HONOLULU (AP) — A major Waikiki hotel will close Aug. 1 for a redevelopment projected to cost $500 million.
HONOLULU (AP) — A major Waikiki hotel will close Aug. 1 for a redevelopment projected to cost $500 million.
The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani renovation and expansion is expected to be the highest reinvestment ever on a single Waikiki property, and the latest hotel slated for a multi-million dollar fix-up.
It tops the announced $400 million redevelopment at International Market Place and a $100 million reinvestment at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa.
The owner of Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts LP has invested another $500 million in three other Waikiki hotels, the Westin Moana Surfrider, the Sheraton Waikiki and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, since 2007.
“Our owners have an amazing commitment to the community and to our associates,” said Kelly Sanders, Waikiki area managing director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which manages Kyo-ya’s Waikiki hotels. “They are putting this kind of money out to say that we believe in Waikiki and in its future.”
The renovations could take three years to complete, she said, and will change the footprint of the property.
The 260-foot Ainahau tower will be redeveloped to include 650 hotel rooms.
A new tower as high as 350 feet will provide 300 hotel rooms and about 135 residential resort condominiums.
The changes will move the property from three-star “upscale” rating to “upper-upscale” category, Sanders said. The average current daily rate is in the mid-$150, Sanders said, and room rates will increase $75 to $100.
“With the way that the hotel is being planned, the view corridors will be fantastic, and that comes at a premium,” Sanders said.
Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii’s largest wholesaler, said Honolulu will see additional tax revenue from the property. Hotels in Waikiki, Ko Olina, Turtle Bay and neighbor islands will get a boost during construction, he said.
“It’s going to create compression when they take approximately 1,100 rooms out of commission,” he said.
Debbie Stephens-Amas, director of human resources at the Princess Kaiulani and the Moana Surfrider, said some hotel workers already have been shifted to other hotel properties.
“We’ll work to place as many as we can up to the closure and beyond,” she said.