Outrigger Enterprises to Purchase Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel

Outrigger Enterprises, Inc. announced on August 12, 2005 that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel from an affiliate of Tokyo-based Mitsui Leasing & Development, Ltd. The sale is expected to close in mid-October 2005. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The Waikiki Beachcomber is centrally located at 2300 Kalakaua Avenue and is just a block away from Waikiki Beach and next to the International Marketplace.

After the transaction closes, the hotel will be operated under Outrigger's OHANA brand as the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. The hotel will join 12 other hotels currently operated by Outrigger under the OHANA brand in Hawaii and Guam.

Outrigger anticipates offering positions to nearly all of the existing Waikiki Beachcomber employees. Additionally, the company will work with those few employees who will not be retained because of job duplication and will encourage them to apply at other Waikiki hotels, including other Outrigger and OHANA properties.

Outrigger plans a major renovation of the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber beginning sometime in 2007.

Outrigger's Waikiki Beach Walk project - the $460 million, 7.9-acre hotel-timeshare-retail-entertainment redevelopment that will transform the dated Lewers-Kalia-Beach Walk area of Waikiki into a showcase and gathering place for visitors and local residents alike - will ultimately eliminate over 1,600 hotel rooms in Waikiki.

"Acquiring the Waikiki Beachcomber adds back into Outrigger's inventory 500 of the guest rooms lost as a result of Waikiki Beach Walk, which in turn allows us to continue to provide a large and varied range of rooms for our guests," said Mel Kaneshige, Chief Operating Officer of the real estate division of Outrigger Enterprises.

Our thanks to Nancy Daniels, APR, Public Relations Manager of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts / OHANA Hotels & Resorts for sharing this news with us.