Roy C. Kelley
Roy Kelley built local
By Russ Lynch
hotel empire
Star-BulletinDURING a one-day strike at his Reef Hotel in 1967, owner Roy C. Kelley took a break from carrying customers' bags to point out some hippies on the beach outside and tell a reporter he'd bet those "bums" would do a better job than the union members.
That was part of Kelley's style as the ultimate straight-talking do-it-yourselfer who designed and built hotels, and created Hawaii's Outrigger Hotels chain.
It wasn't long before the family business -- which started with Roy and wife Estelle and went on to include their children and grandchildren -- got rid of the unions altogether. But Kelley took a unique approach to breaking the unions: He worked closely with employees, finding out their needs, and making sure they got pay and benefits just a shade better than they would under a union contract.
Roy's eldest son Richard, who set aside a medical career to go into the family business, isn't as rough around the edges as his dad was. But Richard, now chairman of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and Outrigger Enterprises Inc., knows the workers, too, and has taken pains to include them in decision making.
Richard is also a leading tourism spokesman, successfully pushing for developments such as the $300 million Hawai 'i Convention Center and more funds for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau.
Roy and Estelle Kelley came to Hawaii in 1929, Roy as a young architect and Estelle as Roy's bride of four months. After World War II he designed and built his own hotels, starting with the Islander in 1947. He remained a dynamic force in island hotels into his 80s and died in 1997 at age 91. Estelle died a year later, also at age 91.
The firm they built now operates 45 Outrigger hotels in Hawaii, Micronesia, Australia and South Pacific and, through an affiliate, manages others on the mainland.
