Who in Hawaiʻi hasn’t heard the distinctive melodies of “Mele Kalikimaka,” “Lovely Hula Hands,” and “I Will Remember You”? These are the legacy of legendary songwriter Alexander “Andy” Anderson, a true son of Hawaiʻi, born in 1894 and a musical force until his death in 1995, a week short of his 101st birthday. In his full life, he wrote more than 200 songs about the islands … and his music can still be heard throughout Hawaiʻi and, indeed, all over the world. While his inspiration was Hawaiʻi, many of his compositions were written to be sung by his wife, Peggy Center.
His fame was built on the music he wrote, but his financial success made it possible to write purely for pleasure. He never had to write for money. A graduate of Punahou School (He wrote “Go Punahou!”) and Cornell University, he was equally at home in the boardroom and the music studio. He was instrumental in redeveloping the Hawaiʻi Tourist Bureau into a more modern organization – today’s Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau – expanding its role in tourism marketing. A believer in the power of cooperation, he was a founding member of the Hawaiʻi Hotel Association and the Pacific Area Travel Association (now the Pacific Asia Travel Association). As long-time president of Von Hamm Young (which sold building supplies) and as general manager of the Alexander Young Hotel (built by his grandfather) – he had a front row seat during the early growth of Hawaiʻi’s tourism economy.
The next time you hear “I’ll Weave a Lei of Stars for You” remember Andy Anderson, the legend of Hawaiian Hospitality … the Pied Piper of Hawaiʻi … who left us his enduring legacy of Hawaiian music.
Dr. Edward Barnet came to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1964 as Associate Dean and Director of the Hotel Management and Tourism Program at the College of Business Administration. But, he had a bigger vision – a vision that saw tourism as a discipline touching all areas of hospitality management. Foreseeing the time when tourism would become the world’s largest economic and social activity, he expanded the thinking of the industry and the academic community. No longer a “hotel school” Dr. Barnet set out to create the broader idea of travel industry management, bringing together all the diverse parts of a complex industry. The new curriculum he developed taught the principles of restaurant, transportation and real estate management along with hotel management. His vision didn’t end with the expansion of the curriculum. To truly establish the idea of travel industry management, he felt the need to create a separate school within the university.
With the support of the Hawaiʻi travel and tourism industry and the University of Hawaiʻi, Dr. Barnet made his vision a reality with the establishment of the School of Travel Industry Management in 1967. Now recognized as one of the top travel schools in the world, the School of Travel Industry Management continues to honor Dr. Barnet’s memory with programs that are as dynamic as the industry it serves. The school has grown far beyond its modest beginnings in 1967. TIM alumni fill important management posts literally around the world. That growth – and the school’s stature in the world – is a testament to the enduring vision of its founder.
It seemed that everyone in the Hawaiʻi travel industry knew Bick Bickson, the co-founder and longtime general manager of Budget Rent-A-Car in Hawaiʻi – and he certainly knew the Hawaiʻi travel industry. Behind his broad smile was a canny understanding of the changing needs of Hawaiʻi’s visitors. He rode the wave of that change, creating a rental car business that grew from fifteen vehicles when he started in 1961, to a fleet of over 10,000 vehicles in the Budget Rent-A-Car empire. By catering to the increasingly independent visitor – offering reasonable rates and quality service – Bick made car rentals a common feature in a Hawaiʻi vacation.
Bick was a natural promoter who introduced new marketing concepts to the industry, teaming up with other Hawaiʻi pioneers including Hung Wo Ching of Aloha Airlines to create “fly drive” deals and other promotions that are still models for the industry. He believed in the power of promotion, and backed his promotions with industry-leading advertising programs. His ability to “read” changes in the marketplace kept Budget as a market leader throughout his career.
Ever involved with the community, Bick was as fixture on Hawaiʻi non-profit boards. Budget Rent-A-Car became a training ground for local managers … and he was a pioneer in hiring and promoting women in his management team. Bick served twice as chairman of the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau and contributed his time freely as an advisor to the University of Hawaiʻi School of Travel Industry Management.
