HoJo, Days Inn Brands Break Into Hawaii Hotel Market
<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>HoJo, Days Inn Brands Break Into Hawaii Hotel Market</B>
By Maria Lenhart
<Howard Johnson and Days Inn are making their first foray into the Hawaii hotel market, the result of a new marketing affiliation between parent company HFS Inc. and Honolulu-based Hotel Corp. of the Pacific.
Under the agreement, HCP-which operates 30 properties in Hawaii under the name Aston Hotels and Resorts-will flag four of its Hawaii hotels as Howard Johnson properties and a fifth as a Days Inn. Neither chain has been represented in Hawaii, which typically has attracted upscale hotel development rather than mass-market brands.
"We are enthusiastic about affiliating the hotels, and we welcome the opportunity to continue working with Howard Johnson to open additional properties in the future," said Andre Tatibouet, HCP chairman and chief executive.
Two of the hotels are located in Waikiki: the 247-room Aston Coral Reef Hotel, which is now a Days Inn affiliate, and the 227-room Park Shore Hotel, a new Howard Johnson affiliate.
On the Neighbor Islands, the properties flagged under the Howard Johnson name are the 120-room Maui Lu, the 243-room Aston Kauai Beachboy and the 154-unit Aston Royal Seacliff on the Big Island of Hawaii. While the Maui Lu and Beachboy are midpriced hotels, the Royal Seacliff is a deluxe condominium resort.
The agreement also will link the hotels to the Days Inn and Howard Johnson reservation and sales network, and all chainwide frequent guest or rate programs will be honored.
Despite all the reshuffling, there will be no staff changes and the hotels will continue to be managed by Aston Hotels and Resorts, according to HCP spokeswoman Aubrey Hawk. At the same time, the hotels will continue to be part of the Aston brand.
"The basic purpose for this agreement is to give us more reach into mainland markets," Hawk said.
The deal echoes a similar marketing affiliation signed earlier this year between Choice Hotels and Hawaii-based Castle Group. Under the agreement, five Castle Group hotels in Hawaii-the Queen Kapioloani, Kamaeole Sands, Kaluakoi Villas, Maui Eldorado and Hilo Hawaiian-have been reflagged under the Quality brand; a sixth, Hanalei Bay Resort, joined the Clarion brand.
According to Erik Kloninger, a consultant for PKF Hawaii, which tracks trends in the hospitality industry, similar deals between mainland and Hawaii-based hotel companies are likely to be inked in the future.
"In some cases, it makes a lot of sense for locally managed hotels to gain more exposure in the international market," he said. "And it gives the chains a chance to establish a presence in Hawaii-it's the easiest way to get in.