Monthly Archives: September 2010
Influenza is Still Very Dangerous: Get Your Flu Shots Now
By Dr. Richard Kelley
As fall begins, we move again into flu season. As I do every year, I urge everyone in our ‘ohana to be aware of the dangers and take steps to protect themselves and their families from the flu. I particularly recommend flu shots – I got mine this week.
Saluting Our Housekeepers: “Ambassadors Extraordinary”
By Dr. Richard Kelley
Over the next two weeks, we will take some time away from our regular duties to honor our Housekeepers. We will give well-earned recognition to those who work tirelessly every day of the year to keep our rooms and public areas looking as great as they do, and we will thank them for everything they do.
Outrigger Hospitality Specialists Enjoy Travel Agent Ali‘i Weekend at Outrigger Reef on the Beach
By Lois Shore
This past weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting 19 of the best Outrigger Hospitality Specialists during the Travel Agent Ali‘i Weekend at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, the second Travel Agent Ali‘i event we hosted this year; the first event was held in June.
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Outrigger Enterprises Group – Full of Lifesavers!
By Ashley Cabradilla
A big mahalo to everyone who came to the OHANA Waikiki East Blood Drive on Thursday, September 9, 2010.
With your help, we collected 34 pints of blood, which is the most we have drawn since June of 2008! These pints of blood will be separated into its three main components: red blood cells, plasma, and platelets and used to treat those with life-threatening medical problems. In total, we collected enough blood to potentially save 102 lives of the patients of Hawai‘i!
To those of you who were deferred, mahalo for your efforts. Please keep trying! To those of you who were unable to make it to the drive or were deferred and would like to donate at a location most convenient for you, please contact:
Blood Bank of Hawaii
845-9966
http://www.bbh.org
If you are interested in donating at the next Outrigger Blood Drive, please mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 17, 2010, at the Embassy Suites® – Waikiki Beach Walk® hotel.
Give the gift of life – it just feels good!
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- Alyssa Bailey, Taryn Wong, and Jose Solorio know that it feels good to give the gift of life!
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- Teri Takahashi, Laurie Hirata, and Doreen Nohara~big hearts and warm smiles
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- Eh, the boys have heart too~Neal Nakashima and Kaipo Ho gladly pull up their sleeve for the cause
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- Myra Kuboyama~willing and able to save lives!
Ali‘i Keanaaina Receives Top Honors
By Kim Tomas
The 19th Annual Clyde “Kindy” Sproat Falsetto and Story Telling Competition was held on September 4, 2010 at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott on the Big Island. Kona Hawaiian Village’s own Devin “Ali‘i” Keanaaina walked away with top honors for his beautiful songs and voice. He won ‘ōlelo (language) and Mo‘olelo (storytelling), as well as 1st place in the overall competition. Ali‘i is in our Activity department and has been delighting guests and employees alike for the past few years.
Bebe Spa Awarded Spa Design of the Year
By Donna Parkin
The prestigious Spa Design of the Year Award (Oceania) has been won by Fiji’s five-star Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji Resort’s Bebe Spa Sanctuary.
The award was presented in recognition of Bebe Spa Sanctuary’s superior design and overall ambience at the annual Pevonia Botanica International Spa Awards held in Sydney’s Cockle Bay Wharf last week.
Situated above the resort on a hill known by locals as Heavenly Hill Bebe Spa, pronounced behm-beh, a Fijian word meaning butterfly, enjoys exceptional views over Outrigger’s coral fringed lagoon, Pacific Ocean, and the lush, undulating hills surrounding the resort.
- Riteshni Gounder, Assistant Manager of Bebe Spa; Mellisa Grasso, Trainer of Pevonia; GM Peter Hopgood; and Praveena Dewar, Bebe Spa Manager
General Manager, Peter Hopgood said that Bebe Spa had become a destination in itself, attracting guests from around the island. Its hilltop location at the top of a steep, winding road requires guests to be transported from the resort lobby via buggy to the Spa reception, creating a unique sense of arrival. Its principal design elements of rich, local timbers, traditional tapa, and thatching are in perfect synergy with the resort, blending with its tranquil, tropical setting to deliver a luxurious and totally unique Fijian experience.
More than 100 guests attended the Pevonia Botanica International Spa Awards, which honour the resorts and spas that stock the elite natural skin care brand, available in only 300 of the world’s most prestigious spas.
Peter said the Outrigger family was honoured to receive the award, which highlighted the Bebe Spa’s world- class treatments and reinforced the resort’s focus on delivering a luxury experience. “We’ve been judged against some of the world’s best and are proud to have been acknowledged as possessing a distinctive quality and character that sets us apart from the rest,” he said.
“Bebe Spa’s dedicated Manager Praveena Dewar, Assistant Manager Riteshni Gounder, and their staff are to be congratulated on their success in developing Bebe Spa into an exceptional, international spa product.”
Bebe Spa Sanctuary has eight open-air treatment rooms, some with private sunken hydrotherapy baths and all with an open air shower in the Sky, a Bure ni Loloma – House of Love – wedding chapel, and a post and pre-treatment relaxation lounge. One level higher, the Kalokalo Bar offers champagne views of some of the most spectacular sunsets in the South Pacific.
Providing a range of traditional and fusion treatments featuring Pevonia Botanica’s natural and elite skincare range, the Bebe Spa is an adults-only cocoon from which guests emerge relaxed, rejuvenated, and at peace with the idyllic surrounds of Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji.
Tourism Is Everybody’s Business
By Dr. Richard Kelley
This week, I delivered a speech on Travel & Tourism issues to the Southeast Tourism Society’s annual meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. My remarks, slightly excerpted, are reproduced below.
It was a nostalgic time for me because my host was Hank Koppelman, a former member of the Outrigger ‘ohana and currently Vice President, Corporate Relations, for the Southeast Tourism Society. Hank began his career in Travel & Tourism with Outrigger Hotels & Resorts in 1970 as Night Auditor, while attending graduate school at the University of Hawaii. He was promoted to Front Desk Manager and later to Night Manager. He worked concurrently in the back office assisting with the development of Outrigger’s then cutting-edge new computerized reservations system, now called STELLEX, in honor of one of our founders, my mother, Estelle Kelley. In 1974, Hank was assigned, as General Manager, to the Reef Hotel group, consisting of three hotels, the REEF, REEF Towers, and Edgewater, plus the booming Don Ho Show. He was promoted to President of Reef operations in 1982 and assisted with the consolidation of REEF Hotels and Outrigger Hotels. Since then, he has had senior positions with Budget Rent-A-Car, American Express, AirTran Airways, and AMTRAK. Hank now lives in Atlanta with his wife, Janie, a former Bank Officer.
Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort & Villas Receives Drug-Free Workplace Recognition
By Khun Paew Chanantho
Outrigger Laguna Resort & Villas is pleased to share that we have received official recognition from Phuket Governor Mr. Wichai Praisa-ngob for our Drug-Free Workplace initiatives.