Walter Dudley Child, Sr. came to Hawaiʻi in the early 1920s … and fell in love with the islands. He began his career with the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters Association. But his career followed the same changes that the state’s economy would eventually take, moving from agriculture to tourism. Following a decade of service at HSPA, Walter entered the hotel industry, purchasing the Blaisdell Hotel in downtown Honolulu along with his business partner, Dr. Donald Burlingame. Looking for expansion in the young Hawaiʻi travel industry, he then formed a hui to purchase the Naniloa Hotel in Hilo.
In the early 1950s, Walter became a director of InterIsland Resorts, Limited which grew out of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. Walter was able to see the future of Hawaiʻi, emerging from an agriculture base to become a center for leisure travel. The fortunes of the company rose along with the growth in the visitor industry, and InterIsland Resorts began to grow into a chain, starting with the Naniloa, the Kona Inn, and the Kauaʻi Inn. In those early days of Hawaiʻi tourism, InterIsland Resorts became a pioneer in selling accommodations on the neighbor islands.
Investing in the company, Walter became president with full control of the operations. In fact, it became a family business, with Walter’s son, Walter Dudley Child, Jr. (Dudley) taking over the operations of the company when Walter stepped back to become chairman of the board.
Dudley Child literally grew up in the hotel industry. At the age of seven, he was running the switchboards and elevator at his father’s hotel. From this hands-on beginning, Dudley took an interest in the industry, leaving the islands to study hotel management at Cornell University. His studies prepared him to step into managing the InterIsland Resort Company when his father, the company’s president, fell ill. At the time, InterIsland Resorts owned three hotels: Naniloa in Hilo, the Kauaʻi Inn and the Kona Inn. But Dudley had a bigger vision for the company. After unsuccessfully attempting to redevelop the Kauaʻi Inn, Dudley refocused on developing a new property on Kauaʻi, the Kauaʻi Surf, which opened on Kalapakī Beach in 1960. The Kauaʻi development was not without controversy. Dudley had to convince the InterIsland board – and his father – that significant investments in neighbor island tourism development would be profitable. The Kauaʻi investement did prove to be successful and the company moved on to develop the Maui Surf and the Kona Surf properties over the next ten years.
Dudley Child and InterIsland Resorts understood and responded to the changing nature of the growing visitor industry. The company acquired Trade-Wind Tours and Gray Line Tours and developed close alliances with other major travel companies, providing a full range of travel services for Hawai‘i visitors.
One of the significant contributions of Dudley Child and InterIsland Resorts was the development of full service beach properties on the Neighbor Islands in the 1960s and 70s, which stimulated statewide tourism. InterIsland Resorts eventually sold its properties to other operators, but the vision of its founding family was instrumental in the development of Hawaiʻi tourism.
Dr. Hung Wo Ching was an entrepreneur, financier and developer … but he is best known as a leading force of Aloha Airlines. Following a successful career in real estate and development with the legendary Chinn Ho, Dr. Ching was offered the opportunity to take over management of a struggling airline in the 1950s – Trans Pacific Airlines, now Aloha Airlines. Although the airline was near bankruptcy when he became president, Dr. Ching reorganized, reengineered and refinanced the airline, upgrading its fleet and making it a stiff competitor for its rival, Hawaiian Airlines. Despite the challenges of a competitive marketplace, Aloha’s Boeing 737 fleet with distinctive island graphics have become a fixture in Hawaiʻi’s skies.
Aloha Airlines was instrumental in promoting Neighbor Island travel and the growth of statewide tourism. Under Dr. Ching’s leadership, Aloha developed travel packages and promotions that expanded interisland travel. Meanwhile, the airline’s promotional teams spread the spirit of aloha throughout the world. Hawaiian music and tropical flowers sponsored by Aloha Airlines were evident at major trade shows and sales events worldwide.
Dr. Ching’s success in the business world came at a time when Hawaiʻi was dominated by the “Big Five” sugar companies, and Asian faces in the executive suite were rare indeed.
His management style was approachable and he kept a close relationship with his employees. A Hung Wo Ching tradition, still fondly remembered, was his habit of touring the Aloha Airlines operations throughout the state on Christmas day … shaking hands with employees at work on the holiday and wishing them well.
