By Darren Shaw

As many of our ‘ohana would have read in the media, Fiji has experienced the worst floods in 50 years. The flooding has primarily affected the northern and western regions of the main island of Viti Levu, including Nadi, where the main international airport is located.  A number of outer islands have also been affected.Starting last weekend, a deep low weather system generated monsoonal rains over a short time, which was worsened by high tides, leaving many local villagers and business operators with severe losses to their livelihoods and homes.

A large-scale clean-up operation has now begun, as the weather starts to improve.

Fortunately, the Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji’s location on the Coral Coast, which is approximately 40 miles (80km) south of Nadi, has left us relatively unscathed, with no flood damage recorded.

We have extensive flood mitigation systems in place, including a large seawall and our primary concern has

been ensuring the safety and comfort of our guests and staff. The main issue we have faced, together with all Coral Coast resorts, has been transferring guests to and from Nadi International Airport, due to road access cut by the floods.

A dedicated weather briefing centre was set-up in our boardroom, providing guests with three daily weather updates, phone and Internet access to travel agents, airlines and latest news, together with updates from local tour and transfer operators regarding traveling conditions.

Transfers took place at times deemed by authorities to be safe for guests, and the worst seems to be over, with roads now open.

The past few days have been a challenge for Outrigger and our sister property at Castaway Island, and we are very concerned for the welfare of our staff and their families, many of whom have experienced loss of property and possessions from the floods.

Both Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji and Castaway Island Resort will be providing assistance to our staff affected by the floods in every way possible, and I would like to personally commend them all for their unwavering support provided to our guests over these challenging past few days.

Kicking off Aloha Festivals at the beachfront property was the arrival of the Aloha Festivals Royal Court at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach on Friday, September 12. A procession led by King Wyatt Kahapea, Queen Tracey Keli’iho’omalu, and court graciously made their way through the hotel to the Shore Bird Restaurant, where guests, both in the restaurant and on the beach, as well as the KCCN FM 100 listeners from around the world awaited their arrival. Once seated, the king and his court were presented a ho’okupu, a delicious meal from Shore Bird’s Hawaiian buffet and great music from Na Hoku singer of the year, Amy Gilliom.

Later that evening, along Kalakaua Avenue, music and hula took place. Veteran entertainer Ainsley Halemanu, Kumu Jack McKeague, Kumu Leina’ala Kalama Heine and their h?lau, as well as ‘ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner delighted the crowd.

On Saturday, the annual floral parade took place. One of the largest they say with 190 entries. From marching bands, colorful floats, equestrian units, Hula halau and the Hawaiian Civic Clubs. Outrigger Waikiki hosted the Board of Directors of Aloha Festivals and distinguish guest of Mildred Courtney in the spectators tent.

Following the parade at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach the Aloha Festivals Hula Show took place. Performing in the front lobby was Kumu Jack McKeague and Halau Ka Pa Hula ‘O Ka Lei Hulu Hiwa. All 40 of them. The newly opened front lobby was a great site and sitting area for our guest.

Ending our weekend of events was the 2nd Annual Steel Guitar at the Shore Bird. Playing to a packed house were Steel Guitar artist Alan Akaka, Greg Sardenha and Bobby Igano. Nothing like ending your day with soft music of yesterday coming from the steel guitar.

Mahalo, to Outrigger and the staff of the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and Outrigger Reef on the Beach for coming together and showing your support of the Aloha Festivals.

International Housekeepers Week was celebrated this week September 14-20, 2008.

We all know Housekeepers are the solid foundation of the hotel industry ~ without a clean room, we would have no business! Our Housekeepers interact directly with more of our guests than anyone else in our hotels. To our guests, they help define the Outrigger and OHANA experience. So, it is befitting that we honor and thank our Housekeepers this week for the great job they do each and every day.

As in years past, Housekeepers enjoyed luncheons in their honor throughout the week at many of our properties. Delicacies representative of our Housekeepers’ homelands were featured, along with gift drawings and games, adding to the festivities celebrated both here in Honolulu as well as abroad.

We love our Housekeepers and appreciate the Aloha they share with our guests, as they keep our rooms in tip-top shape. We thank you, we are proud of you, and we salute you, as you are the solid foundation upon which we build our success ~ Outrigger and OHANA Housekeepers ~ No Ka Oi! (the very best!)

