|
Outrigger surfboard
racks cure space pain
The units beautify the area
and are free for hotel guests
If you've ever tried to carry a 9-foot surfboard through a hotel lobby and then into an elevator only 8 feet tall, you know how unhappy other guests can be as you angle your board over their heads.
So the question for Hawaii's beachfront hoteliers is, Why aren't there surfboard racks where guests can lock up watercraft?
Now there is.
About six weeks ago, Outrigger's Waikiki on the Beach hotel opened its surfboard racks on the Diamond Head side of the beachfront hotel.
There are 36 slots in three rack sections of 12 slots each, equipped with thick chain link and two heavy-duty locks. Guest usage is free.
The hurricane-strength racks may have cost Outrigger about $57,000 but have eliminated headaches for the hotel's bellmen who have had to store boards in secured and small luggage areas.
Robert Uchida, Outrigger's Waikiki on the Beach head bellman, came up with the idea.
"We were looking for a way to improve the appearance on that side of the hotel with some sort of a screen because on one side you have a kitchen entrance and the other side is the back of another hotel," said David Lee, Outrigger's vice president of property services. "Robert's idea was to build just four or five racks for guests."
The brainstorming led to a decision to build far more racks and use the surfboards as a visual barrier.
Unlike the city built racks near Queen's Surf, the Outrigger racks are more angled to display more of the boards and create a visual barrier.
Allied Builders, who worked on the hotel's lobby project, built the steel racks, which also included special epoxy painting, galvanizing and welding. Boards used on the base and parts of the structure are made of recycled plastic.
"It's pretty maintenance-free," Lee said.
The racks have become so popular that about half may be rented on a monthly basis, though prices have not yet been set. Use of the racks hasn't been restricted to only Outrigger guests.
"There are enough people from California who want to bring their boards, and they're bringing longboards, 8- and 9-foot boards," Lee said. "Anything over 7-foot-6 is hard to get in an elevator, and ... (banging) them around in the elevator and through corridors isn't helping the guest rooms we just renovated."
There are some rules for using the racks. The hotel prefers the boards to be stored without covers.
Also, for aesthetic reasons, the hotel reserves the right to reject waterlogged, yellowed boards, or boards with distasteful designs or logos.
The Outrigger management is also considering installing surfboard racks at its other beachfront properties, Lee said.
