Travel wholesaler adds isle properties

The AAA Four-Diamond Grand Wailea Resort & Spa and the Ho'olei Villas at Grand Wailea have been added to the Hawaii portfolio of Condominium Connection, a California-based travel wholesaler.

The company offers accommodations at more than 125 condominiums and hotels in Hawaii.

The nightly, land-only rate for the Grand Wailea begins at $398, double occupancy, while rates at Ho'olei begin at $951 a night for a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath garden-view villa.

Wienert to give talk on tourism

State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert will discuss tourism at the monthly luncheon meeting of the Hawaii Economic Association on June 28 at the Plaza Club. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. The cost is $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers (annual memberships are $26). Reservations can be made by e-mailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) no later than Wednesday.

Getting LinkedIn for business

The Hawaii Women's Business Center will present a tutorial workshop on LinkedIn.com, a social networking site geared toward business professionals, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 1.

Presenters include businesswoman and educator Kathy Kamau'u and Thomas Trenz, an entrepreneur in international business consulting.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, if possible, and to set up a free LinkedIn account prior to the event, which costs $25 for members, $30 for nonmembers. Advance registration and payment are required. Call 526-1001.

Maui may tax vacation rentals, B&Bs

The Maui County Council is considering taxing vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts at the same rate as hotels.

The council's Budget and Finance Committee voted 5-3 Tuesday for a bill that would establish a “;commercialized residential”; real property tax classification for bed-and-breakfasts and transient vacation rentals. It would impose a property tax of $8.20 per $1,000 of assessed value. By comparison, the homeowner's tax rate in Maui County is $2 per $1,000. The bill now goes to the full council.

Council members Jo Anne Johnson, Gladys Baisa and Mike Molina voted against the measure, saying they'd like more time to work on it in committee. Committee Chairman Joe Pontanilla says, if approved, the measure would take effect in fiscal year 2011.

10 banks repay $68B in bailout funds

WASHINGTON » A key government effort to ease the credit crisis reached a milestone yesterday as 10 large banks said they had repaid a total of $68 billion in bailout funds. Treasury said last week that the banks could begin repaying money they received under the $700 billion financial system bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The government created the program in October as its flagship effort to address the global credit crisis and teetering financial markets.

ON THE MOVE

  » Sheraton Waikiki has named Alexander Wolf as executive sous chef-banquets. He previously was the resort chef at South Seas Island Resort in Captiva, Fla., a chef on the opening team at Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, executive chef at Cliffs Valley Country Club in South Carolina, executive banquet chef at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix and Atlanta Grill chef at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Atlanta.

» Bob Dewitz has been appointed to the board of directors of the Research Corp. of the University of Hawaii. He is the owner and chief executive officer of Hawaii Select Investments and chairman American Electric.