Mauna Lani Bay resort changes ownership

Mauna Lani Bay resort, which has been owned by a subsidiary of Japanese-based Tokyu Corp. for all of its more than 40-year-history, is getting a new owner — a change that will bring needed resort reinvestment and fuel upward repositioning for Hawaii island’s Kohala Coast.

ProspectHill Group reached an agreement Thursday to buy Mauna Lani Resort Inc. for an undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close in July and will include the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel &Bungalows, the Francis H. I‘i Brown Golf Courses and other undeveloped land and facilities. The sale does not include the independently owned Fairmont Orchid, which was sold to Seoul-based Mirae Asset Global Investments for about $220 million in May 2015.

San Francisco-based ProspectHill Group, which has a large global hospitality presence, agreed to the purchase on the same day a two-year International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract was ratified, said Mauni Lani Bay resort General Manager Rodney Ito. All 500 employees will have to reapply for jobs, but Ito said ProspectHill has agreed to honor the union contract and retain workers. The new owner also will keep all golf and hotel reservations, he said.

“The employees had mixed feelings when we heard the news,” Ito said. “We love Tokyu. They were great owners and loved and cared for the community and the resort. But at the same time, we are very excited about ProspectHill Group and what they will bring. It could be a good thing for the future of our associates.”

Ito said Noboru Gotoh, former chairman of Tokyu Corp., developed the resort after striking up a friendship with former owner Francis Hyde I‘i Brown, whom he met at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Ito said Gotoh first saw and fell in love with the resort’s Kalahuipua‘a fishpond area when he visited Brown, who was known as “Hawaii’s Mr. Golf” in the 1960s. He later opened Mauna Lani Bay Hotel &Bungalows in February 1983 at a cost of $71 million.

Toshiyuki Hoshino, senior managing executive officer of Tokyu Corp., said the time had come for Tokyu to transfer the resort to a new owner that could take it to the next era.

“We are confident in ProspectHill Group’s ability to build on our former chairman Mr. Noboru Gotoh’s vision to transform what was once a center of Native Hawaiian community life into a world-class resort, delighting guests from around the globe,” Hoshino said.

Ito said he hopes to meet with the new owners next week to get a briefing on their plans.

“We are proud to continue to advance the tremendous vision of its founders by making further investments into this exceptional property, which is one of the most stunningly beautiful, deeply treasured destinations on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island,” Gregory Harman, partner of ProspectHill Group, said in a statement. “We take seriously our responsibility to honor the legacy of Mauna Lani and to continue to preserve and protect this special place for generations to come.”

ProspectHill’s only other Hawaii hotel is the 312-room Queen Kapiolani Hotel, which it acquired in May 2015 as part of a joint venture with Patrick Fitzgerald, a Hawaii resort executive. But Keith Vieira, principal at KV &Associates Hospitality Consulting, said ProspectHill is “very established” globally and will bring a needed cash infusion to the resort, which hasn’t seen a refreshing since 2014 and is likely “underperforming.”

“They are a quality owner and operator, and they’ll look at the maximum potential. Using a benchmark of about $200,000 of investment per room, my guess is that they’ll spend upwards of $50 million or $60 million,” Vieira said. “They’ll also have to decide if they want to keep the hotel independent or go with a branding group.”

Vieira said ProspectHill also is likely to invest in resort programming.

“There’s a large group of millennials that are into luxury travel, but they like more interactive stays and often want their kids included,” Vieira said. “I think they’ll add things like stand-up paddling and stargazing. It will be more experiential and fun.”

Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC, said ProspectHill also might consider expanding the resort’s rooms and facilities, or add a residential component since the deal comes with undeveloped lands and the resort already has carved out a niche as a golf resort.

There’s potential given that increases are happening in the Kohala Coast region even without new investment, Toy said.

In the latter part of 2016, Toy said, occupancy at Kohala Coast hotels was running in the mid-70 percent range, and the average daily rate was around $350. During the first quarter, Kohala Coast occupancy has approached 85 percent, and the average daily rate is closing in on $360, he said.

“Investment by ProspectHill will bring renewed strength to the whole Kohala Coast region, which would thrive if even more deferred maintenance was addressed,” he said.

“This could be a major step in redefining the Kohala Coast, but it all depends on the level of repositioning that the new owners have in mind,” Toy said.