Association of Apartment Owners of Ocean Resort Villas North and Ocean Resort Villas North Vacation Owners Association President’s Letter
Dear Owner:
Like all of you, we have been intently following the news updates from the aftereffects of the fires in Maui, specifically the fire in Lahaina and the resulting closure of West Maui. We have tried to gather and disseminate information as we received it, but also had to balance that with an understanding of how the disaster was affecting our team at the resort. As you know, the resort is safe but as you can imagine, for the team members on the ground at KOR/KORN, those scary moments during the fire and the days following have been unprecedented in the scale and scope of difficulty, both physically and emotionally. As the critical triage moments are behind them now, KOR/KORN Resort Management recently updated the Boards of Directors on the timeline of events, their efforts and, most importantly, about the well-being of our associates. The KOR/KORN Management efforts since the fire have developed into three distinct phases.
○ Phase 1: Evacuation of Guests (Tuesday, August 8th -Sunday, August 13th)
○ Phase 2: Immediately Assist and Aid Associates (Sunday, August 13th -Ongoing)
○ Phase 3: Focusing on the Future (August 31st – TBD)
Phase 1: Evacuation of Guests
The focus was on helping to safely evacuate the 3,500 guests on the resort property, while managing no power, internet or cell service. One major issue was the sporadic and changing information regarding the highway closure for purposes of evacuation as the fire spread. The team used the public address system throughout the resort to update guests as the information became available.
The limited food and beverage team made sure the guests were fed simple meals and given coffee and small breakfast items throughout the power outage (which lasted several days).
Although the resort team knew about the fire in Lahaina, the magnitude became real to them when an associate arrived to the resort after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 8th with a truck dented and damaged from his escape route from Lahaina.
Because of the personal loss that many associates were dealing with and the inability to get to West Maui, the five-day evacuation of the resort was primarily handled by 40 people, 15 senior staff and 25 associates, not the normal support of 300 team members
One piece of new information we received from the management team is that while the large Lahaina fire came within a mile or so of the resort, there were three subsequent fires over the next day, one which came within 100 yards of the resort grounds.
Phase 2: Immediately Assist and Aid Associates
We are beyond grateful that no associates of KOR/KORN were injured or killed in the tragedy, but sadly, 88 team members lost their homes and possessions.
In the aftermath of the fire, many associates made their way to the resort to figure out next steps. According to the team, they came one by one (some with family).
The resort quickly turned South Building 4 into “Motel 4” and provided rooms for all 88 associates and their families.
Meals were provided to all of them in the immediate aftermath of the fire and for subsequent days. The resort team set up “Kiwi KORner” with clothes for those displaced and a vendor provided shoes as well.
The resort worked with FEMA and the Red Cross to create an area of the lobby set up to help associates manage the paperwork to receive the aid they need ongoing.
Those displaced were provided a $500 food and beverage certificate immediately and hazard pay was given to all the hourly and full-time employees.
The Management Company has a relationship with a home hospitality company and as of Thursday, August 31st , every associate has now found temporary housing.
Phase 3: Focusing on the Future
The cleanup of Lahaina is just beginning, and Hawaii Governor Josh Green has declared West Maui closed to tourism until October 17, 2023.
While the resort is empty, the management team is dedicated to making sure the staff is employed by working on dozens of projects around the property, from sanding and staining furniture to re-striping the parking lots, to doing damage clean up from the storm.
The management team is also dedicated to continuing to help those who are displaced and have used the resort shuttle to help people get to meetings, to their neighborhoods, etc. In addition to all the work on the ground, a sizable donation to Maui Relief Funds was made by the Management Company, and the KOR/KORN Charitable Foundation and Trust (made possible by your donations) gave over $215,000 to several local Maui charities over the past three weeks. The charities include: The Maui Community Foundation, Maui Strong, Maui Food Bank, Maui Humane Society, Feed My Sheep, the ILG Relief Fund and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. We intend to give more funding at the end of 2023 and 2024 on your behalf. To learn more, visit www.korfhawaii.org . Just recently, a new sign was displayed in the team area at the resort. It says, “IKAIKA”, the Hawaiian word for strong. The strength that was shown by our team on the ground and all of our associates is beyond inspiring. May we continue to send them all our strength and healing energy for the days ahead. Mahalo, John Gerding President Ocean Resort Villas North Vacation Owners Association Association of Apartment Owners of Ocean Resort Villas North Mary Fechtig President Ocean Resort Master Association
Mahalo nui loa,
David Wong General Manager The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North
