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The Maui News
Hawaii real estate investment firm BlackSand Capital completed its purchase of the 500-room Royal Lahaina Resort from Pleasant Travel Service on Thursday, the company announced.
Terms of the sale, including financial details, are not being disclosed.
"We are very pleased to successfully complete the acquisition of the Royal Lahaina Resort," B.J. Kobayashi, BlackSand's chairman and CEO, said in a news release Thursday. "It is extremely important to us that local investors ultimately own a part of large, established hotels and resorts in Hawaii and this transaction supports that mission, making Hawaii a better place."
BlackSand Capital has hired Highgate Hawaii Concession Company, an affiliate of Highgate Hotels, to assume operations of the resort, the news release said.
Stephen Hinck has been named the new general manager for the resort. Hinck, a 37-year veteran in the Hawaii hospitality market, joined Highgate in 2018 as general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, Waikiki.
Prior to the purchase, the resort had 420 employees. In an Oct. 4 letter to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Mayor Michael Victorino, the resort said that workers would be "terminated at closing." BlackSand later said that employees would have a chance to apply once Highgate began operating the resort.
A Highgate spokesperson told The Maui News on Thursday that offers had been made to more than 290 hourly employees, 95 percent of which were existing employees. All of the 35 managers hired so far were previous workers, and there are still positions left to fill.
When asked if there were enough openings for the roughly 130 or so other employees, the spokesperson said that "there are still positions that have to be filled and the management team is continuing to evaluate staffing needs. While all employees were invited to apply, not all submitted an application."
Originally built in 1962, the Royal Lahaina Resort is located on 27 acres along Kaanapali Beach and features beachside cottages, the 12-story Lahaina Kai Tower, resort amenities and luau grounds.
Kelly Sanders, executive vice president of operations for Highgate Hawaii, said in a news release that the resort is "working on plans to refresh many areas of the resort, add new technology to assist in the delivery of service and implement new experiences for our guests and the community."
"The pandemic has been a challenging time for all of us in Hawaii, and the visitor industry has been especially hard hit," added Kobayashi. "As a Hawaii-based company that invests in Hawaii, we see this acquisition as an opportunity to be part of the recovery effort, not just for the visitor industry, but for our local communities and our entire state."