Hawaii hotels upgrade for APEC

Last November’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders meeting brought 20,000 delegates from 21 countries to the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Numerous hotels in the host city of Honolulu renovated and restructured as part of $137 million in tourism and transportation infrastructure updates that were made to prepare for the conference.

Hawaii’s largest hotel, the 2,860-room Hilton Hawaiian Village, spent $45 million to restore its guest rooms and common areas in the Rainbow Tower. The tower’s 800 guest rooms were transformed with new furnishings, carpet, bathrooms, fixtures and artwork. The corridors and elevators also received updates. The hotel has 150,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 27,000-sq.-ft. Coral Ballroom, where former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivered a video message at an APEC luncheon.

The host hotel for the APEC CEO Summit, the 1,637-room Sheraton Waikiki, underwent a $200 million makeover. The majority of the renovations were on the hotel’s 45,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 26,000-sq.-ft. Hawaii Ballroom, which received a $5 million update. A $13 million renovation at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa included two new restaurants, one of which went through 11 menu changes to ensure it would appeal to all 21 APEC cultures. The exterior of the 1,229-room property includes a new poolside bar, upgraded pool deck and oceanfront lounge.

Many delegates kicked off the weeklong meeting with an APEC CEO welcome reception at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. To prepare for the conference, it spent $70 million updating restaurants, common areas and all of the resort’s 529 rooms.