Kaluakoi Hotel WAILUKU >> A buyer is in the process of purchasing the Kaluakoi Hotel & Golf Club in West Molokai, the largest hotel on the Friendly Isle, said Maui County Mayor James "Kimo" Apana.
in process of
being bought
An American buyer expresses
interest in the Molokai propertyBy Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comHe said the sale, if successful, could be completed as early as mid-November.
Some 99 people were laid off on Jan. 3, when the hotel's parent company Tokyo Kosan shut down the hotel and golf course.
The layoffs contributed to a jump in unemployment on the island to 14.6 percent in January from 7.2 percent last December.
Apana said he talked with the buyer for 15 to 20 minutes and felt he was sincere in wanting to operate the resort.
"I believe his heart is in the right place," Apana said. "He wants to renovate the hotel and put it back to its full glory and give Molokai residents full opportunity."
He said the buyer, from the United States, is going through the "due diligence" process, in which he takes a closer look at the resort.
Apana declined to disclose the name of the buyer and said he did not know the purchase price.
Apana said at its peak, the hotel enjoyed an occupancy of about 80 percent, and he believes the resort can return to better financial health.
Apana spoke about the potential pending purchase during a meeting yesterday with about 12 Molokai businesspeople and residents at the Kaluakoi Hotel, who were worried about the direction the economy of Molokai was taking.
Some were worried that the Maui County Council may change the designation of some lands at Kaluakoi from hotel and residential to "open space," Apana said.
The Council is currently reviewing amendments of the Molokai Community Plan.
Hank Younge, former owner of the defunct Air Molokai, said to change the land classification to "open space" is unfair and would send the wrong message to investors.
Younge said changing the classification also would reduce the value of the land for resort residents like himself.
He said Molokai people are losing hope and the children are leaving the island because they can't find jobs.
"We do need help," he said. "Without help, no hope."
Apana said his administration has been moving forward with plans to help in the opening of the first slaughterhouse on Molokai.
He said the slaughterhouse will help ranchers to ship out slaughtered beef, sell beef locally, and develop enhanced beef products, such as beef jerky.
Molokai's unemployment rate, 10.7 percent in September, has been the highest of any island in the state.
Observers expect the jobless problem to increase in light of slumping tourism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast.
"I think it's going to be worse just because the September statistics didn't quite reflect the 9-11 incident," said Carol Kawagoe, a state Workforce Development official.
David Jung, owner of a Molokai-Lahaina ferry service, said he laid off a third of his workers at the end of September because of the drop in business.
Jung said the economy is recovering but there still are people who are reluctant to fly on vacations to Hawaii.
He said the state government needs to help promote safe and convenient travel.
"Now is the time we really should be going overboard to extra promotions and extra incentives," he said. "If the state of Hawaii is waiting for the federal government to solve its transportation woes, I think we're being very foolish."