State aid sought for isle hotels

Now a taxpayer bailout for hotels and the train !!!!

Tell the hotels to use the money they have made over the last several years when things were booming and they were screwing the hotel workers out of their benefits, instead of using tax payer money to fund their profits.

Every year the hotel rates went higher and higher.......to the place that they were pricing out the average Joe.
As Bobbi states...the hotels were screwing the workers out of the benefits, etc.
Instead of getting a bailout...try lowering the room prices where they are affordable by the average person and take care of your workers.
People will find a way to Hawaii..if it is affordable....but when you look at the crazy airfare and then the crazy room prices...they are not going give blood.
Use common sense folks....common sense. Something the hotel industry does not have..........only greed.

Now maybe the hotels will lower thier room rates, after all they are very high. Too high to pay and the flight, thats the real reason people also aren't going to Hawaii.

What goes around comes around, now its your time HOTELS. Airlines were bringing in Tourist for a song and dance, now that's gone. So where are you Hotels going to find people to fill those rooms, KAIMAINA'S Remember we are also suffering from high energy prices and cannot afford to spend money foolishly, lower your rates for the remaining tourist and stop being greedy, and take care of your employees or more BACHI will follow.

What is up with all this Government bailouts?

Not Government's job!

I agree that Hotel prices are too high for the average wage earner & retiree. I've been trying to book a lower price OF condo in Feb. and they are all booked....who are they trying to fool. Someone must be coming. I'm going to have to wait until your "high" season is over to come.

nd

wadesis wrote:

I've been trying to book a lower price OF condo in Feb. and they are all booked....who are they trying to fool. Someone must be coming.

We have noticed that people are now trying to book condos and timeshares as it ends up costing less than a hotel room. Meals can be cooked in condos and timeshare and that saves money. This is probably the reason it is difficult to find a OF condo.

"Local Hoteliers". Is that marketspeak for "Really Rich Foreign Investors?" And now they are looking for state aid. "State aid" sounds like taxes on the kama'aina, which in turn sounds like many of those who work in the hotels at subsistance wages and declining real benefits.

Shouldn't the headline read "local hoteliers stick it to both ends of local residents?

HI Fan wrote:

<quoted text>
We have noticed that people are now trying to book condos and timeshares as it ends up costing less than a hotel room. Meals can be cooked in condos and timeshare and that saves money. This is probably the reason it is difficult to find a OF condo.

There are hundreds of condos available all over the islands, try craigslist, kijii, I am coming over in January and have a choice of at least 100+ properties in Waikiki alone, with owners also feeling the pinch and trying to frantically book their units as fast as they can, they too realize that hotels will probably drop prices to up their occupancies, these greedy hoteliers looking for aid, check expedia it's a joke, Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott all offering 4th or 5th night free, but
have increased prices to offset the giveaway, what a joke, so I get my 4th night free, but pay for it on the 3 previous nights, I don't care what tghe property has for ammenities,
$250.00-$300.00/night rates are not affordable to the average joe/family vacationer, and these are now Hawaii's bread and butter tourists, Hawaii needs a total overall adjustment on room rates downward, it is not the destination it used to be, and with all the new emerging resort/tourism locations popping up all over the world, this adjustment needs to come soon, before it is really too late.
This does not even take into account the crime, filth, drugs, locals running around robbing and murdering tourists, have a look at Ala Wai canal one day, breeding grounds for whatever with that disgusting filth and smell, I write this with memories of Hawaii of days gone by, family oriented, safe, clean with plenty of aloha, and somewhat affordable, now after milking the tourist (Hotels) for some 20 years, it has come back to bite them in the arse, I agree time for these hoteliers to cut their rates drastically, give back to the tourist and keep locals working in these establishments, working.

Take up the slack on the homeless. Put them in the vacant hotel rooms. No bail outs for foreign investors like Paulson with Fannie and Freddy.

But there is something that can be done about fuel prices.
We can start drilling our own oil. Sure, it will take a while to have an effect, but if we don't start soon we will be in much more trouble.
We need to act now. We have great reserves that must be tapped, not just for the benefit of Hawaii but to save our economy as a whole. We are WAY too dependant on foreign fuel supplies.
The price of fuel is probably the most important factor that affects our tourism.

So the polititians are going to take away money that they took from me against my will, and give it to foreign billionaires because those greedy buggas need a new Rolls Royce? Time for special elections to throw out our polititians.

Bail out the rich as usual. No one is allowed to fail except the little guy.

John W Bienko wrote:

The executives of Outrigger Enterprises should be congratulated for the outstanding contribution to vacationers to holiday on the beautiful islands of Hawai`i at very reasonable prices.
I offer my services as a public speaker presenting important information based on my book Retire Healthy, Wealthy and Wise in Paradise.

Not sure what you call reasonable, last time I checked Outrigger was gouging the average tourist just like the rest of the big chains, the only deals I see coming out of Outrigger are for properties that are either going through extensive renovations, or off the beaten track like their Ala Moana property, otherwise they are just as guilty as the rest in pricing out the average Joe, Japan tourism is basically dead, the Chinese are not coming like anticipated and Hawaii better make itself more attractive to it;s bread and butter tourist, the average joe witgh his wife and two kids....from the mainland.

wadesis wrote:

I agree that Hotel prices are too high for the average wage earner & retiree. I've been trying to book a lower price OF condo in Feb. and they are all booked....who are they trying to fool. Someone must be coming. I'm going to have to wait until your "high" season is over to come.

the high season is no more, it's a matter of negotiating, there are some good deals right now, but wait, they are only gonna get better..real soon..I am waiting to book,till they get real hungry.

It's been 11 years since I last visited Hawaii. I used to go 1-2 times a year but it was getting harder and harder to find it affordable. One other thing was that the mainland tourist wasn't treated as good as the Japanese tourist. I was told they out spent the mainlanders so they catered more to them. I have been spending my vacation money on the mainland and get better treatment and better value for my money. I love Hawaii and would love to go again but just won't.

Hey Hawai'i people here are correct on several fronts.

1. Locals and I am one..you wanted the tourist to go away so now you have it. Pay your bills and mortgages with your non-existent pay checks.

2. Hawai'i has continued to ignore the special needs of the industry. It is a long haul destination and yet they continue to raise rates AND ALWAYS ignore locals until they need to beg.

3. Reasonable pricing and more Hawai'i in the way of culture would add greatly to a sustainable market.

Whatever happened to Kama'aina rates? Why insult local residents and offer them only when the market/season is slow.$99.00 for locals this month, but same room in August $299 and forget about local rates then.

Be equitable you hotel people. You make big splashes about mulit-million dollar renovations so don't whine now. Lastly you need to add more Hawaiian in your properties and activities. The Hawaiian culture and the people have been taken out of the equation...that is nuts. Hawai'i is all about the culture.

This is probably exaclty what the hotel industry needs for their "wake up call".