The people of Hawaiʻi bid you welcome … Hawaiʻi calls! With these words introducing his radio show, Webley Edwards presented Hawaiʻi to the world. Hawaiʻi Calls began in 1935 under the banyan tree at the Moana Hotel and ran for a remarkable forty years.
Webley Edwards came to Hawaiʻi in the late 1920s to play football and sell cars. On a trip to the mainland, he heard what passed for “Hawaiian music” … which was nothing like the real thing. So, returning to the islands, he set out to create a radio show highlighting Hawaiʻi’s talented musicians. Over the years, the stars of Hawaiʻi performed on the show. Listeners on the mainland learned about Hawaiian legends like Duke Kahanamoku, Lena Machado, Nina Kealiʻiwahamana, Palani Vaughn and others. They were joined by mainland celebrities visiting the islands … for whom an appearance on Hawaiʻi Calls was an expected part of the trip.
Webley personally directed the show for thirty-seven years, providing a consistent direction and maintaining the high quality that made it a success. With an ear for talent, Webley helped launch the careers of many of Hawaiʻi’s famous entertainers, including Alfred Apaka.
The value of Hawaiʻi Calls in promoting Hawaiʻi tourism over the years is incalculable. The music collection for the show features more than 3,000 songs. The world came to know the islands through music … Lovely Hula Hands, Sweet Leilani, Aloha ʻOe and the many other Hawaiʻi standards created a mystique about the islands that no marketing campaign could ever match.
Mark Egan was the architect of the modern Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau. He joined the Bureau in 1946 as its president after his service in Hawaiʻi during World War II as chief of service for the Air Transport Command in the islands. His pre-war experience working for hotels and convention and visitors bureaus in Cleveland and Pittsburgh provided him with the credentials for the job. But, in those early days of tourism, a big part of his job was to convince the business community that there was a bright future in the visitor industry.
Mark was both a booster for tourism and an organizer. Creating an effective organization was a top priority as the visitor industry recovered from a complete shutdown during the war. Mark’s gregarious personality was instrumental in bringing together the hotels, airlines, travel agencies and others into an effective coalition that would market Hawaiʻi to the world.
One of Mark’s enduring contributions to Hawaiʻi is the current name of the Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau. Formerly called the Hawaiʻi Tourist Bureau, Mark renamed it the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau based on his belief that the word “visitor” more appropriately described the hospitality that Hawaiʻi with its aloha spirit had to offer the world.
As president of the Bureau, Mark created an organization and an approach to destination marketing that became a model for many other tourism organizations around the Pacific.
Lyle “Gus” Guslander started in the hotel business as a bellhop and cook. After studying hotel operations at Cornell University, Gus set out on a long and successful career in hotel management at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, eventually working his way up to become assistant manager. Gus came to Hawaiʻi in 1947 to manage the Niumalu Hotel for Walter Child, Sr., but soon moved on to bigger things: Matson Navigation’s Moana Hotel, the grand lady of Hawaiʻi. Not content to work for others, Gus borrowed $25,000 in 1953 to invest in his own hotel, leasing (and later purchasing) the Coco Palms Lodge on Kauaʻi. When he took over, the hotel had twenty-four rooms and two guests. Gus took a chance, hiring Grace Buscher to be the hotel’s manager. The two of them became closely identified with the success of Coco Palms and they eventually married.
As the Coco Palms became successful, Gus expanded his operations eventually acquiring hotels on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. With his growing hotel operations Gus recognized the need to develop a distribution system and, working with Myrtle Lee, he created Island Holidays Tours. The hotel and tour operations worked well together – as Gus expected – and Island Holidays became a respected and successful interisland hotel operator in Hawai‘i. The success of the company attracted the attention of AMFAC, one of Hawaiʻi’s “Big Five” companies, which acquired Island Holidays for $20 million and made Gus a vice president.
Gus Guslander – and Island Holidays – had a vision that made Hawaiʻi a reality for thousands of visitors.
