Aloha,

We have been holding a series of meetings with State officials and members of Governor Ige's administration to discuss the possibility of a booster shot requirement to the Safe Travels program. Today, members of the HLTA Board and the Hawai'i Tourism, Business, & Community Coalition met with Lt. Governor Josh Green and Major General Kenneth Hara as well as HTA President & CEO John De Fries and HVCB President John Monahan to express our concerns regarding the booster requirement and reaffirm our commitment to the health of our guests, staff, and the greater community. 

It was an extremely productive meeting during which we conveyed our desire to move forward with supporting recommendations to emphasize public health guidance over further mandates. It is clear that we must stay the course and continue our efforts to get our people vaccinated and boosted while maintaining the strictest of health and safety standards at our places of business. Because, at the end of the day, Governor Ige will ultimately be making the final decision on this matter.

Everything is currently trending in our favor on this issue; case counts are going down, hospitalizations are decreasing, and our entire community is beginning to understand that we will have to learn to live with COVID-19 as we can begin to resume our lives. Continuing to rebuild the local tourism economy is the first step to restoring both international travel and large events, two significant sectors of our industry that have not yet begun the recovery process.

​You may have seen over the weekend that I sent out a short survey regarding HLTA members' vaccination and booster rates. The initial feedback was outstanding but the more data that we can get, the better we can illustrate to the State that our industry is leading the way in terms of vaccinating our people. If you have not yet filled out the survey, you can find it at this link. It will take just a few moments of your time, and you may opt to keep your business name confidential. ​

Aloha,

Yesterday, the Hawai'i State Legislature held its annual opening ceremonies to kick off the 2022 Legislative Session. Despite being relegated to a hybrid format with an empty gallery, the leaders of both chambers spoke of their optimism and their respective legislative priorities over the course of the next several months which include everything from economic recovery to homelessness, mental health, and the connection between tourism and conservation. It is clear that they have an ambitious agenda, and we will have to be on our toes for both measures that we support and those that we oppose.

In his remarks before the Senate, our friend Senator Kurt Fevella stated plainly what we all know to be true: Hawai'i's economic recovery and health will continue to rely upon the hospitality industry. He made clear that getting Hawai'i's back to steady, productive work is a critical priority, and no industry can do that as quickly as the tourism industry. In the current political and community climate, where the target on our backs seems to grow daily, it was refreshing to hear an elected official reiterate the importance of tourism. ​

​On the HLTA front, we have finalized our HLTA Government Affairs Position Statement for 2022. This document, which you can read in its entirety at the link above, details our legislative positions and priorities and will be distributed to each legislator in the coming days. Should you have any questions about the document or any of our positions, please feel free to contact my Vice President of Government & Community Affairs Jared Higashi via email at [email protected]. 

Aloha,

On December 22, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, to his credit, announced his veto of Maui County Council Bill 148 which would have established a two-year moratorium on the issuance of building permits for transient accommodations on Maui. This was a measure that we had opposed before the Council, and I had previously urged Mayor Victorino to wield his veto powers.

Tomorrow, the Council will meet for its first Full Council meeting of the new year where they are slated to take a vote to override the veto. Since Mayor Victorino's announcement, we have been working hard to secure the necessary votes to sustain his veto. These efforts culminated in the issuance of a letter that we helped to craft along with MHLA which was sent to each of the Maui County councilmembers yesterday. Co-signed by representatives from hospitality, business, labor, and trade organizations, the letter clearly articulates our position on Bill 148 and urges the Council to sustain.

After the letter began to circulate, additional organizations and individuals reached out to me to express their support and ask to sign on. Sensing that the momentum was on the upswing, I reproduced the letter with the additional signatories and sent it to each of the Maui County councilmembers earlier this afternoon. You can read the letter and view the signatories here.

This latest initiative underscores the strength that lies in collaboration and partnership—something that HLTA has embraced through our diverse coalitions across the state and we have been able to demonstrate some success with this collaborative strategy. While we face an uphill battle to sustain the mayor's veto, we need to continue to send a message to lawmakers that we are united in advocating for a strong, resilient, and sustainable economy.  ​

A second initiative was “A Time of Crisis: Stories from Hawa‘i’s Visitor Industry,” a video campaign in which hotel employees shared their personal stories on how the pandemic had affected their lives and those of their coworkers and families.
 
The COVID-19 Video Challenge was open to public high school seniors in which they were invited to submit a COVID-themed, 30-second video. The winning school—Waiakea High School—received a $10,000 cash prize and the students’ video was broadcast on KHON.

