Shared office use provider expands to isle
A California-based provider of office space for shared use has completed a planned Honolulu expansion.
ROC, or Real Office Centers, announced Monday that its long-planned facility in Chinatown will host a private launch party Thursday.
The project occupying the upper floor of a two-story building at the corner of North Hotel Street and Nuuanu Avenue features 21 private offices, co-working spaces, a common kitchen, a reception area and space for conferences, meetings and events. A restaurant is also envisioned below the office space once occupied by Legal Aid of Hawaii.
Newport Beach, Calif.-based ROC is a new competitor in the Hawaii market for shared office space — an industry offering a variety of services that include virtual mailing addresses, phone answering and forwarding, conference room rentals and office space for lease on a full- or part-time basis. Existing operators here include Resource Suites in the Waikiki Landmark building, Regus PLC at Waterfront Plaza, and the Ala Moana Center for Business by ProWorks Inc. in the Ala Moana Building.
ROC has five locations in California.
AmEx to debut multibrand loyalty program
LOS ANGELES » American Express is preparing to launch a customer loyalty program in the U.S. that will enable shoppers at select retailers to rack up points that they can use toward future purchases at Macy’s, Exxon Mobil, AT&T and other participating companies.
The free program, set to debut in May, is dubbed Plenti and will also include Nationwide, Rite Aid, Direct Energy and Hulu, American Express said Wednesday.
US Loyalty, a unit of American Express, will operate the program. But Plenti is not exclusive to AmEx’s cardholders. Customers of the companies in the program can earn points regardless of whether they pay with cash or a debit or credit card from another card issuer. American Express also will be rolling out a Plenti-branded credit card that will let users earn additional points.
U.S. home construction plunges 17 percent
WASHINGTON » Construction of new homes plummeted in February as fierce winter weather froze housing starts in the Northeast and Midwest.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders began construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 897,000 homes in February, a steep 17 percent plunge from January. Housing starts slid 56.5 percent in the Northeast and 37 percent in the Midwest while falling 18.2 percent in the West and 2.5 percent in the South.
$100 million Alzheimer’s fund created
TRENTON, N.J. » Major drugmakers, the British government and a top Alzheimer’s research charity are pooling more than $100 million to create a global fund to accelerate efforts to find a treatment or even a cure for the mind-robbing disease within a decade.
The new Dementia Discovery Fund will function like a venture capital fund. It will identify promising laboratory discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, then distribute money to cover costs for the steps needed to prepare for and then begin the first tests in patients in what’s called translational research.
Facebook app will enable payments
NEW YORK » Facebook’s Messenger app will soon let one send money to friends, the latest in a crowded field of services aimed at an increasingly wireless and cashless generation. Services including PayPal, its Venmo unit and the disappearing-photo app Snapchat let one beam money to friends and family using smartphones linked to bank accounts or credit cards.
Facebook’s entry, announced Tuesday, is free, works with debit cards and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices and on desktop computers.
ON THE MOVE
Maui Medical Group has appointed Dr. Ernest Lee to its otolaryngology team. He has extensive surgical and medical experience in the treatment of patients with diseases as well as disorders of the nose, ear and throat. Prior to joining Maui Medical Group, he joined Ellis ENT Care, Ellis Medical Group, and served as chief of the medical staff of Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, N.Y.
Outrigger Resorts has named Steve Solberg general manager of Outrigger Guam Beach Resort. Solberg’s experience includes working as general manager for Marriott International, chief executive officer at PCH Hotels and Resorts, as well as general manager and chief operating officer for Grand Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear, Ala.
