Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013 - (Page 9)
The Big Island’s
Brand of
By LeSLie LaNG
Hookipa
(from top) Chris Luedi of the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Hawaii; Paul Streiter, owner of Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill in Kailua-Kona at a local relay race;
Petra Weisenbauer of the Hawaii Island Bed & Breakfast Association and owner of Hale Moana Bed & Breakfast in Pahoa.
E
ach Hawaiian island is slightly different in its style of
hospitality, says Paul Horner, managing director of
marketing at the Big Island visitors Bureau. on the island of
Hawaii, he says, it’s all about hookipa.
“The straight English translation of hookipa is hospitality,”
he says, “but what it means to people here on the Big Island is
that, ‘Whatever I have is yours.’ ”
Horner’s ancestry on the Big Island goes back at least 15
generations, and so he knows that “this is a value people are
taught growing up on this island. If they had friends or family
coming over, their parents would tell them, ‘You know your
favorite chair? That’s not your favorite chair tonight.’
“You don’t even blink an eye, but are willing to share
whatever you have. It may be stories, it may be food … I think
that’s the quality of service we deliver here on this island.
sharing the deeper meaning of hookipa. Welcoming someone
into your home, and your home becomes their home.”
paul streiter owns Jackie Rey’s ohana Grill in Kailua-Kona.
He describes his restaurant as “family upscale.”
Though he doesn’t actually mention the word hookipa, he
describes that Hawaiian value in his approach to customer
service. He says he doesn’t look for 5-star wait help, but
instead concentrates on hiring people who have “hospitality
in their blood.”
And he, too, talks about how the staff at his restaurant greets
patrons the same as when welcoming guests into their homes.
“If you invited people to your home for 5 o’clock, and they
arrive 10 minutes early, you’re not going to make them wait
outside,” streiter says. “You’re going to invite them in, and say,
‘You’re a little early and I’m not quite ready, but have a beer!’
“I am able here to find employees with the aloha of ‘having
people in their own home,’ and so I can practice my brand of
customer service. They have to be able to read what a guest is
feeling and looking for, whether they’re from Kansas, Maui or
down the block.”
petra Weisenbauer, board member and former chair/CEo
of the Hawaii Island Bed & Breakfast Association and owner
of Hale Moana Bed & Breakfast in pahoa, says that Big Island
visitors “are not just here for white sandy beaches and that
fluffy Hawaiian image. They’re really interested in the culture,
and maybe also a little more rugged nature. I find that ties in
very well with Hawaiian cultural experiences.”
Most Big Island B&Bs, she says, offer personal introductions
to the area, and help with itinerary planning, so guests can
learn about the local culture based on their interests.
“I refer guests to a native Hawaiian guide; Warren Costa,
for instance,” she says. “He offers both customized tours and
standard packages. He’s a local Hawaiian and has worked in
the national park for a number of years as a ranger and has an
anthropology background. I also refer to Kalapana Cultural
tours, and to lava ocean Adventures tours, the boat trip out
to the lava.
“Then you have the Palace Theater [cultural Hawaiian
program] with leilehua Yuen, and other practitioners or
Native Hawaiian elders who promote and perpetuate the
culture. I find it’s unique here on this island; that there are so
many people offering so many different puzzle pieces to the
whole picture.”
Another way Big Island B&Bs customize their
presentations to guests, she says, is by having personal
relationships with the businesses they refer to.
“For instance, when I send people to Kaleo’s (restaurant),
they bring my business card,” she says. “Kaleo’s knows they
come from me, and they get special treatment and are treated
very nicely.” There’s that concept of hookipa again.
Chris luedi is general manager of the Fairmont orchid,
and regional vice president for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Hawaii. He says that while the Fairmont’s Big Island guests
are definitely looking for a luxurious stay, they, too, are
seeking a more understated and local experience.
“We have hundreds of examples where a guest talks about
great mangos or tomatoes, and the next day our employee
brings them one from their garden at home. Or a guest mentions
their child wants to learn hula, and the employee says, ‘If you
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013
Hawaii's Female Chefs
War on Waste
Big Island Hookipa
Hawaii’s Little Touches
HRA Excellence Awards
Talk Story with George Szegeti
New Restaurants: Chef Chai and Liko Lehua Cafe
News Briefs
Association News
Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013
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