​The latest was “Makaukau – We Are Ready,” prepared in time for the reopening of travel to the islands in October 2020. It was a response to the business community’s growing frustration with the pace of tourism’s reopening and the absence of firm government plans to respond to the economic crisis. It was led by HLTA, Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation, with partners including Hawaiian Airlines, Central Pacific Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, American Savings Bank, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Hawaiian Electric Industries, the Hawai‘i Business Roundtable, and eight others. ​

Public Health Promotion. HLTA, the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, Waikiki Improvement Association, and Honolulu Police Department unveiled a lamppost banner campaign along the length of Kalakaua Avenue to educate and remind residents and visitors to practice mask wearing, social distancing, and personal hygiene.
 
Food Drives. The association has led or participated in multiple food giveaways targeting hotel employees. Kau Kokua Kits, an effort of the HLTA and Y. Hata, were distributed twice in 2020, with the food made available at very low prices and distributed at Embassy Suites by Hilton Waikiki Beach Walk and Residence Inn by Marriott Oahu Kapolei.

The HLTA partnered with Hawai‘i Nautical to collect donations of linens, towels, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and furniture for the homeless. The Hawai‘i Nautical crew gathered the items from hotels and businesses across O‘ahu. The donations were distributed to the COVID-19 Temporary Quarantine Center that was established by the Department of Health, City and County of Honolulu, Institute for Human Services, HERE Local 5, and Hawai‘i Homeless Healthcare Hui.
 
In July, August, and October 2020 and April and May 2021, HLTA and Aloha Harvest collaborated to distribute food to the families of thousands of tourism industry employees, using funds raised by the Aloha Later campaign. Distribution sites have included ‘Aiea High School, the University of Hawai‘i’s West O‘ahu campus, Aloha Stadium, Ilima Intermediate School, and Waipi‘o Soccer Complex. More than 7,000 families have been beneficiaries.

​Two “Aloha Later” food distribution events were held in December on Kaua‘i, including one for employees of the Koloa Landing Resort which remained open during the pandemic.
 
In July 2021, HLTA partnered with Hawai‘i County Mayor Mitch Roth and KTA Super Stores to host a final “Aloha Later” food distribution at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. As an incentive for those who have been vaccinated or registered, more than 300 KTA gift cards were given away. ​

​Advocacy
House Bill 862. A large coalition of 35 business and trade organizations, led by HLTA and the Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i, was front-and-center in opposing House Bill 862, a measure that reduced the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s funding and shifted its source from the Transient Accommodations Tax to the general fund, strip the annual $103 million TAT allocation to the counties, and permit the counties to establish their own surcharge with a cap of an additional 3 percent (conceivably increasing the TAT by 30 percent-plus). The coalition succeeded in convincing the governor to veto the measure. After the veto, the Legislature met to override it. Again, the coalition lobbied vigorously to uphold the veto, and fell a single vote short in the Senate to sustain the governor’s action.

City Council Bill 80. The HLTA conveyed its firm opposition to a City Council proposal that would have imposed severe restrictions on hotel operations with regard to staffing levels, sanitation requirements, and other matters rightfully under the purview of hotel management. This government incursion into the operations of private businesses triggered a strong and vocal pushback from hotel general managers and the HLTA membership. The bill was changed to a resolution, which states the Council’s views, but does not have the force of law. A large group of general managers offered testimony in opposition to the proposal.

During the ensuing Legislative Session, we relied upon our relationships to similarly thwart backdoor attempts by special interest to introduce right to recall-type measures at the State level.

Meeting with Elected Officials. Throughout the pandemic, our coalition met with Governor Ige and his administration regularly on a variety of issues including: the efficacy of the Safe Travels program, the State’s vaccination emphasis, and the Governor’s August 23, 2021 request for nonessential travel to halt, and we made the specific recommendation that the State needed to re-open travel by November 1. Our regular appearances with Gov. Ige provided coalition members with ample opportunity to raise specific concerns being faced by their businesses and organizations. 

HLTA also partnered with HTA and HVCB to convene regular meetings with the mayor of each county. These regular industry updates have been extremely beneficial to both hear from our elected officials and provide them with insights from the tourism industry.
 
Political Action. HLTA’s political action committee endorsed a lengthy slate of candidates for the 2020 election, which turned out to be a record-setting election with nearly 70 percent voter participation. Committee members evaluated and endorsed candidates who believe in the importance of the hospitality industry. While the pandemic prevented HLTA from holding candidate forums and mixers, as in the past, endorsements for federal, state, and county offices were announced.

​Visitor Public Safety. HLTA hosted its third annual Visitor Public Safety Conference via Zoom in March 2021. This partnership with the Waikiki Improvement Association, Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, Hawai‘i Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association, Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i, and Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai‘i, featured speakers representing state and county government, law enforcement, visitor industry, and nonprofits. Issues discussed included human trafficking, homelessness, and other concerns of the tourism industry and tourism areas. 

