Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
HAWAII
Hotels enjoy record business Hotel and resort occupancy levels in Hawaii reached 81.35 percent in June -- their highest point ever in that month -- as all the islands benefited from a rebounding economy, according to a new survey by consulting firm PKF-Hawaii.
Last month's occupancy rate was 11.8 percent higher than the 72.75 percent rate of a year earlier and represented the highest level since PKF-Hawaii began tracking the hotel industry in 1972.
The statewide average daily room rate increased 8.3 percent to $157.89 from $145.78 a year ago while revenue per available room rose 21.1 percent to $128.44 from $106.06.
Hawaii's occupancy for the first half of the year was up 8.3 percent from the midpoint of 2003 with the average daily room rate up 4.1 percent and the revenue per available room ahead 12.7 percent.
The sixth straight monthly increase in statewide occupancy resulted in the highest occupancy level on Oahu since 1990. Occupancy on the island rose to 84.9 percent from 73.1 percent a year ago.
On the other islands, Kauai, which achieved its highest level since 1978, had an 81.6 percent occupancy compared with 75.1 percent a year ago. The Big Island had its best level since 1972 as occupancy rose to nearly 73 percent from 64.2 percent. Maui, which also posted its best month since 1972, saw occupancy increase to 81.4 percent from 78 percent.
Outrigger resorts fetch $155M
Outrigger Enterprises Inc. has brought in $155 million from its sale of the Wailea Marriott and Waikoloa Beach Marriott resorts, more than what it paid for them.State records show that Blackstone Real Estate Advisors of New York purchased the 521-room Wailea Marriott on Maui for $98 million and the 545-room Waikoloa property on the Big Island's Kohala coast for $57 million.
Outrigger bought the Waikoloa Beach for $48.5 million in 1998 and spent $23 million on renovations. It bought the Wailea for $40.8 million in 1999 and spent $25 million to renovate. The total expense was about $137 million.
The two sides had revealed a sale agreement earlier this month but did not disclose prices.
Blackstone plans to renovate both properties, which will continue to be affiliated with Marriott International.
Gas prices fail to drop in Honolulu
In a survey of 21 major U.S. cities, every place except Honolulu had a decrease in the price of gasoline in July from the month before, according to consulting firm Runzheimer International.The average Honolulu price for self-serve regular went up to $2.276 per gallon in July from $2.268 in June, the Runzheimer survey found. Gas prices fell in all other cities, including Seattle, Denver, New York and Los Angeles. The average price per gallon in the United States was $1.911 in July, down 7 percent from June.
Honolulu had the second-highest U.S. gas price in July, trailing only San Francisco, where the average price was $2.371.
NATION
Delta, Northwest match fare hike Delta and Northwest airlines matched a $10-per-round-trip price increase by American Airlines on many routes, but other carriers were still considering late yesterday whether to go along. On Thursday night, American Airlines raised its fares on most of its domestic flights, citing the rising cost of jet fuel.
Delta chief says cuts proposed by pilots aren't strong enough
Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein told pilots yesterday the survival of the company depends on a minimum $1 billion in concessions from them, insisting their proposal for up to $705 million in cuts was not enough."While I respect the negotiating process and believe details are best resolved privately at the table, the sheer life-altering magnitude of the need ... deserves acknowledgment, hard truths and assurances from me personally," Grinstein wrote in an open letter to pilots.
The letter follows last week's proposal by Delta pilots to cut their pay by 23 percent and agree to other rules and scheduling changes that would save the airline between $655 million and $705 million a year. The union offer was roughly twice as much as its previous one.
Delta's management has said that without deep wage concesssions it would need to file for bankruptcy. Analysts say the airline, which had $2 billion in unrestricted cash at the end of the second quarter, has until the fall to get the cuts it needs, or enter Chapter 11.
Union spokesman Chris Renkel, in a telephone hotline message to pilots, said the union was disappointed by the counterproposal and Delta's refusal to give details of its comprehensive plan beyond wage cuts.
"These items must be addressed in a meaningful manner before the Delta pilots can respond to management's latest proposal," Renkel said yesterday.
San Diego company will stop using pop-up ads
A San Diego company has agreed to stop bombarding computer users with Internet pop-up ads to advertise its ad-blocking software, avoiding a court battle with the Federal Trade Commission.D Squared Solutions LLC, a company created by two college students, reached a settlement with the FTC Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maryland. The FTC had filed a civil suit against the company last year.
Under terms of the agreement, D Squared will no longer send pop-up ads using the Windows Messenger Service or sell software that blocks such ads. It is also barred from sending any ads through the Internet that don't allow computer users to choose not to receive them.
D Squared will have to let the FTC monitor its business for the next five years and report regularly on its activities. The company's founders, Anish Dhingra and Jeffrey Davis, do not admit wrongdoing and do not face any penalties.
The agreement said Davis and Dhingra settled to avoid "the costs and uncertainties of litigation."
Health care costs jump 40% for US Airways
US Airways, which is pushing its unions for wage and benefit cuts so that it can avoid another bankruptcy filing, said yesterday that its health care expenses had soared more than 40 percent this year, even though it has fewer employees.The statistics, published in a monthly employee newsletter, is further evidence of the cost battle faced by US Airways, the nation's seventh-biggest airline.
This week, US Airways said it posted a small profit for the second quarter. But its chief executive, Bruce R. Lakefield, warned that the airline was facing a significant loss in the second half of 2004 unless its employees granted a third round of contract concessions.
They granted two rounds under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, from which US Airways emerged last year.