Mufi's Message 3.8.19

Concierge Association Celebrates 10th Anniversary

This past Monday evening, I had the pleasure of attending and offered remarks at the Concierge Association of Hawai‘i’s 10th Anniversary Gala at Morton's.  I was invited by long-time concierge and friend Wendy Nagaishi. 

The small-but-mighty group represents a very vital lifeline in the visitor industry, and that is the dedication to providing professional and excellent guest services to visitors and local residents alike.  They are passionate in what they do, and take great pride in their work.  The organization is committed to providing continuous career development and education to their members and additionally engages in community opportunities from the Visitor Industry Charity Walk to Aloha Week and more.   
 
Association President Vanessa Greene, of the Halekulani, heads the organization which is comprised of representatives from lodging properties such as the Kahala Hotel & Resort, the Four Seasons Resort O’ahu at Ko Olina, Trump International Waikiki, Prince Waikiki, the DoubleTree Alana Waikiki, and Turtle Bay Resort, as well as industry affiliate.  
 
Mahalo for hosting such a wonderful evening, and I wish you all many more years of happy, educational membership!​

​HTA & HLTA Announce Scholarships!

​On March 6, I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s 2019 Spring Tourism Update at the Hawaii Convention Center. I spoke to an audience of 500, which comprised of members from the tourism industry, government officials, non-profit professionals, and the general public.
 
My primary focus was geared toward HTA’s Community Outreach Program, which will now include a new Scholarship Program crafted by HLTA  and HTA . The program is exclusive to Hawaii public high school graduates who are planning to pursue degrees in the tourism, hospitality, or culinary fields.
 
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 BYU- Hawaii and HPU. Additionally, there will be ten available two-year scholarships for students enrolling in the TIM program at the University of Hawaii, for which 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.
 
Beyond having a commendable GPA, leadership skills, volunteer hours in the community, and internship experience, the candidates must also agree to pursue 'Ōlelo Hawaiian language and cultural classes. The goal is to incentivize and retain these future tourism and hospitality leaders and to establish them as pillars in the local community.
 
The Ho’oilina Scholarship recipient selection committee will be co-chaired by Chris Tatum, head of  Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and myself.  The committee members will consist of individuals from across the state in the fields of hospitality, culinary, such as the Hawaii Restaurant Association, and education, as well as union representatives and Hawaiian culture specialists.
 
We are excited to roll out this new scholarship initiative for our 2019 public high school graduates.  Applications will be released this coming week and will be available on our website, along with our other existing scholarship opportunities, at http://www.hawaiilodging.org/scholarship-opportunities.html.