Mufi's Message 3.22.19

​Hospitality Industry Pau Hana

​Mahalo to all those who came to our first Hospitality Industry Pau Hana of 2019 at Appetito last night! This is wonderful networking opportunity for our members to mix and mingle with one another, and it presents an ideal platform for us to recognize an exceptional professional from within our industry. 
 
In particular, I would like to acknowledge our newest members, who formally joined HLTA, and attended their first event! Warm welcomes to Corey Campbell of Akamai Training & Consulting, Ruben Perez of Oahu Extractions, Kortney Dacanay of Hawaii Self-Storage, Richard Davis of Bank of Hawaii, Lydia Yabsley of Aqua-Aston Hospitality, David Murphey of David Murphey Photography, Rashan and Ronnie Corpuz of Honolulu Premier Flooring, and Breann Guzman of Heide & Cook. 
 
In addition to our Thursday night festivities, we were pleased to honor Outrigger Hospitality Group’s Jerry Dolak, Director of Loss Prevention, with our Kahiau Award.
 
Jerry has been on the front lines championing visitor and public safety, in his capacity as Director of Loss Prevention for Outrigger Resorts, as well as President of HHVISA, the Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association.  In addition to being an active member of our organization,  Jerry has been a valued partner in many of our emergency management seminars and conferences, as well as coordinating our security efforts for the Visitor Industry Charity Walk on Oahu. 
 
There was raucous support shown for Jerry, particularly from his Outrigger Ohana, who turned out in force to Appetito at the Ohana East Waikiki by Outrigger.  Congratulations, Jerry – this was so well-deserved!

LA Rams Press Conference

​As part of our many partnerships with the Hawaii Tourism Authority, accompanied by several retired NFL pros, a couple of whom played for the Rams, and a dozen of Hawaii’s finest football coaches, I was excited to be part of yesterday’s press conference announcing the LA Rams’ preseason game.  For those of you who may have missed it, the Rams will host the Dallas Cowboys at Aloha Stadium on Saturday, August 17th at 4pm.  This will officially be the first exhibition game held at Aloha Stadium since 1976.  
 
Through their partnerships with Hawai’i’s tourism industry, the Rams are looking forward to providing several opportunities for community engagement.  Chris Tatum, HTA head, has invited me to share my expertise as the former mayor of Honolulu, and as the current president & CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association to help connect the Rams’ organization to several key community organizations, schools and individuals.  The plan is to hold clinics for several high school football teams, including an 11-on-11 tournament & skills competition and a series of PLAY 60 events.  Coinciding with their ongoing military outreach efforts, we will be helping to connect the Rams with Hawaii-based service personnel and their families.
 
I for one am looking forward to this match-up between last year’s Super Bowl contender, The LA Rams, and “America’s Team”. As one who was tasked with the responsibility of keeping the Pro Bowl in Hawaii for several years, I say mahalo to the LA Rams and HTA for bringing the NFL back to Aloha Stadium!

To watch this morning's KHON Take2 appearance, please click here.  For the Press Conference coverage via  KHON, click here.  For KITV's, click here.

Ho'oilina Scholarship Deadline Extended! ​

​Last week we announced the Ho’oilina Scholarship, which is a two-pronged approach at incentivizing local students interested in becoming tourism professionals to stay in our islands and work toward becoming the next generation of leaders. 
 
The program will award a total of five, four-year scholarships at $12,000 per student per year for students enrolling at the University of Hawaii TIM School, and the Hospitality programs at Brigham Young University- Hawaii, and Hawaii Pacific University.
 
Additionally, there will be ten available two-year scholarships for community college students utilizing the Hawaii Promise Program and enrolling in the TIM program at the University of Hawaii. Scholarship awards break down as follows: two Oahu County students, two Maui County students, two Kaua‘i County students, two Hawai‘i Island students, and two at-large students from any island.
 
The scholarships are already open for application on our website,  at http://www.hawaiilodging.org/scholarship-opportunities.html.  But, as announced on KHON2 on Monday evening, we are extending the deadline to April 15th at 12 noon, to allow as much time as possible for these student applicants to showcase themselves and their passion for Hawaii’s number one industry. To catch that interview, please click here.

Visitor Public Safety Conference Next Thursday 03/28

​Please don’t forget to register for next Thursday’s Visitor Public Safety Conference, Part II. Tickets are free, thanks to our fellow sponsoring partners: the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association, Waikiki Improvement Association, & Waikiki Business Improvement District Association.
 
Not registered yet? Click here.