Hawaii has had a rough year. In January, Hawaiians woke up to an alarm telling them to seek shelter from an incoming ballistic missile, which proved to be false. In May, the most popular tourist attraction on the Big Island, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, closed due to earthquakes and explosions at the summit of Kilauea Volcano. The eruption caused an eight-mile-long river of lava to flow into the sea, destroying roughly 700 homes and blocking roads in its path.
In a project aimed at turning lemons into lemonade, Governor David Ige and Hawaii tourism officials are reportedly looking into building a temporary viewing platform that would provide tourists with a place to watch the spectacle in the area, which is currently off-limits for safety reasons.
This month, Hawaii faced another potentially disastrous event when Hurricane Lane barreled down on the state. In anticipation of storm damage, cancellations started to roll in to hotels and event venues across the islands. Many lodging chains, including Castle Resorts and Hotels, waived cancellation fees and instead took in evacuees from at-risk parts of the islands.
Amazing Comic Con Aloha! was due to take place August 24 to 26 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, Oahu. The event canceled for safety reasons a few days before the hurricane, which was ultimately downgraded to a named tropical storm, in anticipation of canceled flights and services. Amazing Comic Con Aloha!, with an expected attendance of 30,000 fans, was the largest event canceled because of Lane. Fortunately, the convention center, which has more than a million square feet of meetings and events space, was only closed for the weekend and reopened for conferences this week. It will host the Okinawan Festival this weekend with an expected attendance of 40,000 people.
Despite the record rains and flash floods in outlying islands, the same is true for other venues across the state. A statement from George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, reassured potential visitors: “All of Hawaii’s airports, hotels and resorts throughout the state, and the Hawaii Convention Center, are open and life in the islands is returning to normal. Those scheduled to have meetings, conventions or incentive programs in the Hawaiian Islands can continue their planning with confidence.”
The Ala Moana Hotel by Mantra, one of the closest hotels to the conference center, may have lost a few bookings because of Amazing Comic Con Aloha!’s cancellation, but it was still full during the tropical storm. Hotel Manager Matthew McGuigan said, “We lost some business, but we welcomed folks who were evacuated from both sides of the island and other people who extended their stay because of travel uncertainty.” In fact, according to McGuigan, the hotel was anything but quiet during the storm. “We added service! My team can build experiences even in the face of a category five hurricane.” The hotel’s 1,175 units were close to 100 percent booked the night before the storm hit. McGuigan says, “We had 1,200 guests with nothing to do, so we dedicated a room to movie nights for families and other guests unable to go to the pool or beach.”
Fortuitously, a hula hālau (a group of traditional Hawaiian dancers) happened to be staying at the hotel ready for an event in Honolulu. The event ultimately went ahead, but the dress rehearsal was canceled due to the storm. When McGuigan found out, he and his events manager approached the dancers to see if they would be willing to hold the dress rehearsal in front of hotel guests. McGuigan says, “We turned over one of our ballrooms to them, gave them a stage, and invited all of our guests to witness the show. There were 40 dancers performing the ancient art of hula dancing and storytelling. After we made the announcement it was great to see people rushing out of the elevators to go to the performance.”
The storm has not deterred Amazing Comic Con Aloha! from returning. Founder Jimmy Jay said in a statement, “Hawaii has been great to us and we can't wait to come back in February 2019 with some of our original guests and all new talent to share their Aloha spirit with the people of Hawaii."
Hawaiian hospitality professionals prepare for hurricane season every year, although most years they are not called upon to use their training. McGuigan says, “I’m not excited for the next hurricane, but I’m extremely proud of my team and I know I can count on them.” His advice for coping with natural disasters? “Hula! What else?”
