Business Briefs

Spa will honor Honolulu Club memberships

An estimated 334 consumers who purchased Gold Club memberships at the Honolulu Club will be given free health club privileges for 36 months at Island Club and Spa at the Ko‘o­lani Condominium under a bankruptcy court settlement.

The federal Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division, has approved a settlement between Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Office of Consumer Protection; Meridian Sports Clubs California LLC, the former owner of the Honolulu Club; and the unsecured creditors committee in Meridian’s Chapter 11 case, the DCCA said Friday.

Under the terms of the settlement, Meridian also will pay approximately $25,000 in civil fines, penalties and attorneys’ fees and costs, the DCCA said.

Gold Club Members may call Island Club and Spa, 1177 Queen St., at 543-3900 for information about their membership rights under the settlement.

Waikiki hosts APEC working-group meeting

The 48th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Telecommunications and Information Working Group will fill Hawaii hotel rooms next week and build on the state’s efforts to host more global business events.

Some 1,895 room nights have been booked by delegates to the conference, which will boost business in Waikiki from Monday through Sept. 22. The event — which will be attended by regulators, policymakers and industry representatives and delegates from APEC’s 21 member nations — will be headquartered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Other hotels that will benefit include the Doubletree by Hilton Alana Waikiki Hotel, the Ramada Plaza Waikiki and the Aqua Palms Waikiki.

"Hawaii has much to offer as an international business destination, with unmatched levels of hospitality and professionalism, as well as superior visitor venues and convention centers," U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said.

"Since my time as lieutenant governor, I have worked closely with APEC to build upon its relationship with Hawaii and expand upon our state’s role as a business hub and gateway to the Asia-Pacific region. I will continue to do so as more businesses, nonprofits and government entities choose Hawaii as an excellent place to do and conduct business."

APEC member nations include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, The Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.

Companies told to offer payment options

WASHINGTON » Federal regulators say companies cannot require employees to receive their pay on debit cards, citing complaints from workers of high and unexpected fees on the cards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a bulletin warning employers against using only so-called payroll cards to pay workers. The agency said that by law workers must be able to choose how they receive their wages. If they choose to be paid with payroll cards, they are entitled to protections such as disclosure of fees, it said.

Complaints received included fees for withdrawing cash and checking card balances. Critics say payroll cards with high fees mean that some workers are essentially making less than minimum wage.

A woman who worked at a McDonald’s in northeastern Pennsylvania filed a class-action lawsuit in June against the owners of 16 McDonald’s Corp. restaurants in the area, challenging their use of payroll cards and protesting fees.

Attorneys for the restaurant owners have said the debit cards are "the functional equivalent" of cash or checks and that the employees consented to the payment method.

Nearly 4 million U.S. households, or 3.2 percent, have someone who receives wages on a payroll card, according to a 2011 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The cards are often used by people without bank accounts.

Retail spending in August barely budges

WASHINGTON » Americans boosted their spending at retail businesses only modestly in August, indicating that economic growth remains sluggish. Consumers bought more cars, furniture and electronics last month but held back on most other purchases.

Spending at retail businesses rose 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the smallest gain in four months. But the government said retail spending was stronger in the previous month than first estimated, revising the July estimate to 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent

Excluding volatile spending on autos, gas and building supplies, sales in August increased just 0.2 percent, or less than half July’s 0.5 percent gain.

Southwest Air implements no-show policy

DALLAS >> Passengers who fail to cancel bookings on Southwest now face loss of the ticket’s value if they don’t show up. The new policy took effect with Friday’s flights. Customers wh

o buy nonrefundable tickets such as Wanna Get Away fares must cancel at least 10 minutes before scheduled departure or forfeit the ticket’s value. In the past, there was little incentive

to cancel because Southwest let customers use the value of the unused ticket toward another flight within one year. That meant seats flew empty when Southwest could have sold them to somebody else. Southwest is still letting passengers change nonrefundable tickets ahead of time without penalty.

ON THE MOVE

Central Pacific Bank has promoted: 

» Michael Takemoto to vice president and business intelligence manager from business intelligence senior analyst. He has 25 years of experience in systems administration, business intelligence and software development.

» Thomas Oh to senior vice president and senior credit administrator from vice president and manager of special credits. Before joining CPB in 2008, Oh served as a chief financial officer for RFJO Corp. and vice president at Bank of Hawaii.

The Queen’s Health Systems has named Nona Tamanaha as QHS director of corporate HR/recruitment/training and development. She was previously serving as regional director of human resources for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide-Hawaii and French Polynesia for the past five years.