BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hilton buys Waikoloa land

Advertiser Staff

Hilton Hotels Corp. bought the fee interest in the land for the Hilton Waikoloa Village for $115 million, Hilton said today.

Hilton, which owns the 1,241-room resort on the Big Island, had previously leased the 62 acres of land from Lanpar/HTL Associates, with the lease expiring in 2061.

In addition to the hotel, Hilton is also developing and selling 120 two-bedroom timeshare units at Waikoloa and plans more development there.

Income low for small businesses

More than 16,000 small businesses in Hawai'i fail to produce enough income to support a middle-class standard of living for their owners, according to a survey conducted by the Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network. There are approximately 51,000 small businesses in the state.

"It is ironic that small businesses, which drive the economy in Hawai'i for the benefit of all the state's citizens, do not themselves often fare well," said Darryl Mleynek, state director of the network.

Wood flooring delegates here

The National Wood Flooring Association opened its four-day annual conference at the Hawai'i Convention Center yesterday.

About 2,600 delegates are attending the conference, which is expected to generate $6.9 million in visitor spending and $579,000 in state tax revenue, convention center officials said.

Honolulu at new gas price record

The average price for regular gasoline in Honolulu rose a penny to a record $2.421 a gallon, according to yesterday's AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Statewide the average fell a penny to $2.496 a gallon. In Wailuku, Maui, regular gas averaged $2.739 a gallon. In Hilo on the Big Island, it averaged $2.539 a gallon.