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STAR-ADVERTISER
The owners of the Waikiki Edition have sued its management and designer. The property
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Hotel investment group M Waikiki LLC has contracted Aqua Hotels & Resorts affiliate Modern Management Services LLC to run the former Waikiki Edition Hotel, now renamed The Modern Honolulu.
All 275 full- and part-time employees will be rehired at their current pay, although some senior managers were let go, the company said Sunday.
The hotel was previously managed by Marriott International Inc. In May, M Waikiki filed suit in New York, alleging “gross mismanagement” of the 353-room property and failure to develop the brand.
According to the owners, the hotel is expected to lose nearly $6.4 million this year. Despite promises of developing several Edition properties worldwide, the only other Edition hotel outside of Hawaii is in Istanbul, Turkey.
As part of the suit, M Waikiki sought permission to terminate its 30-year management agreement with Marriott without liability.
“We believe that Aqua will realize the vision on which this hotel was developed — becoming the leading lifestyle hotel in Hawaii,” M Waikiki principal Damian McKinney said in a statement Sunday.