Whoever named her “Grace” must have foreseen the charms that made Grace Buscher Guslander a leading lady of Hawaiʻi hospitality. Grace Buscher moved to the islands in the early 1940s from Pennsylvania. Without any hotel experience, she took a job at the Coco Palms hotel on Kauaʻi, managed by Lyle “Gus” Guslander, whom she married in 1969. Her natural understanding of hospitality and guest relations set her – and the Coco Palms – apart from the ordinary. Before “sense of place” became a buzzword in the visitor industry, Grace embraced the Hawaiian culture and made it part of the guest experience. In fact, the Coco Palms was an experience for its guests because of Grace’s hospitality and her innovative touches. She was a real presence at the cocktail parties she hosted for her guests around the “Queen’s Bath” swimming pool. And she invented touches like an evening torch lighting ceremony that are now copied at resorts around the islands.
The hotel was host to celebrity guests and, famously, was a setting in the movie Blue Hawaiʻii. Unfazed by celebrity, Grace created a tradition of having her famous guests plant trees to help replenish the coconut grove on the hotel grounds.
The success of the Coco Palms and the reputation it gained as an unparalleled Hawaiʻi experience was in large part due to the personality of Grace Buscher Guslander. Grace retired in 1984, but the property continued to benefit from her reputation until it closed in 1992 after Hurricane Iniki.
Born in Brooklyn, Ed Hastings spent his entire career in the tourism industry. He began in New York with World Cruises and, later, the famous Waldorf Astoria. When Conrad Hilton purchased the Waldorf, he recognized Ed’s management potential and promoted him to general manager. Like so many talented managers in the hotel industry, Ed’s upward mobility meant moving, and in 1955, Ed moved to Hawaiʻi to manage Matson’s hotels in the islands. With the sale of the Matson properties to Sheraton in 1959, Ed made a move again – moving back to New York to rejoin Conrad Hilton.
With Hilton’s growing business in Hawaiʻi, the company tapped Ed’s experience in the islands by bringing him back to manage the Hilton Hawaiian Village and take on the operations of Hilton Hotels in the Pacific and the far east. His career in Hawaiʻi coincided with the rapid growth of island tourism and he supervised the openings of Hilton hotels in Kona and on Maui.
One of Ed’s major contributions to Hawaiʻi tourism was his personal involvement in developing the Japan market. Ed made frequent visits to Japan to cultivate the business relationships that are so important in that market.
Perhaps no one created the idea of Hawaiʻi as fantasy more vividly than Chris Hemmeter. After studying at Cornell University, Chris came to Hawaiʻi work in a classic luxury hotel, the Royal Hawaiian. But Chris saw beyond the established standards of luxury and envisioned a new kind of resort with a “created environment” that would set a new standard for luxury. That was the dream, but Chris did more than dream. He was able to sell the dream to investors, who backed his projects and helped make them a reality. His first major Hawaiʻi development was the $100 million Hyatt Regency Waikīkī. He built the Hyatt Regency Maui and Hyatt Regency Waikoloa as new developments and redeveloped the former Surf properties on Kauaʻi and Maui as Westin Resorts. With his success, he created his own development company, the Hemmeter Corporation, with its headquarters in the artfully renovated and historic Armed Forces YMCA building in Honolulu. That building is now known as Number One Capitol District.
The Hemmeter touch meant anything was possible to realize the fantasy. Trams and boats on artificial waterways provided guest transportation at the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa. Asian art, exotic birds and animals, and spectacular water features set his resorts apart from the ordinary. The development of the Waikoloa resort, on a barren lava field on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, proved that human creativity can transform the environment.
All this luxury and fantasy provided the guest with a unique experience … at a higher price. The development of these new resorts was instrumental in upgrading the image of Hawaiʻi, helping to support a higher spending segment for the market
Chinn Ho was eminently successful as a developer of Hawaiʻi financial, publishing and tourism projects. His career began modestly as a messenger boy, but his drive and ambition led to incredible success. His success is especially remarkable given the times. Asians were not commonly part of the management scene in Hawaiʻi’s business community, but Chinn Ho’s successful career helped open the doors for other Asian-Americans. In his career of firsts, he was the first Asian director of Theo H. Davies, the first Asian trustee of a landed estate (the Robinson estate) and the first Asian head of the Honolulu stock exchange.
