Michael and Merle Ross, first-time visitors from Canada celebrating their fifth anniversary, were in the middle of a tour when they got a text telling them to shelter in place because the Honolulu Police Department was dealing with a barricaded suspect at the Aston Waikiki Sunset, where they were staying.
The incident was ongoing when the couple returned to their hotel, and they were among the more than 250 people who were evacuated from the scene Jan. 30 by the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit that helps visitors in crisis. The Rosses and other visitors were taken to one of VASH’s partners, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, and offered temporary shelter in a ballroom along with electronic chargers, blankets, pillows, food and drink.
It was about 12 hours before police took into custody the man who had barricaded himself in a hotel room and had allegedly confronted an employee with what appeared to be a knife. The case ended without injuries, and visitors like the Rosses were provided transportation back to their hotel in the wee morning hours.
Since returning home, Michael Ross said he has shared the story of “a SWAT team showing up at my hotel in Hawaii” with just about everybody since “it is in the news and we were there.”
Luckily for the Rosses and the reputation of Hawaii’s visitor industry, their story ended happily.
“It’s a testament to (VASH and their partners) because it has the most happy ending you could get,” Michael Ross said. HPD “got the poor fellow out of there, and he didn’t do any harm to himself or others. I’m here on the trip of a lifetime in Hawaii, and I get a minor inconvenience. A lot of people will never, ever get to go to Hawaii. So in those situations I’m going to count my blessings and thank God for taking care of me and everybody else.”
Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii President and CEO Jessica Lani Rich is proud to hear positive feedback from the Rosses and other visitors. But as she heads into her 20th year at the organization, she worries that there are fewer dollars and more emergencies than ever.
In 2023, Rich said, VASH handled 543 cases and 1,416 visitors, and early into 2024 the number of incidents is higher.
“VASH started out the 2024 year assisting 392 visitors during the month of January,” Rich said. “This is more than double what our monthly statistic is, which averages anywhere from 120 to 150 visitors per month.”
Cases have ranged from mass shooter and barricade situations in Waikiki to crimes against visitors, water safety issues and other accidents, missing-person cases and health incidents, including deaths.
Since VASH receives most of its money from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Rich has requested to address the HTA board at an upcoming meeting to discuss investment in safety and security needs, especially emergency preparedness.
VASH’s 2023 budget of $285,000 was about 22% lower than its 2022 budget and is not keeping up with inflation. VASH’s 2023 budget had about the same buying power as $236,126 in 2018, when its budget was $356,000.
In addition to recent Waikiki barricade situations, VASH also responded to an active shooter case at the Ohia Waikiki Studio Suites on Dec. 8, 2022, where an armed male was shooting out of his room. In that case, VASH also evacuated guests and took them to the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
In both cases, Rich said, Hilton came through, which was critical given that her budget does not provide for mass emergencies like active shooters, barricades or the deadly Lahaina fire, which caused the evacuation of Maui visitors to Oahu, where VASH was deployed to the Hawai‘i Convention Center to care for them.
“It’s not if something is going to happen; it’s when something is going to happen,” Rich said. “We need to be prepared, and our budget is very low for a nonprofit managing the island of Oahu, especially when visitor numbers are increasing.”
Jerry Dolak, Hilton Hawaiian Village director of safety and security, said it’s important to support VASH.
“Not every hotel is going to respond in the same way to an incident,” Dolak said. “Having (the) consistency taken care of (by VASH) is important for everybody. What one hotel does can ruin the reputation for all of us.”
Debi Bishop, a managing director for Hilton Hotels who oversees the Hilton Hawaiian Village and some other Hilton Hawaii hotels, said there is nothing more important than taking care of guests.
“When guests stay with us, they are our responsibility,” Bishop said. “It’s our kuleana to take care of them and always do the right thing in any way that we possibly can. That’s for the people and also for the future of our industry.”
When it was noted that Hilton opened its ballroom to shelter guests from other hotels, Bishop said “They are still our guests. They are still visitors to our island.”
RECENT VASH CASES
2024
>> More than 250 were evacuated from the Aston Waikiki Sunset after the Honolulu Police Department responded to a report of a man barricading himself in his room and threatening a hotel staff member.
2023
>> A Maryland visitor suffered a medical emergency and died after falling 40 feet while hiking Lanikai’s Pillbox Trail.
>> A California visitor drowned at Electric Beach while on honeymoon. The couple’s rental car and belongings were stolen.
>> A Utah visitor went missing while snorkeling. The Coast Guard searched several days and was unable to find him.
>> A California visitor, who was hiking and went missing, survived a 1,000-foot fall on the Koolau Summit Trail.
2022
>> An armed man shooting out of his room at the Ohia Waikiki Studio Suites triggered the evacuation of 100 people.
>> Two male teenagners from California, ages 14 and 17, were assaulted in Waikiki and had their belongings stolen.
>> A visitor from South Korea was robbed at gunpoint at Waikele Premium Outlets and sustained an injury to his face.
>> A New Jersey visitor died after falling 250 feet at Olomana Trail.
>> A California visitor was shot in the face with an Airsoft gun while sitting by a Waikiki hotel pool.
>> A mother from California and her 10-year-old daughter were punched in the face in Waikiki and their hair was pulled by a homeless woman.
>> A visitor fell several hundred feet while ziplining on Kauai on her 80th birthday.
>> A California visitor needed to extend his stay after being diagnosed with monkeypox.
>> A husband and wife from Virginia died as a result of a head-on crash caused by another vehicle.
>> A 17-year-old Texas visitor died in a motorized aircraft crash at Kaena Point.
Source: Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii
