What sets The Kahala Hotel & Resort apart from other hotels?
The Kahala Hotel & Resort has been in the Hawai‘i luxury market for 54 years. When it debuted in 1964, it was considered the premier resort property in the state. With its private and secluded location and prime beachfront positioning, The Kahala has attracted celebrities, royalty, corporate leaders and heads of state, including the last eight presidents of the United States. They come to The Kahala for its privacy, intimate size and high level of attention and service. We are removed from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki but are only minutes away should a guest wish to take advantage of our convenient location. We are also a hotel for kama‘aina. You could consider us a legacy property—an iconic venue where local patrons and guests have celebrated weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and a score of other occasions. Generations have made The Kahala home.
Has your guest demographic changed in recent years?
Our guest profile remains stable, although we do see younger travelers from many of the markets we serve. The U.S West Coast is the principal market for The Kahala, but we’re also a popular destination for travelers from Japan and Korea, with the number of Chinese visitors beginning to grow. Oceania is another vibrant market for us. The hotel deploys a global sales team and maintains marketing relationships with Leading Hotels of the World, Preferred Hotels and Okura-Nikko. We partner with several luxury consortia and maintain close relationships with the wholesale and retail travel communities.
We curate experiences that distinguish Hawai‘i from other sun-and-sand destinations.
How has The Kahala met the growing demand for authentic, localized experiences?
Authentic and experiential seem to be buzz words for today’s avid travelers, particularly the millennial traveler. To connect our guests to the host culture, we’ve launched The Kahala Cultural Initiative, where we curate experiences that distinguish Hawai‘i from other sun-and-sand destinations. We recently partnered with apprentice navigator Austin Kino to offer a sailing experience aboard a replica of an authentic Hawaiian sailing canoe. This is not your typical sailing experience—drawing on his experience as a voyager aboard the Hokule‘a, Austin takes guests out on the ocean and teaches them about celestial and wave navigation, Native Hawaiian fishing rights and the ancient Hawaiian system of land division known as ahupua‘a. Our visitors love it.
In addition, the hotel recently confirmed a partnership with Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods with the intent of establishing The Kahala Legacy Forest on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Guests can plant their own native koa tree and monitor its progress using GPS technology. Reforestation is so critical to sustaining our island environment.
We also encourage physical activities such as hiking, biking, ziplining and even paddleboard yoga. And let’s not forget our dolphin encounter, an up-close-and-personal learning experience for which marine education and conservation are a very critical part of the program. Guests learn the importance of caring for our oceans and the many species that depend on the sea.