Philanthropy
Charity Walk 2021. Despite being cancelled in 2020 and being relegated to a virtual format in 2021, the highly successful Visitor Industry Charity Walk made an impressive return this year with statewide efforts raising more than $2.053 million in monies that were distributed to more than 200 nonprofits organizations around the state. This was especially noteworthy considering that our most successful, in-person Charity Walk raised $2.67 million just two years ago. Bolstered by generous corporate donations and another strong performance from Maui, one could hardly tell that this year’s walk was held entirely online.

​Hotels for Healthcare Heroes. Modeled after the original Hotels for Heroes initiative, HLTA partnered with the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i and President & CEO Hilton Raethel to provide two-night staycations to doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff—a program that was strongly supported by Lt. Gov. Green and the county mayors. Over the course of seven weekends in the fall of 2021, 715 heroes from 34 different hospital groups were provided 1,430 room nights at hotels around the state. These were made possible strictly through donations by HLTA member hotels. ​

Honoring Citizen-Scholars. While the pandemic precluded HLTA from honoring the outstanding seniors in-person at the traditional luncheon, 41 of the top seniors representing public high schools statewide each received a $1,000 college scholarship, with the top student from each county earning an additional $2,500 and the top male and female student in the state receiving $5,000. The recipients were introduced through a Zoom event in May. Twenty-eight businesses or organizations donated money for the scholarships.
 
Honoring Educators. HLTA and ClimbHI awarded $1,000 scholarships for the first time to two outstanding public school educators to gain experience in and understanding of the hospitality industry. Fern White from Hawai‘i Island and Alyssa Alcos of Wai‘anae High School were selected for the grants.

Workforce Development. In another facet of tourism industry education, HLTA again joined with ClimbHI to help sponsor the ClimbHI Service Excellence Certificate which marries unique local philosophies with the renowned academic excellence of the School of Hotel Administration at the Cornell University SJ Johnson College of Business. Students who pursue this on-demand certificate participate in online training modules to develop fundamental skills for use in the hospitality industry.
 
Generational Mentoring. HLTA has continued to sponsor the Generational Mentoring program, in which travel management students from the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Pacific University, and Brigham Young University Hawai‘i mentor under general managers or executives at more than a dozen resorts or tourism enterprises. In 2021, we welcomed our fourth class of distinguished, Generational Mentees. ​

Scholarship Golf Tournaments. HLTA succeeded in hosting three golf tournaments to raise money for its scholarship program and other needs during welcome breaks in the pandemic. The most recent, the 21st annual, was held at Pearl Country Club and raised more than $90,000 for the foundation to provide scholarships to students around our state.
 
Woman of the Year. HLTA's Women in Lodging & Tourism Committee honored 2021 Woman of the Year Julie Morikawa, the president and executive director of ClimbHI. Morikawa’s organization works to inspire students to finish high school and pursue higher education by exposing them to possible career paths and the processes necessary to achieve these goals. ​

Aloha,

As we head into the Christmas weekend, our entire state is experiencing an increasingly troubling surge in COVID-19 cases with numbers spiking to more than 1,500 across the state today. The Omicron variant is becoming more widespread across the globe and is now the most prevalent strain in the United States. 

While the early data seems to suggest that the medical outcomes for those infected by Omicron are significantly better than that of earlier variants, the quick increase and significant community spread is troubling. I am grateful that we are not experiencing further restrictions, but I do want to urge you to exercise good judgement and be wise about your choices over the holidays. As I told my family, friends, staff, and others, we must remain vigilant and do our best to stop this surge as quickly as possible.

​Please take care of yourself, your families, and loved ones as you celebrate this holiday weekend. Aloha Kalikimaka!  ​

Aloha,

Governor Ige held a press conference this morning to discuss the alarming rise of new COVID-19 cases that we are currently experiencing. Alongside State DOH Director Char, he noted that the new cases are a mix of both the Delta and Omicron variants while Dr. Char reported that the current research seems to indicate that Omicron is extremely transmissible but has shown a lower incidence of hospitalization than previous variants—a small blessing for which we should be grateful.

​These things being said, we must continue to take precautions to avoid rampant spread of COVID-19, an assessment that Governor Ige also included in his remarks today. While I am pleased that he made clear that neither new restrictions or changes to the Safe Travels Program are forthcoming, I remain cautious heading into the holiday season. As both the Governor and Dr. Char and the Lt. Governor are reminding us: we should exercise good judgement on how and where we celebrate the holiday season during this holiday season.  ​

Aloha,

As I've always said: you can't thank people enough.

This year's Charity Walk posed numerous challenges ranging from State and county restrictions to our first-ever virtual format. Despite these challenges, organizers, participants, donors, and supporters found new and creative ways to make Charity Walk possible, raising $2.053 million in the process. This is especially impressive when you consider that our all-time best fundraising total in a normal year, with an in-person walk was $2.67 million in 2019. Comparing the fine details between 2019 and 2021, it's easy for anyone to see that our tradition of giving is alive and well, and that is thanks in large part to all of you. ​