By Barry Wallace

(Dr. Richard Kelley is traveling this week. His column will return on December 26, 2009)

On Wednesday, December 16, we extended a warm aloha to 62 new members of our Outrigger ‘ohana – the outstanding management and staff of The Kapalua Villas, as we assumed management of the rental program at this prestigious property. The employees were all very excited to be joining Outrigger and extended their aloha as well.

It was a busy six weeks leading up to the switchover. The Human Resources team hit the ground running to expedite on-site interviews, conduct job offers, and perform new hire processing and orientation. All Kapalua Villas employees who applied were offered jobs, and on December 16, employees were welcomed by me, Ruthann Yamanaka, Dr. Chuck Kelley, Steve Winter, Bruce Schneider, Jim Hill, and Kaipo Ho at their new employee orientation.

Also attending the new employee orientation was TJ Oesterling, who has returned to Outrigger as General Manager of The Kapalua Villas. We’re delighted to have TJ back with us overseeing the day-to-day operations of this newest addition to Outrigger’s Condominium Collection.

If you are not familiar with The Kapalua Villas, you can find out more online at www.kapaluavillas.com. In brief, however, The Kapalua Villas are a collection of spacious one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominium villas located throughout the Kapalua Resort in fairway, ocean view, and oceanfront categories. A select number of units have attained “Gold” status, offering the highest level of luxurious décor and amenities within the villas. Guests of The Kapalua Villas enjoy the resort’s wide range of amenities, including the convenience of charging privileges at Kapalua Resort shops and restaurants, preferred rates and access to two championship golf courses, Kapalua Adventures, Kapalua Spa, complimentary tennis, 24-hour reception center, full-service concierge and activity desk, and complimentary resort-wide shuttle service.

The transition to our management of the rental program was a successful one, thanks in large part to Bruce Schneider, who expertly spearheaded the project. Leadership and support staff from virtually every Company Services department, including Human Resources, Operations Services, Projects, all areas of Sales & Marketing, Legal, IT, Accounting, Condo Accounting, and Condo Operations, played a role in transitioning our newest condominium into Outrigger’s portfolio. Let’s not forget our new `ohana at The Kapalua Villas, who stepped up and welcomed an entourage from the corporate office over the last few weeks to ensure all was in order for the big day.

We are very fortunate and elated to work with our new `ohana members at The Kapalua Villas to continue to excel the Kapalua tradition of outstanding accommodations and customer service.