Outrigger Launches New Hotel Brand; 15 Existing Outrigger Properties Will be Relabeled to Form the New OHANA Hotels Brand

Fifteen of Outrigger's existing moderately priced hotels in Waikiki will launch the OHANA brand, effective December 19, 1999. Reservations will be accepted beginning August 1, 1999. Representing nearly 5,000 rooms, the new OHANA HOTELS will be Waikiki's largest hotel operator from its inception.

With the launch of the new brand, the company will now have two avenues for growth in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.

According to Outrigger's chief operating officer Perry Sorenson, the development of the new OHANA HOTELS brand will provided better clarity for the traveling public and the travel professional community.

"Over the past ten years, Outrigger's product has diversified greatly, " Sorenson said. "We've added full service resorts on the neighbor islands and have entered the condominium market. Outrigger has also been aggressively expanding into new geographic areas, with first-class properties now open or under development throughout the Pacific.

"It was getting difficult for our customers to understand just what an Outrigger was," Sorenson added. "With the creation of the OHANA brand, our customers now have a clearer idea of what each hotel group represents."

Sorenson added that the Outrigger brand will become more focused on upscale, beachfront hotels and resorts throughout Hawaii and the Pacific, while the OHANA HOTELS brand will initially concentrate on moderate-priced hotels in Hawaii. "The beauty of having two viable brands is our ability to grow our company along two paths," he said.

The name OHANA HOTELS was inspired by 'ohana, the Hawaiian word for family, and is meant to evoke the sense of family to be shared among guests and employees. Each hotel will be represented in printed materials as "A Member of the Outrigger Family of Island Hotels."

"OHANA HOTELS will be true to the ideals of our founders, Roy and Estelle Kelley, by providing clean and comfortable rooms, friendly service and reasonable prices," Sorenson said. "We understand that many travelers to our islands are looking for reliable and affordable hotel rooms with service that meets their expectations and hospitality that makes them feel welcome. That's our promise as a brand."

A key selling point of OHANA HOTELS will be its simplified rate structure. "Many travelers today are confused by complex and cumbersome travel pricing," Sorenson said. For year 2000, OHANA HOTELS will have rack rates starting from three basic prices: $109, $129 and $139. And during the spring and fall of next year, an OHANA SimpleSaver rate of just $99 will be valid at all 15 hotels.

Sorenson added that OHANA will incorporate elements of the Hawaiian culture into its style of hospitality. "Both of our hotel brands -- Outrigger and OHANA -- will continue to celebrate the host culture where we do business. We believe that this is part of what makes a visit to our islands so special for our visitors."

The 15 Outrigger hotels that will undergo name changes on December 18, 1999, are:

Outrigger Reef Lanais Waikiki Reef Lanai

Outrigger West Waikiki West

Outrigger Village Waikiki Village

Outrigger Waikiki Tower Waikiki Tower

Outrigger Reef Towers Waikiki Reef Towers

Outrigger Mali Waikiki Malia

Outrigger Surf Ohana Surf

Outrigger Ala Wai Ala Moana Towers

Outrigger Maile Sky Court Maile Sky Court

Outrigger Hobron Waikiki Hobron

Outrigger Royal Islander Waikiki Royal Islander

Outrigger Edgewater Waikiki Edgewater

Outrigger Coral Seas Waikiki Coral Seas

Outrigger Waikiki Surf Waikiki Surf

Outrigger Waikiki Surf East Waikiki Surf East

Sorenson said that the Outrigger name will continue to identify the company's 30 upscale, full-service resort hotels and condominiums currently open or under development in Hawaii, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Australia, Fiji, Guam and Palau.

Outrigger will continue to operate as one company with centralized executive, purchasing, financial, administrative, marketing and human resources management.

Reservations for OHANA HOTELS can be made by calling toll-free in the United States and Canada 1-800/733-7777 after August 1, 1999. Information about the hotels will also be available after August 1 on the World Wide Web at .