Kalakaua Avenue was the place to be this past weekend, as thousands of visitors and local residents packed the streets to celebrate the 61st annual Waikiki Ho’olaule’a. The light afternoon showers that welcomed the event seemed to have been just a blessing from above, as the rain clouds dissipated to reveal a beautiful clear evening sky.

Known as the biggest and grandest block party in Waikiki, the massive crowds that gathered were not disappointed. Five main entertainment stages, including the Outrigger-sponsored stage fronting the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach, provided non-stop live musical entertainment. With this year’s theme being “Hula: the Art of Hawaiian Dance,” the traditional dance of our island state was showcased and celebrated throughout the evening. Once again, Outrigger partnered with Hawaiian 105 KINE radio at the Outrigger entertainment stage, and radio host Billy V kept the excitement going between performances enticing the crowd with various logo merchandise giveaways.

As highlighted in a previous Saturday Briefing article, Outrigger’s stage featured three wonderfully entertaining hula halau: Ka Liko ‘O Kapalai Hula Halau, Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Hula Hiwa Halau, and Na Pualei ‘O Likolehua. Also gracing the stage was rising star and female ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner, who delighted the crowd with various chart-topping contemporary music inspired by popular local and national recording artists such as Jake Shimabukuro, Brother Noland, Herb Ota Jr., and Carlos Santana. Her astonishing performance warranted an encore, as the audience shouted “Hana Hou!” and Taimane got back on stage to perform yet another hit.

This year’s Aloha Festival’s signature block party celebration was a grand success due to the hard work and dedication of the countless volunteers. This event would not have been possible without their time and tireless efforts. A special mahalo to the following members of our Outrigger ‘ohana who took part in making this event happen: Puna Ortega, Gabriella Ortega, Herman Lam, Robert Uchida, Brian Fong, Meali’i Richardson, Danette Bolosan, Janine Kakazu, Amy Honey, Sandra Powers, Rowena Colling, Ethan Chang, Sung Ki Kim, Ben Sumibcay, Man Chi Lau, Jin Soo Moon, Eugene Chu, Marvin Shin, Dustin Chen, Wayne Talaro, Barbara Lam, Janice Ng, Hon Chiu Ma, Cindy Castillo, Alex Sheen, Jimmy Ng, Chi Man Mar, Tom Song, Avelino Rosal, Hon Chiu Ma, Alex Sheen, Cindy Castillo, and Zhang Ming Chen.

Hope to see you all next year!

I am pleased to announce that Outrigger’s Director of Sales Oceania, Narelle Eichorn, has been re-elected, for the fourth consecutive year, as Chairperson of the Southern Queensland branch of Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and was also officially recognised by her peers for her ongoing contribution to the organisation. ATEC is the leading industry body representing Australia’s $23 billion tourism industry, comprising more than 1,100 members, all working to ensure the continued growth and prosperity of Australia’s inbound tourism markets.

Narelle’s re-election coincided with a special honour by her peers, where she was presented with an Award for Excellence, in recognition of her valuable contribution to ATEC over the years.

Joining Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Australia in 1998, Narelle has over 30 years of experience and her enthusiasm and passion for “all things tourism” is testament to her re-election to the board. Narelle said ATEC is a strong and vocal advocate for the inbound tourism industry.

“Worldwide, tourism is going through some challenging times, and bodies such as ATEC play an important role in representing the industry as one unified voice,” she said.

Her key areas of focus include building ATEC’s membership levels, representing the Council at numerous state and national industry events, and active participation in ATEC’s young member mentoring programmes.

Sydney-based Managing Director for ATEC, Matthew Hingerty, said Narelle is a great asset to the Southern Queensland branch. “Her experience and knowledge of inbound markets, along with her commitment to growing business opportunities, is of great benefit to local members,” he said.

Mr Hingerty added, “ATEC’s regional branches are the ‘coal face’ of the organisation, and with strong and innovative leaders such as Narelle, the Southern Queensland branch will continue to move from strength to strength.”

On behalf of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, I am delighted to have Narelle representing our brand so strongly “Down Under” and congratulate her on her most recent achievements.

Our team in the Phuket, Thailand, office joins me in saying “Sawadee” Hawaii! “Sawadee” is the Thai equivalent of “Aloha.”

