The Hawaii Tourism Authority has announced that AEG Facilities will take over the operations of the Hawaii Convention Center effective January 1, 2014. The convention center has been managed by SMG Hawaii since it had opened in 1998. However, the Hawaii Tourism Authority feels that SMG has under performed and not met their expectations to help fill Hawaii's hotel rooms with business travelers and conventioneers. AEG will be given a five-year contract.
President and CEO for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Mike McCartney, stated, "Filling hotel rooms will definitely be part of our expectations. We have to do better and we have to improve the performance of the building. We have a special investigatory committee looking at ideas. We've said no to a casino, but multiple ideas are being considered. We went with AEG because they have expertise in managing convention centers with a global marketing presence. Convention spaces around America have grown, but the number of conventions haven't, so we'll pivot to Asia as we look toward the future." McCartney noted that the center is bringing in less than half of its anticipated revenue and hopes that AEG would be able to turn things around. McCartney added that he would like to see the state's Meetings, Conventions and Incentive (MCI) business double in the next few years.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-4-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
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