• Green Garden closing • Room rates • High Tech • Castle Resorts Green Garden closing Green Garden restaurant on Kaumuali‘i Highway in Hanapepe is for sale and listed at $1.95 million. The restaurant is about 9,000 square feet with
• Green Garden closing
• Room rates
• High Tech
• Castle Resorts
Green Garden closing
Green Garden restaurant on Kaumuali‘i Highway in Hanapepe is for sale and listed at $1.95 million. The restaurant is about 9,000 square feet with about 1,000 square feet of kitchen space. The popular restaurant was established in 1948 by Gwen Hamabata’s parents and grandmother. But the recent death of Sue Hamabata has forced Gwen, 60, to sell. She asked that the buyer use the land to offer what is the best for Hawai‘i, such as a job training center for the homeless, or rehabilitation center for drug addicts or to care for the elderly.
Room rates
Room occupancy rates last week:
- Kaua‘i: 90.8 percent, up 1 percentage point from last year, with room rates up 6.2 percent, the largest jump of any of the counties, to more than $198 a night.
- Oahu: 90.8 percent, up 2.8 points from last year at this time, with room rates up 4.4 percent to an average of more than $139 a night. That’s roughly $20 a night more than in slower times of the year.
- ºMaui: 89.3 percent, down 1.5 points from last year, but with room rates still up 3.6 percent to more than $213 a night. ºBig Island: 87.8 percent, down three full percentage points from last year, but with room rates up 2.2 percent to more than $159 a night.
High Tech
The Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board (KEDB) and High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), will host an informative workshop on the State’s technology incentive bill Act 221, on Wednesday, August 25, from 10 a.m. – 12 noon, at Aloha Beach Resort, Piikoi Room.
The two-hour workshop and presentation will provide background information on Act 221 and recent changes to the bill which took effect, July 1, 2004. The workshop will also provide a working definition of qualified research expenses as defined by the internal revenue code and recent federal regulations. The seminar will be facilitated by noted speaker Mark Andrus, National Director of Research Tax Credit Services for Grant Thornton. The cost to attend is $15 per person for Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce members and $20 per person for non-members. Registration is required and will take place at 9:30 a.m., on August 25. To register online, go to www.kauaichamber.org or call 245-7363. Deadline to register is August 23. No refunds of cancellations will be allowed after August 23.
Castle Resorts
Castle Resorts & Hotels announced the appointment of Erica Neves to director of corporate communications for the management company’s 20 resorts and condominiums located throughout Hawai‘i, New Zealand and Micronesia. Neves will be responsible for all public relations initiatives, corporate communications and media inquiries for the corporate office. Neves was most recently regional communications manager for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii. She has worked in the travel industry for the past 14 years, and has held various positions with Sheraton and Starwood, including director of public relations for the Sheraton Princess Ka‘iulani and Sheraton Moana Surfrider hotels. Neves is a graduate of Heald College in Travel Industry Management. One of Castle’s most popular resorts include the Kiahuna Plantation and Beach Bungalows on Kaua‘i and the Waikiki Shore on O‘ahu.