Notes from the Road: Maui

The Valley Isle wants your meeting

Dispel those fears. Ditch the hesitation. Maui is open for business and has never needed you more. The after-effects of the devastating fires of last summer continue to affect the island’s residents and businesses in many ways, and the destroyed town of Lahaina will remain off limits to visitors for quite a while. But the rebuilding has begun, and the rest of the Valley Isle is up and running and eager for our business.

With 70% of the island’s economy based on tourism, it’s obvious the best way to help Maui is to book some groups. Know that they will be making a positive impact on the recovery, and that the island’s welcoming spirit is stronger than ever. Over the course of several days recently, I saw all this for myself as a guest on Maui of the Marriott International’s Convention & Resort Network (CRN).

Stay

I toured The Westin Maui Resort & Spa on the beautiful sandy beach in Ka’anapali, which just completed a $160 million renovation of its luxury tower, Hokupa’a, with its 770 extra-spacious guest rooms. The property looks amazing. Two elegant ballrooms, meeting rooms and a bounty of outdoor venues with a stunning oceanfront backdrop combine for 56,340 sq. ft. of total event space. Other indulgences include The Heavenly Spa By Westin and Ulu Kitchen by Merriman, which prides itself of sourcing from Hawaiian farms and ranches and whose operation is guided by a true legend of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, Peter Merriman.

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Also on Ka’anapali Beach, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa curves like a beckoning hand on 23 acres of tropical paradise. It’s been rated the top hotel for event services under the Marriott umbrella regardless of brand, as well as Best Hotel in Hawai’i in USA Today’s 10 Best 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards. The approaching sunset and torch lighting is still a special time, signaling the nightly ritual of lele, or cliff diving. It honors Maui’s last ruling chief, Kahekili, who loved to plunge into the ocean from high atop nearby Black Rock.

Sheraton Maui offers 14 event rooms totaling 42,307 sq. ft.

North of Ka’anapali, The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua is Hawaiian luxury epitomized, with lots of meeting space—20 indoor and outdoor possibilities totaling 289,440 sq. ft. A Conference Concierge is assigned to your group to make the stay seamless, from a beachside lu’au to a tony gathering in the Aloha Pavilion, the island’s only permanent outdoor event facility.

Also on Maui’s western coast yet a world apart from the fire-stricken area, Wailea Beach Resort-Marriott, Maui hugs the shoreline closer than any resort on the island—and these waters are some of the best for swimming and snorkeling. If the kids are along, though, it will be hard to lure them away from Nalu Adventure Pools and Hawai’i’s longest waterslide.

The resort’s new Sundeck Collection adds luxury with 150-square-foot private lanais. The 547 guest rooms are matched by 102,000 sq. ft. of indoor-outdoor meeting space.

Experience

I sat in on a Marriott CRN panel discussion about the recovering Maui hospitality industry. Lorraine Mahoney, global account manager for Marriott, made a great point about the necessity of honesty and transparency on both sides of the negotiating table. She and others on the panel emphasized that they are working to make it easier for smaller groups to book by simplifying contracts.

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Peri Oshiyama-Flora, director of sales for Hawai’I and French Polynesia for Marriott, stressed the importance and value of connecting groups to Hawai’l and its people, who have such a unique culture and history. She also talked about corporate social responsibility opportunities. Maui can use a lot of extra hands right now, and there are many wonderful options to really make a difference.

The bottom line is that Maui will only thank you for planning your next event on this still-beautiful island.