Mufi's Message - November 28, 2017

​Na Po'e Pa'ahana Awards:
As many of you know, HLTA’s Na Po‘e Pa‘ahana Awards is one of our association’s most anticipated events of the year. This is the time of year we honor the individuals who have contributed to the visitor industry through their exceptional service, professionalism, and aloha spirit, and continue to make Hawaii a premier destination. 

Everyone who is nominated for this event is the cream of the crop, and to narrow down the best of the best to just one person per category is always an extremely tough decision for our esteemed judging committee. Excellence is illustrated in many ways, and we certainly see this through the incredible stories that are shared through this event. That’s why this year HLTA will be introducing a new component to the Na Po'e Pa'ahana Awards by recognizing finalists in groups of small, medium, and large-size properties in the following categories:

• Bell/Valet Person of the Year
• Housekeeper of the Year
• Security Officer of the Year
• Front Desk Person of the Year
• Food & Beverage Person of the Year
• Engineer & Maintenance Person of the Year

We will continue to award one class of finalists in the following categories, as these finalists move on to the national Stars of the Industry event:

• Manager of the Year
• Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year

Tickets to attend the Na Po‘e Pa‘ahana Awards are now available online here. The event will be held on January 11, 2018 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa’s Coral Ballroom. Finalists will be notified in mid-December.

Island Air Job Fair:
Mahalo to our fantastic members who will be contributing their time this Thursday for a job fair supporting Island Air’s former employees. We are one ohana and are all in this together so when a member of our industry needs assistance, we should be there to render our kokua. 

The job fair will take place at Daniel K. Inouye Airport’s Interisland Conference Center from 10am- 3pm. Please contact Dean at dnakasone@hawaiilodging.org if you have any questions. Kudos again to the following companies for making HLTA's participation at the job fair possible: 

• Aqua-Aston Hospitality
• Hilton, including HGVC (timeshare division)
• Starwood Hotels
• Waikiki Beach Marriott
• Kyo-Ya
• Ritz-Carlton
• Marriott Ko Olina
• Outrigger Hotels & Resorts
• Aulani
• Enterprise
• Roberts Hawaii
• ABC Stores
• Securitas
• Hawaiian Cool Water

Salvation Army Kettle Bell Ringing:
We hope you can join us on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. for our annual Kettle Bell Ringing in support of Salvation Army. This year HLTA is partnering with the Waikiki Improvement Association and Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau for this fun service project. There will be 6 locations set up in Waikiki this year for volunteers to join in on the fun and “ring” in the holidays: Waikiki Shopping Plaza/Waikiki Business Plaza, Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa, Outrigger Waikiki Beach, Waikiki Beach Walk, and Waikiki Bank of Hawaii. Please contact Alex Roth of my staff at aroth@hawaiilodging.org to reserve a shift and learn more.