HVCB to sell
phone cards to
raise cash

The product may raise
more than $500,000 a year for
agency programs

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Center slogan "Hawaii, the Islands of Aloha" and photos of smiling island children will appear on a new prepaid telephone card next month, part of a new program to raise money for HVCB marketing efforts.

Roberta Rinker-Ludloff, HVCB marketing vice president, said today commissions on calls made with the HVCB's "official" card are expected to generate $100,000 this fiscal year, ending June 30.

Affinity Card Technologies, a partnership headed by former Hawaii hotelier Josef Haas and marketing consultant Michele Massey, developed the Islands of Aloha card.

Haas said he has spent about three months calling on retailers, hotels and other places that cater to tourists, the card's main market. The high level of response he has received indicate eventual income for the bureau of $500,000 or more, he said.

He said ACT expects 200 outlets to carry the card, starting Nov. 15.

Calls made with the card will go through Sprint Corp. Sprint has arranged a flat rate of 32 cents a minute to and from anywhere in the United States.

Retailers will make 30 percent on sales of the cards and the HVCB will get a commission of 10-12 percent on the calls. Retailers will pay $7 for a card that will retail for $10, a $3 profit. Their share rises to $15 on top of their $35 cost of a $50 card.

Rinker-Ludloff said the HVCB has been looking for ways to increase its funding from the private sector, and the cards will provide that at no cost to the bureau. Eventually the card will be sold on the mainland and in Japan, she said.