebrity, status. Beach boys don't just sell surfing lessons; they sell a tradition that dates back decades.

"Duke Kahanamoku (the Olympic swimming champion from Hawai'i) is the icon of beach boys," said Bob Hampton, president of Waikiki Beach Activities Ltd., which runs a concession that serves guests of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

"We want our people to emulate him and his creed, which is you are to give aloha to all new people to the beach. It's all developed around service. He really set the standard. And unfortunately, not everyone is living up to that."

Peace prevails

Tourists have complained about unfriendly surf instructors who yell instead of encourage. And Kuhio Beach has seen tension among the beach boys.

Ivan Kaneshiro, 59, a retired lifeguard captain who comes to the beach every morning, recalls beach boys acting territorial and trying to outhustle each other for business.

"Everything doesn't seem as bad as it used to be," said Kaneshiro. "But now everybody seems to be getting along all right," he said. "There's enough business now for everybody."

Roberta Graf and Betty Polinksy have brought their families to Hawai'i from New York City for the past seven years. Every time they visit Waikiki, they take surf lessons with the beach boys.

"It was great," raved Graf, who took lessons from Gohier, captain and surf instructor with Hawaiian Ocean Waikiki. "They were fun, not mean. Even my 7-year-old got up on a board."

"And no one got hurt," added Polinksy. "We learned a lot and had fun at the same time."

Miranda said he requires a professional attitude of his employees, who must dress neatly, arrive on time and remain drug-free.

"We have a nucleus of wonderful, healthy, energetic (employees) who have grown up on the beach," he said. "We're not competing with anybody but ourselves. We motivate ourselves to do better everyday."

More than a job

His business might be new to the beach, but Miranda has been around for more than 20 years.

He moved to Hawai'i from Monterey, Calif., in 1977. Along with teaching windsurfing in Kailua for 10 years, Miranda has managed every beach concession in Waikiki, including Aikau's. That gives him an edge over newcomers, he said, because he knows the business, the beach culture and politics of Waikiki.

He feels it's part of his job to be a good role model for his younger employees.

"This isn't just about being on the beach, this is a livelihood," Miranda said. "These kids are born and raised here. This is their opportunity to get an education, not only in ocean management, but in business. They're learning how to manage money, how to open a bank account, how to support themselves. ... They're learning what life is all about."

Not all are kids. Gohier is by far the most experienced of Miranda's surf instructors, with 42 years on the beach.

He moved from Palekaiko Beachboys to Hawaiian Ocean Waikiki to steer the six-man canoe and teach surfing. He's been friends with Miranda for about 20 years.

"I like honesty and being a part of this crew," Gohier said. "I love it. This is not a job to me."