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Kona Surf’s
closure leaves
216 unemployed
But discussions with
By Rod Thompson
potential buyers
are continuing
Big Island CorrespondentKEAUHOU, Hawaii -- The closure of the Kona Surf Resort yesterday put 216 people out of work and raised the number of closed hotels on Kamehameha Schools land at Keauhou to two out of three.
The employees will find new jobs, several people said.
The future of Kamehameha's Keauhou Resort, which includes the Kona Surf, is less clear.
Waitress Camelia Yeaman, 53, has worked at the Kona Surf since it opened in 1971.
"Everybody will miss each other. It's like a family," she said.
"They're sad but they say maybe they'll find something better," she said.
Aileen Pi, 64, working at the hotel since 1979, first as a clerk and later as a secretary, was also optimistic. "I don't want to retire. It will work out for us," she said.
Marnie Herkes, executive director of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, says they'll find work.
"Easy! But they'll have to drive to Kohala. (South Kohala resorts) are screaming for employees," she said.
When Kona Surf owner Otaka Inc. announced in May that the hotel was losing $3 million a year and would close, there was also talk about negotiations with a buyer.
Otaka declined to comment yesterday, but real estate broker John Michael White, connected with prior negotiations, said the deal fell through.
Kamehameha said several interested parties have contacted Kamehameha Investment Corp., the trust's for-profit arm, in recent months. "Discussions are continuing," the trust said.
The hotel's value drops when it is boarded up, White said. "Someone is going to get an absolute bargain," he said.
The hotel is built right to the edge of the rocky shore, an oceanfront setting that could not be duplicated under today's laws, he said.
Two other hotels stand on Kamehameha land. The Aston Keauhou Beach Resort is open, but the neighboring Kona Lagoon is closed.
"It's run down and dirty and attracts transients," Herkes said.
Two other hotel sites at Keauhou Bay are vacant and should be developed to make the overall area attractive, White said.
Herkes said, "There never has been a real resort vision in Kamehameha Schools."
But if there are doubts about the overall future, White has none about the Kona Surf.
"It needs tender loving care. It needs an owner who has the money to return it to its majestic stature," he said. "I guarantee you the Kona Surf will reopen."
