BUSINESS BRIEFS
Home Depot in Kapolei to open
Advertiser Staff
The new Home Depot in Kapolei will open March 18, making it the sixth Hawai'i store in the home-improvement retail chain.
The store, at 4600 Kapolei Parkway, features 115,000 square feet, including a special home decoration center and outdoor garden center.
The Kapolei store hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
Hyatt due for $14 million upgrade
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa is getting a $14 million makeover starting next month.
All 1,230 guest rooms will be redone with new furniture and color schemes, the hotel said.
The renovation of the twin-tower hotel will be done in two phases. The first phase will be a renovation of all rooms in the Ewa Tower to be completed in October. The second phase of improvements to Diamond Head Tower rooms will begin in early 2005 and will be completed by midyear.
The theme will be "simple Hawaiian elegance," designed by DKKY Architecture Studio. Summit Construction will do the renovation.
Hotel occupancy up in January
Hawai'i hotels were 75.54 percent full in January, up from 72.88 percent in January 2003, according to data released yesterday by hotel consultancy PKF Hawaii LLP. All islands posted increases in occupancy except O'ahu, which saw a 1.13 percent decline.
The statistics are based on a survey of 122 properties, including 64 hotels and 58 resort condominiums.
Oversight of insurer an issue
Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt plans to seek court approval to free medical insurer University Health Alliance from special state oversight.
In 2001, University Health Alliance's net worth fell below the minimum set for health insurers in the state. "Basically, the company was insolvent," Schmidt said.
The company was placed under a rehabilitation order. By last year, however, the company had turned around and increased its net income and reserves.
Correction: A previous version of these briefs had the wrong date for the opening of the new Home Depot in Kapolei.
