Twenty-five employees, or about 20 percent of the nonunion work force at Makaha Resort & Golf Club, were laid off yesterday, with hotel ownership citing the downturned economy.

“;We were quite lucky for most of the (downturned) economic times,”; said Tom Flow, resort manager. However, staffing levels, given the resort's occupancy rate in the lower- to mid-30 percent range, were unsustainable, he said.

The resort, golf course, and food and beverage operations are open and operating, Flow stressed.

The cuts affect each department, but “;we are optimistic that this is a temporary situation”; and that the resort will be able to rehire those laid off yesterday over time, he said. The resort's human resources matters are handled by Altres, which is helping laid-off workers with the transition and potential job placement.

  Slow economy hits Makaha Resort

 

The Makaha Resort and Golf Club is laying off staff because of the slow economy.

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The 173-room resort has been owned by Alberta, Canada-based Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd. since 2004.

The company touts itself as the largest Canadian-owned developer and marketer of time-share vacation condominiums, with nine properties in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Belize. It is not affiliated with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island and Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui.

After Fairmont Resort Properties bought the 300-acre west Oahu resort, it announced ambitious plans to build 334 time-share units in three low-rise buildings, but the plans have not borne fruit.

“;What the plans are in the near future is more of a question,”; Flow said.

The resort was opened in 1969 by the late Chinn Ho, a Honolulu financier who also built the Ilikai. Subsequent owner ANA Hotels, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways Inc., closed the hotel in 1995 after a less-than-lucrative 16-year run and laid off 175 employees, but kept the golf course operating. For a time under ANA, the resort was managed by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and was called the Sheraton Makaha Resort and Country Club.

The property was purchased by real estate development firm Towne Realty Inc. in 2000. It was nearly sold to Ko Olina developer Jeff Stone in 2003, but that deal fell through.

Despite occupancy of slightly more than 20 percent its first year, Fairmont hired 50 employees, boosting its payroll to 175 amid aggressive online marketing and its plans to expand the time-share component.

By the end of 2005, occupancy was around 70 percent.