Following you will find copy of an article published in the Pacific Business News on March 16, 2017 regarding the recent opening of the The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. The article is reprinted in its entirety with no editing.
“The Grand Islander, a 38-story Hawaii time-share property by Hilton Grand Vacations, is at 99 percent occupancy just two weeks after opening in Waikiki.
The 418-unit building has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units and was designed by local architecture firm G70 with interior design by Southern California-based Indidesign.
The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations Infinity Pool
Mark Wang, president and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide Holdings, said the building will support Hawaii’s tourism industry by creating loyal travelers.
“We will end up having more than 20,000 new owners and repeat travelers to Hawaii that will spend millions of dollars in food, beverage and retail,” Wang told Pacific Business News. “The state will not have to spend money marketing to these individuals because they already have a reason to return.”
George Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, agreed that the new property will boost Hawaii’s tourism, noting that timeshare properties were 10 percentage points more occupied than hotels in 2016.
“This is a spectacular new time share property that will add 418 new units to the market,” Szigeti said. “This is great news for Hawaii tourism.”
He described the property as “luxurious without being pretentious,” with Hawaiian accents prevalent throughout the space, such as Monkeypod tables, counters and art. Units can range from $40,000 to $400,000 per week.
Wang said the resort’s time-share properties in Hawaii had 90 percent occupancy last year, with 46 percent of customers traveling from Japan, 45 percent from the Mainland and 9 percent from other international markets.
“We try to keep all markets in mind — for example, the two double beds are much more popular with the Japanese market whereas Mainland visitors love the king bed,” Wang said, noting that most visitors from the Mainland come from the U.S. West.
In January, Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. split off from Hilton Worldwide Holdings to unlock value within the companies.
“It has allowed us to accelerate growth and drive capital back into the business and increase the value for our shareholders,” Wang said.”
Syed Sarmad, Principal Broker for Advantage Vacation