As the developer of the ʻIlikai Hotel in 1961, he created Hawaiʻi’s first luxury high rise resort. The project was innovative for its time, combining a hotel resort with condominiums for sale. As a landmark in Hawaiʻi, the hotel was prominent in television and movies, including the famous opening sequence for Hawaii 5-0. Outside of Waikīkī, he developed the Mākaha Resort, the first resort destination on the leeward coast of Oʻahu.
His involvement in the business community and politics made him an influential force within the state. His investments covered a broad range of businesses in Hawaiʻi, and he worked with partnerships to support many of Hawaiʻi’s business leaders, including Dr. Hung Wo Ching of Aloha Airlines.
Chinn Ho’s leadership extended to professional organizations – including the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau board – where he contributed his expertise and insights into the development of Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry.
As an Asian-American success story, Chinn Ho showed that hard work, financial acumen, and inspiration can overcome barriers to success.
Donald Tai Loy Ho – Don Ho to the world – began his music career modestly … singing at Honey’s Café in Kāneʻohe to help his family’s business. As the word got out about the show, Honey’s became a gathering spot for great local entertainment. As his reputation grew, Honey’s opened in Waikīkī, taking advantage of the growing number of visitors looking for Hawaiian entertainment … and Honey’s continued to grow. In fact, his audience grew to the point that he moved to Duke’s at the International Marketplace in Waikīkī. In his long concert career, he also performed at the Hilton Dome at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, where he set a record as the longest running show in Waikīkī.
Don’s musical career includes many memorable hits, but I’ll Remember You, and Tiny Bubbles became his signature numbers. His singing career spanned four decades as he entertained multiple generations of island visitors. As laid back as his image, he often went onstage without rehearsal and performed like the pro he was. In addition to his Hawaiʻi shows, Don enjoyed successful runs at famous mainland venues such as the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, where he played to sold out audiences.
Breaking out of Hawaiʻi, Don appeared on national variety and talk shows. As a Hawaiʻi icon, his name became synonymous with Waikīkī and the laid back style that he made popular. He was an entertainer all the way through to the end of his life. And his personality and style have become part of Hawaiʻi’s legend.
R. W. “Bob” Holden was a renaissance man who enjoyed a career as a consummate hotel professional. A licensed pilot, avid sailor, scratch golfer, marathon runner, tennis player and musician, Bob was also a third generation hotelier. He grew up in the hotel business, working in his family’s inn and restaurants in Michigan. Following his service in World War II, Bob entered the hospitality industry, eventually joining the Sheraton hotel chain, where he was assigned increasingly responsible management positions. In 1969, he was named regional manager for Sheraton’s growing Hawaiʻi operations. He later was promoted to President, Hawaiʻi, Pacific and Far East ITT Sheraton and led the corporation’s development of hotels in Asia
Bob’s insights about the needs of the industry made him a strong supporter of travel industry education. He was the founder of the Visitor Industry Education Council in 1973. The Council was formed to take the story of Hawaiʻi’s visitor industry and its importance to the general public. He also served as an advisor to the University of Hawaiʻi School of Travel Industry Management, the Waikīkī Improvement Association and as board chairman of the Hawaiʻi Hotel Association and the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau. As chairman of the Hotel Association, Bob initiated the Visitor Industry Charity Walk and sponsored scholarships recognizing the achievements of students from community colleges, providing them with the means to continue their education.
As Hawaiʻi regional director for Sheraton, Bob expanded its operations to take advantage of the growing market for tourism. Under his direction, Sheraton added new wings to the Princess Kaʻiulani and Royal Hawaiian hotels and he opened Hawaiʻi’s largest hotel, the Sheraton Waikīkī, in 1971.
Bob’s leadership in the expansion of Sheraton’s Hawaiʻi operation is still evident to this day in the strength of their presence in the islands.
Richard E. “Dick” Holtzman managed Sheraton operations as president of Sheraton Hawaiʻi Corporation in the 1960s … a time for growth and a time for firsts. He opened Sheraton’s first neighbor island property, the “upside down” Sheraton Maui at Black Point on the newly developed Kāʻanapali Resort. To promote the new resort, Maui hosted the first playing of golf’s Canada Cup Tournament at the Royal Lahaina Golf Course and the first United Airlines DC-8 Charter flight non-stop and direct into Kahului airport.
A graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Dick brought his management skills to bear on the expansion of Sheraton’s operations as well as development issues for the destination. He was instrumental in lobbying for ordinances to control street vendors in Waikīkī and to improve the appearance of Hawaiʻi’s famous lei stands and beach facilities. Dick understood the appeal of Hawaiʻi and supported programs to provide more focus on Hawaiian culture in promoting his hotels and the destination. Dick was chairman of the Hawaiʻi Hotel Association in 1963 and was involved in many industry and community associations. Following his career at Sheraton, he became president of Rockresorts, the resort management firm developed by Laurance Rockefeller.
The “Duke” was truly Hawaiʻi’s ambassador to the world in the early days of Hawaiʻi tourism. He became famous as an athlete, participating in the World Olympics of 1912, 1920, and 1924. He broke nearly every swimming record in the books, developing his own signature strokes, including the “Hawaiian crawl,” which changed the shape of competitive swimming. Duke helped revitalize the sport of surfing in Hawaiʻi and exported a love for that sport internationally. As a surfer, he was one of the Waikīkī beachboys, a tourism attraction in their own right, “talking story” with visitors from around the world. As a world traveler, Duke was the personification of Hawaiʻi and the aloha spirit before the destination was on the tourism map.
Duke’s fame opened opportunities for him outside of Hawaiʻi, and he tried an acting career which brought him celebrity friends (including John Wayne, whose nickname “Duke” traces to their friendship). But, acting involved being away from Hawaiʻi, and Duke returned to the islands acting as “the ambassador of aloha,” which became an official title when Hawaiʻi became a state in 1959.
Today, Duke’s contributions to Hawaiʻi are recognized with a statue in Waikīkī and, as a living testament, the Duke Kahanamoku festival, an annual Waikīkī event celebrating surfing and watersports.
Duke’s name and accomplishments continue to be recognized around the world, providing an enduring legacy that highlights the aloha spirit.
Henry J. Kaiser had already established himself as a noted industrialist when he came to Hawaiʻi in 1954. Though in his seventies when he arrived in the islands, he lived up to his reputation as a mover and shaker, developing real estate and tourism projects on a grand scale. His first investment in Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry was the purchase of the Niumalu Hotel and about 20 acres of land. With much bigger visions in mind, he demolished the old hotel and began construction of a signature property – the Hawaiian Village. But, the Hawaiian Village was much more than a hotel building. Henry added a lagoon to the grounds complete with boating facility, water activities, and a docking area for five pink catamarans (pink was the favorite color of his wife Alyce Chester Kaiser).
Always an innovator, Henry built the distinctive Kaiser Dome on the hotel property. The innovative design used lightweight aluminum (another of the industrialist’s interests) and provided the resort with space for small conventions and groups.
Henry sold his interests in the Hawaiian Village in the early 1960s, but continued to undertake big development projects in the islands. He developed Hawaiʻi Kai as a residential community with 12,000 homes, shopping centers, marinas, a golf course and other municipal facilities. He also founded and developed Kaiser Permanente Hospital and KHVH radio.
Henry’s Kaiser’s imprint on Hawaiʻi remains with the buildings and developments that he created.
Roy and Estelle Kelley were married in 1929 and, that same year, moved to Hawaiʻi where Roy went to work for the noted Hawaiʻi architect C.W. Dickey. With the stock market in shambles, 1929 was not an auspicious year to begin a career or settle into a faraway chain of islands. After working on several architectural assignments (including the main building of the Halekūlani hotel), Roy struck out on his own in the late 1930s, building residential buildings. Following the war, Roy and Estelle saw a very bright future in tourism – and ended up being the pioneers helping to make that vision a reality. The Kelleys began their hotel operations in 1947, opening The Islander, a four story walk-up Waikīkī hotel with 33 rooms.
A true team, the Kelleys made their operations a family affair, getting everyone involved in the business of satisfying guests at what became known as Outrigger Hotels. Roy managed the operations and Estelle managed the reservation system, which became a key to the growth of the business. Ever the innovators, they had the first hotel in Waikīkī with an automatic elevator or a swimming pool.
