Negotiations for a sale of the Kaua’i Coconut Beach Hotel ended yesterday between an unnamed suitor and the Hogan family which owns the Waipouli property. The suitor is the second in several months to fail in negotiations to purchase the
Negotiations for a sale of the Kaua’i Coconut Beach Hotel ended yesterday between an unnamed suitor and the Hogan family which owns the Waipouli property.
The suitor is the second in several months to fail in negotiations to purchase the 312-room, beachfront property.
Ron Romano, hotel general manager, confirmed yesterday that the second would-be buyer and hotel owner had set Friday as decision day, and the decision is not to proceed with further negotiations.
Last month, San Diego, Calif.-based Pacifica Host Hotels also failed to negotiate a mutually agreeable deal to buy the hotel. But the Hogan family had a potential backup buyer lined up, Romano said.
A mutually agreeable deal with the second investor could have seen owner Ed Hogan, founder and chairman of Pleasant Travel Services, sell the hotel before this year’s end. He purchased the hotel in 1986.
The second suitor was, like Pacifica Host Hotels, a mainland-based hospitality services company, Romano said.
Through the roller-coaster ride that was two potential deals dashed, the mood of the employees remained good, Romano said.
A sale of the hotel would likely mean job terminations for the 207 employees, who were kept informed through meetings and memos throughout the processes, Romano said.
“Overall, the morale’s been pretty good. Certainly, there’s that little bit of uncertainty just not knowing how a new owner is going to want to operate things,” Romano said. “And we certainly keep them informed, so they know what’s happening.” The employees understand that while they’d technically be terminated if hotel ownership changes, they also know the new owner will need qualified, trained hotel workers, so many of them would be rehired by the new entity, he added.
Many of the employees have worked at the hotel for its entire 22-year history, during which it has been a Holiday Inn, a Sheraton and an independent property.
The hotel, tennis courts and lu’au hale sit on 101/2 acres of land leased from Niu Pia Farms.
David Pratt, president of Niu Pia Farms, said no one contacted his company regarding the latest sale discussions, but that such discussions are normally between the buyer and seller alone.
Letting the landowner know about the negotiations would not be a necessity, but rather a polite formality. Pratt said he had one discussion with a representative of the seller regarding a potential sale, and asked that the seller send Niu Pia Farms a letter detailing that potential ownership change. But he never received any written notification, he said.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at [pcurtis@pulitzer.net] or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
