BUSINESS BRIEFS
KCC instructors gain recognition
Advertiser Staff and News Services
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Eleven instructors from the Hospitality and Tourism Department at Kapi'olani Community College, which represents 100 percent of the teaching faculty in the department, have achieved national recognition as Certified Hospitality Educators.
"This recognizes the department and college as one of three colleges in the nation to have 100 percent of their faculty achieve the CHE designation," said Ron Umehira, chair of the HOST Department, in a released statement.
The other two colleges are the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
Kapi'olani instructors that received national certification are Laure Burke, Chelsea Chong, Doug Choy, Dave Evans, Rosalie Fernandez, Sheryl Fuchino-Nishida, Leilani Keolanui, Aloha Knaefler, Pat Kramm, Ron Umehira, and Palakiko Yagodich.
NYC'S PLAZA HOTEL MARKS 100 YEARS
The Plaza hotel in New York City, the setting for dozens of movies and home to the fictional Eloise, celebrated its 100th birthday last week with a party complete with fireworks and a 1-ton cake in the building's image.
The party came as the Israeli mogul who bought the famed hotel three years ago was completing its partial conversion to multimillion-dollar condos.
When The Plaza's $400 million renovation is completed, the result will include a spruced-up Palm Court and Oak Room plus 160,000 square feet of retail space.
There will be 181 condos, 130 traditional hotel rooms renting for $775 to $1,275 a night and 152 condo-hotel units whose owners will live in them for up to 120 days a year.
Elad Properties spokesman Lloyd Kaplan said that 90 percent of The Plaza's condos have been sold at prices ranging from $2.4 million to more than $40 million, and a handful of owners have moved in.
Many of the world's rich and famous stayed at The Plaza through the decades, and dozens of movies have been filmed there, including "North by Northwest," "Funny Girl" and "Barefoot in the Park."
MAUI RESORT DONE WITH MAKEOVER
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea has completed an extensive renovation to the Maui resort.
The $50 million project included remodeling 380 guest rooms and suites including an innovative technology upgrade.
It also added a new premium steak and seafood restaurant, DUO, that joins Wolfgang Puck's Spago Maui and the Italian favorite, Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante.
Designers also incorporated a museum-quality art collection, featuring original works of Hawai'i's artists throughout the accommodations and public areas "of Hawai'i's first and only AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star resort."
Opened in 1990, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea spared no expense in updating its design, look and feel and adding features that included: new furnishings in all guest rooms and suites; high-definition 42-inch flat-screen TVs; Braun Tassimo coffee/latte/tea/hot chocolate machine; and rewiring the resort for high-speed wireless access.
LUXURY RETREATS EXPANDS RENTALS
Luxury Retreats, a company that handles villa rentals, has expanded its inventory of high-end vacation rentals on the Big Island.
The company said it now has properties that range in size from two to seven bedrooms and range in price from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per night. Rentals include access to a concierge service.
REVENUE UP 13% FOR U.S. HOTELS
U.S. hotels increased a key revenue measure during the week ended Sept. 29.
Revenue per available room was up 13.6 percent from a year earlier to $74.43, according to Smith Travel Research. The firm also reported average occupancy was 68.2 percent during the week, or 2.1 percentage points higher than the same week a year earlier.
The average daily rate was $109.15, or 10 percent more than the week ended Sept. 30, 2006.
HO'OLAULE'A SET FOR OCT. 27 IN FLORIDA
A bit of Hawai'i is expected to draw hundreds of people to the town of Lake Worth, Fla., on Oct. 27, when it hosts the 2007 Hawaii Calls Florida Festival.
The event is being billed as the biggest cultural celebration of Hawaiian food, music, dance and arts in South Florida. Proceeds from the event will go to A Child is Missing Alert, a nonprofit organization.
The nonprofit group Hawaii Calls Florida's Web site is at www.HawaiiCallsFlorida.org.