The Outrigger brand helped bring the dream of a Hawaiʻi vacation within the reach of middle-class America by providing exceptional value and island hospitality. Through building and acquisitions, Outrigger became the state’s largest hotel company by the mid-1980s.
The present day success of what is now Outrigger Enterprises goes far beyond its beginnings sixty years ago. It owns or manages a highly successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums, vacation resort properties and retail operations throughout Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. But the organization is still privately owned and its success is still based on the values of its founders.
A local boy, born in 1890, Stan Kennedy began his career following his father’s footsteps working for the Inter-Island Steamship Navigation Company. Following his service in World War I as an aviator, Stan saw that the future of travel was in the air, not on the water. Working his way up to become General Manager at Inter-Island, he was finally in a position to bring the company into the aviation age by launching Inter-Island Airways in 1929. On November 11 that year, thousands gathered at Honolulu’s John Rogers Airport to witness the departure of Hawaiʻi’s first scheduled interisland flights to Maui and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Two eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian planes served these routes.
Stan took charge of the new operations, introducing the islands to a whole new way of traveling. Like many new enterprises in the 1930s, the company struggled financially until Stan was able to obtain a contract to carry the US mail. In 1941 Inter-Island changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines, introducing the DC-3 into island service and an instantly recognizable brand name for the airline. Over the years, island residents and visitors have come to expect reliable and convenient service from Hawaiian Airlines. Passenger volume grew along with the visitor industry and an expanding economy.
Airlines have come a long way since eight-passenger propeller aircraft served the islands. Today Hawaiian Airline’s modern fleet of jets fulfills the vision of its founder, Stan Kennedy.
Bob MacGregor started his career in the airline business, working for Pan American World Airways in 1935. Following World War II, Bob came to Hawaiʻi and saw the need for a travel agency to assist Honolulu residents with their travel needs. Seeing an opportunity, Bob left Pan Am, and with his partner, Leong Hop Loui, started Trade-Wind Tours. Bob quickly realized that there was an even bigger opportunity in serving the needs of visitors and shifted the focus of the company to the inbound market.
Bob quickly became a force in the rapidly growing market for Hawai‘i travel, opening offices on the mainland and marketing Hawaiʻi with a variety of innovative promotional programs. Bob created partnerships that helped build his business. The relationship between MacGregor’s Trade-Wind Tours and the Kelley’s Outrigger Hotels was especially strong and grew stronger as Outrigger built hotels and Bob helped fill them with Trade-Wind customers. At its peak, Trade-Wind Tours became Hawai‘i’s largest wholesaler, accounting for more than 250,000 annual visitors to the islands. In 1959, Trade-Wind Tours merged with Inter-Island Resorts and expanded its operations to include ground transportation and other visitor services.
Bob was a fixture in Honolulu business and social communities. He was one of the founders of the Skål Club of Hawaiʻi and served on many professional organization boards, including the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau. When not at work, Bob could often be found playing polo in Mokulēʻia, introducing this sport to residents and visitors alike.
Bob MacGregor and Trade-Wind Tours were a dynamic force that helped Hawaiʻi become a major American travel destination.
Jimmie MacKenzie – the “smilin’ Hawaiian” – started his career in hospitality as the resident manager of the Kauaʻi Inn in the late 1940s. In 1949, he struck out on his own, creating the MacKenzie Travel Organization. He launched his business with $350 that he borrowed from his sister. His business facilities consisted of a party-line telephone in his apartment and an old portable typewriter. Jimmie’s operations grew to compete with Trade-Wind Tours and Island Holidays Tours, offering Hawaiʻi’s visitors convenient and affordable travel packages. When Jimmie started his business, Hawaiʻi had 42,000 visitors, but he envisioned a future built on visitor growth and he wanted to profit from it. He made personal sales calls on mainland travel agencies – always carrying a stack of MacKenzie brochures – and his guitar.
Jimmie was one of those legendary tourism figures that exhibited talent in both business and entertainment. One of his musical groups, the Mackenzie Serenaders, was actually an office quartet. The self-styled “Mayor of Waikīkī” he promoted Hawaiʻi with a big smile and a sense of humor.
