2016-07-29 BDHRA Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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our standing and what we accomplished. And I went out looking for a room. I had to pay over $200 for one night. I’ve never paid that much‒‒I could stay at the Royal Kona on a kama‘āina rate. It was at $140, and that I enjoy. I don’t know what it is now. But we’re going to price ourselves out of economical rates if we don’t think about the three or hotels or whatever you’re going to put on Banyan Drive in the plan. You have to have them. Now, how are they going to succeed? This is the main problem. They are going to have to provide their own tourists for each one of the buildings, and how are they going to do it? I hope I can get your attention on this one particular part; they are responsible to handle their room rate structure and get their percentage up as high as possible. Why? Because you’re not going to have the tourist bureau doing it, you’re not going to have a volcano eruption, you’re not going to have Merrie Monarch week, you’re not going to have conventions, you’re not going to have sports activities. You’re going to have to rely on local business, kaimana \[sic\] people that are seeking rooms, and each one of the units, and here’s the important part, each one of the new hotels are going to have to get on the internet and seek their business in order to stay in business and not go bankrupt. We have our own responsibilities. This is how I am able to achieve now. I have an occupancy rate of 70 percent average or better. On weekends I do fill up. Now how do I do it? I’m on the internet, I use some of the major hotel companies that do sell your rooms for you and you have to pay commission. I can do that and stay in business and provide all my employees with the opportunity. But, if you don’t provide, and this is the hooker, if you don’t provide a bay view for each one of these new hotels that you’re going to put in Banyan Drive, if they can’t sell the bay, they have nothing to sell other than a room. Just like anybody else in Hilo. You have to put them on the ocean. This is how I survive. If you come over to my hotel now, I have tile in the lobby, you view the swimming pool, and its open right to the ocean. You see the cruise ships and all of these things. They have to have something to sell. And this is why I’m speaking to you. Whether I’m here in later years or not, or if my corporation continues on to provide opportunity for the employees, I hope it still has a bay view, something to sell. Just like the Hilo Hawaiian and the Naniloa. You cannot stick them down any other area. DELIMA: Mr. Inouye, when does your lease expire? INOUYE: When did it expire? DELIMA: When did it expire? INOUYE: Same time as Uncle Billy’s, same time as Country Club. My lease expired, I had to go before the board because I figured, hey, they said I only had 15 years left in my building. I applied for a 15 year lease and willing to pay $76,000‒‒$760,000 to make improvements. DELIMA: Let’s see if anybody else has any questions. Any other member have any questions for Mr. Inouye? Okay, thank you very much. Page 3 of 20 Banyan Drive Hawai‘i Redevelopment Agency July 28, 2016 Minutes