Denver firm will buy Outrigger hotel chain

Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, owned and operated by the Kelley family for 69 years, announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement to sell the business to Denver-­based KSL Capital Partners LLC.

The transaction, which is expected to close in 60 to 90 days for an undisclosed price, includes all 37 hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties operated, owned and managed by Outrigger. After the transaction closes, business is expected to continue as usual with the company’s name kept intact and its headquarters remaining in Waikiki. However, the deal does put the planned $100 million renovation of the Outrigger Reef on hold while KSL evaluates the best direction for the property, which Outrigger owned in fee simple.

David P. Carey, who is married to the former Kathy Kelley, granddaughter of Outrigger founders Roy and Estelle Kelley, will continue as the company’s president and CEO.

“It’s my intention to stay here. I’m not done yet. I’ve got runway left, and I’d like to do some successful things. I’m excited,” Carey told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday.

Carey’s executive team, which include Paul Richardson, Sean Dee, Ruthann Yamanaka, Ed Case and Mike Regan, also are expected to remain with the company. The deal comes with an agreement to protect the company’s 4,500 employees “for the foreseeable future,” Carey said.

“They stay in place with their benefits and pay,” he said.

However, Carey said that it’s “likely” that other Kelley family members involved in the hotel business, including Bitsy Kelley, Charles Kelley, Richard Kelley and Jean Rolles, would not continue under the new owner.

Carey said KSL has significant hospitality experience. The company once owned the Grand Wailea on Maui and currently provides management services for Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, he said.

Marty Newburger, KSL partner, said in a statement that the company is “excited to continue the strong tradition that the Kelley family has built” and is “eager to be part of the next chapter of Outrigger’s extraordinary story.”

“Outrigger is a well-established, highly successful company that has built a unique portfolio of world-class hotels,” Newburger said. “For nearly seven decades, the Outrigger team has been focused on providing authentic, localized experiences for guests in iconic resort destinations. Outrigger’s and KSL’s values are aligned with creating lasting and memorable experiences for our resort guests at properties that are integral to the communities in which they operate.”

Carey said Outrigger’s leadership team will be meeting with KSL over the next several months to determine the company’s new strategic focus. It’s unclear yet which properties KSL will keep and which they will reposition or sell, he said.

“Since my grandparents — Roy and Estelle Kelley — founded Outrigger in 1947, our family-run hospitality business has created world-class vacations for millions of travelers and life-changing employment opportunities for our hosts,” said Charles Kelley, board chairman of Outrigger Enterprises Group. “Our family is humbled to have had the privilege of leading this company for nearly 70 years and to have worked with some of the best in the industry. We have a responsibility to make strategic decisions today that put our company on the best path for future success. We are confident that KSL will make Outrigger more resilient in today’s global hospitality market.”

Carey said the Kelley family, which is into its third generation of hotel operators, made the difficult decision to sell because a successful business model requires more capital than it did in the past, and they weren’t prepared to raise it. This latest announcement follows a decision from the company this summer to abort plans to build a 32-story hotel tower at Outrigger Reef in the wake of soaring construction costs. The company instead pulled entitlements for a new plan, which would have added a few hotel rooms to the property, while creating about a half-acre of open space that runs from curb to ocean.

“They felt that they owed it to the employees to bring on a capital source to continue what they started,” Carey said.

It’s also the nature of multigenerational businesses that views of the future and personal wealth strategies change, he said.

Strong market values made it a good time for the Kelleys to liquidate their interest, Carey said. Carey said although the company was doing well against its competition, “the capital ante in the game has risen.”

“We could have continued to compete in our small size, but if I want to buy 15 properties, I can’t,” he said. “We’ve found a capital source with experience in the resort industry, and we share some common bonds that are very positive. I’ve known Mike Shannon, KSL’s chairman, for 25 years.”

“We focus on acquisitions of complex, operationally intensive businesses and strive to unlock ‘hidden value’ by re-envisioning and repositioning these enterprises,” KSL said on its website.

KSL said it invests heavily in the businesses it buys.

“Since 2006, KSL through its portfolio companies has invested over $700 million in capital improvements to its businesses,” KSL said. “While construction projects provide an immediate benefit to the local community in terms of creating new jobs, it is the long term impact of heavily investing in its businesses that has the greatest impact.”