Looking back over the past four decades
At many vacation destinations, hotels and timeshares compete on who can sell the most room nights or achieve the highest RevPAR for the quarter. Not so on Hawai`i Island’s Kohala Coast, where representatives from nine hotels and timeshare companies along the northwestern shore work together for the common good.
The Past
The bond began in 1984 when developers of the Waikoloa, Mauna Lani, and Mauna Kea resorts formed the Kohala Coast Resort Association (KCRA), a nonprofit organization with a mission to build the overall destination by “furthering superior planned resort developments.” At the time, Hawai`i Island was establishing itself as a legitimate alternative for travelers looking to explore beyond Waikiki and Maui.
KCRA originally included Mauna Kea Properties and Mauna Kea Beach Resort; Waikoloa Beach Resort and Sheraton Royal Waikoloan; and Mauna Lani Resort and Mauna Lani Bay Hotel.
Over the past four decades it has expanded to include Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, Fairmont Orchid, Auberge Mauna Lani, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Hilton Grand Vacations, Waikoloa Land Company, Hualala`i Resort, Four Seasons Resort Hualala`i and Rosewood Kona Village.
When the sugar plantations along the Hamakua and Hilo Coasts began closing in the late 1980s, the human resources department at Hilton Waikoloa Village offered employment opportunities for the plantation staff, along with transportation to the hotel. This caught on at the other KCRA hotels and continues today.
In the 1990s, through a joint effort with Senator Daniel Inouye and then-Hawai`i County Councilman Kalani Schutte, KCRA was instrumental in obtaining approval to add a second runway at Kona Airport specifically for international flights. The first flight from Japan landed there in June 1996.
“The state wanted guarantees that the airlines would come in,” says Noelani Whittington, KCRA’s executive director at the time. “It took a lot of negotiations.”
In 2006, KCRA saw the importance of adding a fire station just north of Mauna Lani Resort, so they built and secured the bonds to finance it.
As the Kohala Coast resorts became more established, the focuses shifted.
“In the second phase, KCRA spent much of their time in marketing, sales and public relations to reach target markets collectively,” says Stephanie Donoho, KCRA’s current administrative director. “For the last 10 years, the focus has shifted to crafting government legislation and community relations.”
The Present
Today, KCRA collectively represents nearly 5,500 resort employees, 2,718 hotel rooms, 1,229 timeshares, 778 resort residential units and legal short-term vacation rentals along the Kohala Coast.
“It’s my job to make sure we’re all connected,” Donoho explains. “KCRA has worked to build bridges between the tourism industry and the larger community. We start initiatives and use our connections to deliver them.”
KCRA’s current priorities involve security, safety, healthcare, childcare and affordable housing for resort employees and the community, as well as crafting legislation and addressing airport needs.
“We focus on legislation that supports our staffs and our businesses,” says Pat Fitzgerald, who represents Hualala`i and Mauna Lani Resorts and has served on KCRA’s board for more than two decades. “As an example, one of our challenges is retaining staff because of the cost of housing, so we consistently support efforts to add and create more affordable housing on Hawai`i Island. We are also focused on airlift to the Big Island, so improvements to the airports and legislation that encourages airlift are important priorities.”
The organization often operates under the radar, but their contributions are significant. Members have invested billions of dollars in private funding to develop and maintain the roadways, water supply, wastewater treatment, parks, restrooms, shopping centers, historic sites, interpretive signage and community facilities used by residents and visitors alike.
KCRA actively participates in the Hawai`i Island Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) and has led efforts on Hawaiian cultural education programming for visitors; promotion of local agricultural products through their restaurants and retail outlets; as well as stewardship and maintenance of the natural resources along the coastlines where the resorts are located.
“Our board members look at challenges and ask, ‘How do we solve them?’ They have a very broad-based mission,” Donoho says.
For example, when wildfires affected portions of North Kohala recently, KCRA worked with community partners on all levels.
“Mauna Kea Resort bore the brunt of direct challenges from the fire in August 2023,” Donoho says. “They worked with KCRA to determine room availability across the coast and coordinated with Hawai`i Fire Department, Civil Defense and our security directors through the Hawai`i Island Safety and Security Professionals Association (HISSPA). And Mauna Kea Resort security personnel helped the Hawai`i Fire Department and Hawai`i Police Department evacuate residences within the resort.”
After the fires, KCRA was involved in numerous community initiatives to be better prepared for future disasters, and members contributed more than $450,000 to the Daniel R. Sayre Foundation toward the purchase of a new helicopter.
Another example was the organization’s response when federal unemployment benefits expired in spring 2020 during the COVID epidemic.
“We garnered a $900,000 CARES Act grant from the County of Hawai`i to continue food assistance programs for our 5,000 employees and their 20,000 family members,” Donoho explains.
More generally, the hotels and resorts are active participants in food programs across the island including those with Hawaii Food Bank, the community meal program at St. James Episcopal Church in Waimea and with numerous nonprofit organizations working on agricultural sustainability for Hawai`i Island.
KCRA also maintains 20 miles of coastline along the Kohala Coast, including providing lifeguards at public beaches, who protect the health and safety of both the local residents and visitors.
“Of all the organizations that I have the pleasure to serve, KCRA is the most impactful,” says Craig Anderson, VP of Operations at Mauna Kea Resort and KCRA’s current president. “We are basically a group of rivals who come together in the spirit of laulima (cooperation) to support the needs of our island’s communities.”