In 1934 he took his musical program Healani of the South Seas on the road, performing for NBC Radio and at showrooms including the Hotel Lexington in New York City. He also toured with Jimmie MacKenzie and his Tropicaires orchestra at venues around the country in 1941, including an eighteen month run at the Hilton Sky Room in Long Beach.
Jimmie’s formula for selling Hawaiʻi was to provide visitors with personalized service … and make Hawaiian entertainment a part of his business model.
Bill Mullahey served as airport manager for Pan American World Airways in Hawaiʻi from 1936-1939, when air travel was exotic and the Pan Am Clipper was legendary. Though he was born on the mainland, Bill was raised in Hawaiʻi, becoming a world class surfer. With his love for both aviation and the islands, Bill foresaw a role Hawaiʻi as an important element of Pan Am’s plans to develop an around-the-world flight. In November, 1935 Pan Am launched the first scheduled trans-Pacific air service to the Hawaiian Islands with its fleet of Clippers. As Pan Am expanded its Pacific routes beyond Hawaiʻi, Bill helped build channels for the Clippers to land in remote locations like Wake and Midway islands. Bill’s responsibilities grew as he became regional director for Pan Am in the early 1940s. But, Hawaiʻi remained in Bill’s – and Pan Am’s – heart as Pan Am promoted the islands far in excess of the modest marketing programs of the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau.
Recognizing the potential of the market for travel throughout the Pacific region, Bill was an architect of the Pacific Area Travel Association (now the Pacific Asia Travel Association). The Association started with twenty five Pacific nations as members and has grown to become the dominant travel organization for the region. As Bill worked to expand travel for Pan Am, he earned the nickname “Mr. Pacific.”
Although Pan American World Airways no longer flies, it was a dominant force in Hawaiʻi tourism under Bill Mullahey’s leadership.
William A. Patterson was born in Waipahu in 1899 when sugar was king and air travel was an unimaginable dream. He left the islands, moving to San Francisco to work for Wells Fargo Bank where he began to take an interest in the future of air travel. His interest eventually led him to leave the bank to work for a small regional airline that later merged with others to become United Airlines. His natural talent for management and his passion for the airline business propelled his career and in 1934 he became president of United.
During World War II, the government took over operation of the airlines, ferrying thousands of GIs to the islands – and proving that large scale air transportation to Hawaiʻi was possible. After the war, William worked diligently to get approval from the Civil Aeronautics Board to obtain permission for a Hawaiʻi route. With CAB approval in 1947, United launched its Hawaiʻi service … but it did so under the direction of a kamaʻāina, who made sure that United’s employees learned about the destination, its culture and language, and the Hawaiʻi tourism industry. United’s Hawaiʻi service prompted the airline to develop strong marketing programs for the state, promoting the islands as “Our Little Corner of the World.” Flight attendants on Hawaiʻi routes wore aloha prints and Hawaiian menu items and tropical drinks were part of the in-flight service.
Although his career took him to great heights, William never forgot his Hawaiʻi roots. He personally funded four year college scholarships to graduates of Waipahu High School. In recognition of his contributions to the Waipahu community, Patterson bridge is named in his honor.
Mary Robinson was the owner and managing director of Robinson’s Hawaiian Tours and Robinson’s World Tour and Travel, an agency she purchased in 1954. The agency’s operations provided services that made the Hawai‘i experience accessible to a growing number of visitors.
Mary’s contribution to the Hawaiʻi visitor industry went far beyond her business interests. She was a multi-term president of Aloha Week – the first woman to serve in that capacity – and helped to make that a signature event for the islands. As a well-respected organizer, she also made the Aloha Week festivities profitable. She served as Hawai‘i chapter president for the American Society of Travel Agents and was a director for the Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau. She was a founding member of the Pacific Area Travel Association and an active member of a long list of community organizations.
As a female travel executive of Hawaiian ancestry, she fostered a sense of Hawaiiana in the industry.
Active in politics, Mary served in the Territorial Legislature from 1951-53, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, and was a delegate to national political conventions. She invested many years supporting a variety of Hawaiian civic organizations and died just one week before she was scheduled to be the grand marshall in the 1978 Kamehameha Day parade.