TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Ward welcomes
hospitality workersThe idea of a concierge at a movie theater complex was unusual, but Pono Shim has used his business as a launching pad for yet more unusual ideas.
Shim is the president of Concierge Services at Ward Centers. He believes less in competition than in service and partnership, hence his "Hospitality Industry Nights" project.
By purchasing a $2 card, employees in the hospitality industry and emergency services can receive two months' worth of discounts and bonuses on Mondays and Tuesdays at 13 Victoria Ward complex businesses. Senior citizens pay $1 for the card. Folks with a food and beverage card or employee ID may purchase as many as four cards at the $2 rate to give to nonindustry family and friends.
Business clients may purchase cards in bulk, on consignment, by calling Shim's company at 597-1243.
"That way I trap annual purchases and at the end of the year I give back 10 percent of all (his business clients') card purchases in Victoria Ward certificates."
Holiday party budgets have plummeted in recent years due to the economy, Shim noted, but the 10 percent in certificates a company earns could be used to make its employees' next Christmas season merry.
Shim also asks bulk purchasers to designate a charitable organization that will receive Victoria Ward certificates worth 2 percent of the value of its card purchases, in the company's name. Four percent will be donated on behalf of the company with the highest percentage of employee participation.
The promotion grew out of Shim's 19 years in the food and beverage industry, as well as research that revealed that more than 100,000 people in Hawaii are employed in the hospitality industry.
"But 30 to 40 percent are off on Mondays and Tuesdays," he said. That's because restaurants and related businesses tend to be slower in those night, and therefore competing for a smaller wedge of pie, he said.
He thought, "What if we all work together instead of competing and ... launch something for the largest population that's off on Monday and Tuesday, which is the hospitality workers?"
Cards may be purchased from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday in the Ward 16 Theatres or from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays starting Jan. 21.
Offers by participating Victoria Ward businesses and other promotions are posted at www.hawaiiconcierge.com.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com