Polite language, however, dictates that a male will add “Krab” to the end of the greeting or a female will add “Ka.” These suffixes have no literal meeting other than a show of respect. As a male, I wish you “Sawadee Krab.”
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As the correspondence between the Thailand office and the rest of the Outrigger family increases, you will notice a Thai prefix often used, the word “Khun.” Khun is a multi-gender prefix used as a sign of respect, so when speaking or writing to someone, respect is indicated by adding Khun before the person’s name (i.e., Sawadee Krab Khun David means – hello David, put in the politest context.) Being the modern generation, however, we often in correspondence abbreviate the Khun to K. in order to save time! Important to know is that Khun is not part of someone’s name, it is a show of respect and used with the first name. Khun is used for both male and female.

Now if I have not confused anyone yet, it is also important to know that the Thai people often prefer to be called by their nickname rather than their actual name! Nicknames also tend to be a lot easier to pronounce for the bumbling non-native tongue, so the Phuket office team all use their nicknames in daily correspondence and conversation.

Lastly, in our first Thai 101 lesson, we need to sign off our emails, and in Hawaii, Mahalo is the standard. In Thailand, we thank people for taking the time to read our thoughts, so we sign off by thanking them with a “Kob Khun Krab,” which literally means “Thanks.” When used as a sign off, this represents the equivalent of Mahalo.

So who can you practice these new-found cultural and language skills on? Why not try them out on one of the members from our Thai Outrigger ‘ohana? So you know who you are communicating with, let me give you a brief rundown of the ‘ohana in Phuket in the order of joining:

Khun Gai – Executive Assistant
Khun Gai is Outrigger Thailand’s first employee. Khun Gai set up the Phuket office and looks after my Asian schedule. She joined Outrigger from a career that has spanned hotels to fashion. Khun Gai is the proud mother of six-month-old baby, Gina. She is a Bangkok native whose family moved to the island of Phuket two years ago.

Khun Thai – Chief Accountant
Khun Thai is a Phuket native with a wealth of experience in both property and resorts. Khun Thai is also our resident fitness coach and food critic; she is an expert in both areas, as well as an extremely talented Accountant.

Khun Oum – Personal Assistant to General Manager
Khun Oum is a native of Pranburi, just south of Hua Hin, and moved to Phuket three months ago. Now that she has her tennis club established, she is thoroughly enjoying Phuket.

Khun Pong – Information Technology Manager
Khun Pong originally hails from Bangkok but moved to Phuket a number of years ago in a Sales & Marketing capacity for one of the island’s larger resorts. His passion for technology saw him, in his most recent role, oversee the installation of Micros Fidelio at the Indigo Pearl Resort. Away from the office, Khun Pong is a keen tennis player.

Khun Kai – Director of Sales & Marketing
A little while ago Khun Kai graced the front page of the Saturday Briefing (see July 12, 2008 issue), and just recently visited Hawaii for an extensive corporate orientation, along with Pieter van der Hoeven, General Manager and Jennifer Suryadi, Director of Sales for Bali.

Khun Lek – Human Resources Manager
Khun Lek has vast experience in the resort field, most recently in a pre-opening role at the Vijjit Resort, Outrigger Serenity Terraces neighbor. Khun Lek will ensure that Outrigger Thailand quickly establishes itself as an employer of choice.

Khun Salisa – Assistant Sales Manager
The well-traveled Khun Salisa joins Outrigger after completing her studies at the renowned Glion Hotel School in Switzerland. Following her studies in Switzerland, Khun Salisa spent two years honing her sales skills at the Boca Raton Resort, Florida, with her most recent experience as the Assistant Managing Director for a boutique property in Patong Beach, Phuket. Khun Salisa, whose family is from Phuket, is happy to have found a home at Outrigger Resorts.

Just as the office has been established, some of the team will be moving on site to Outrigger Serenity Terraces Resort and Spa for the pre-opening and set-up phase for the resort, which is due to open at the end of February 2009. Obviously, with this operation coming online very soon, the recruitment of all operational personnel will begin in earnest, and our Thai ‘ohana will continue to grow. We look forward to sharing more updates with you, as we continue to grow in the Asian region.

Kob Khun Krab!