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3.17.2005 |
Embassy Suites HotelsŪ Enters Waikiki Market as part of Outrigger's
Waikiki Beach Walk Development; Robert H. Yeoman appointed General
Manager of the newly announced Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk |
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Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii - Outrigger
Enterprises Inc. and Embassy Suites
HotelsŪ today announced a franchise
agreement that will bring the
upscale Embassy Suites brand to
Waikiki as part of Outrigger's
Waikiki Beach Walk redevelopment
of the Lewers Street area. Outrigger
plans to completely renovate the
existing OHANA Waikiki Tower and
OHANA Waikiki Village Hotels over
the next two years and reopen them
as the Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach
Walk.
"We are excited about bringing the
Embassy Suites name and our services
to guests in Waikiki," said John
Lee, vice president of brand
marketing for Embassy Suites Hotels.
"Our loyal guests will be pleased
they have another hotel option while
they are in Honolulu." Lee also
noted Embassy Suites currently has
vacation ownership properties on
Maui and Kauai, but no other hotels
in the state.
According to Perry Sorenson, chief
operating officer for Outrigger
Hotels & Resorts, the association
with Embassy Suites is an important
strategic move designed to extend
the reach of Outrigger management
into new markets.
"This franchise agreement allows us
to introduce Outrigger's renowned
island hospitality to Embassy Suites
customers," Sorenson said. "At the
same time, the hotels will continue
to benefit from Outrigger's
long-standing relationships with
travel partners around the world who
associate Outrigger with Hawaii and
the Pacific."
To transform the OHANA Waikiki
Village and OHANA Waikiki
Tower hotels into the Embassy
Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk, the two
towers will shut down in the second
quarter of 2005 for a major
renovation that will take
approximately 18 months. Most
employees of those OHANA hotels will
be accommodated at other Outrigger
and OHANA hotel locations in
Waikiki. During renovation, the 844
standard hotel rooms will be
converted into 421 suites (17
two-bedroom suites, 352 one-bedroom
suites and 52 hotel rooms suites),
which will provide complimentary
full-American breakfasts and
afternoon manager's receptions.*
Embassy Suites and Outrigger believe
the suites will better serve the
needs of the current market, which
brings many repeat visitors and
families. "Embassy Suites offers two
room suites where kids get their own
room and free cooked to order
breakfast for the entire family,
plus an evening Manager's reception
daily," Sorenson said.
"There are very few suite
accommodations to serve the Waikiki
visitor today," said Lee. "By
bringing the Embassy brand and
award-winning service to the heart
of Outrigger's Waikiki Beach Walk
project, along with great
restaurants and specialty retail
shops, this area will become a
highly sought-after vacation
destination for families and repeat
visitors."
Robert H. Yeoman Appointed General
Manager Accomplished hotel executive
Robert H. Yeoman has been appointed
General Manager of the newly
announced Embassy Suites-Waikiki
Beach Walk, effective March 7, 2005.
Yeoman is a hospitality industry
veteran with over two decades of
experience in hotel operations and
food and beverage. A Certified Hotel
Administrator, Yeoman was most
recently General Manager of the
Embassy Suites Hotel
Phoenix-Scottsdale where he oversaw
the successful opening and
subsequent operation of this
270-suite hotel. Prior to that,
Yeoman served as General Manager of
numerous hotels and resorts over his
20 year career, including the Hilton
Pasadena, Hilton Suites Phoenix
Plaza, Embassy Suites Hotel
Biltmore, and Holiday Inn. Yeoman's
background also includes experience
in food and beverage, having worked
as Food & Beverage Director at The
Hermitage in Nashville, TN.
Waikiki Beach Walk Redevelopment
According to Outrigger Hotels &
Resorts president and CEO, David
Carey, the Embassy Suites addition
is an important piece of the Waikiki
Beach Walk project, a major
redevelopment that will
significantly upgrade central
Waikiki. After nearly a decade of
planning, construction on the $460
million project is expected to begin
in the spring of 2005.
"We have been planning this
tremendous project for several
years," said Carey, "leading the way
in redeveloping and reinvigorating
Waikiki in order to keep our visitor
industry robust and healthy. Our
vision is to bring new life to the
Waikiki Beach Walk area through
major property upgrades and the
development of a dining and retail
complex that will be a magnet for
visitors and local residents alike."
There are five major parts to
Waikiki Beach Walk:
First, Fairfield Resorts,
Outrigger's vacation ownership
partner, will redevelop the upper
floors of the 480-room OHANA Reef
Towers Hotel into 195 one-, two-,
three- and four-bedroom timeshare
units. This work is slated to begin
in March 2005 and is expected to be
finished in the fall of 2006.
Second, WBW Retail LLC, Outrigger's
retail partnership with developer
Richard Gushman, will redevelop the
street-level floors of the OHANA
Reef Towers and the site currently
occupied by the Edgewater Lanais,
OHANA Coral Seas, the OHANA Waikiki
Village lobby, the ground floor of
the OHANA Waikiki Tower, the
restaurants at the corner of Lewers
Street and Helumoa Road, and the
OHANA Edgewater into a gathering
place with approximately 90,000
square feet of new restaurants and
retail shops. Construction on this
portion of the project is expected
to start in April 2005 and be
completed in the fall of 2006.
Third, the conversion of the OHANA
Waikiki Village and OHANA Waikiki
Tower hotels to the all-suite
Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk,
with the franchise agreement
announced today with Embassy Suites.
Fourth, renovations that will be
made to the two "bookend" hotels at
each end of the Waikiki Beach Walk
development - the OHANA Islander
Waikiki at the corner of Kalakaua
Avenue and Lewers Street and the
Outrigger Reef on the Beach on Kalia
Road.
Outrigger calls the fifth and final
part of Waikiki Beach Walk "Phase
2." Outrigger remains in the
planning phase of this stage of the
development as it completes its
vision for a more beautiful visitor
and resident-friendly destination in
the heart of Waikiki.
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