Pacific Beach Hotel Employee Yuriko Dunn Named Outstanding Lodging Employee Of The Year
A First for Hawaii at the American Hotel and Lodging Association/Visa's Stars of the Industry Awards
Honolulu -- Yuriko Dunn, rooms coordinator at Pacific Beach Hotel, received the Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year Award for large property category during the American Hotel and Lodging Association/Visa's Stars of the Industry presentation held in Philadelphia today. This is the first time any hotel or lodging industry employee from Hawaii has won this national-honor. Pacific Beach Hotel is operated by the HTH Corporation.
Dunn, a 13-year veteran of Pacific Beach Hotel, played a vital role for the hotel after the September 11th attacks. She organized and helped staff a communications center where guests were assisted in obtaining the latest information about the resumption of airline service and other important news. Dunn, who also speaks Japanese, helped ease the tension among Asian guests by arranging translations. The communications center became a place for guests to gather. There they found a compassionate listener in Dunn, who was always ready to help. In the case of guests who began experiencing some financial difficulties after up to seven days of waiting for flights, Dunn arranged for them to use hotel vouchers for meals.
Known for her willingness to donate her time to charity, Dunn is always a fixture at the hotel's fund-raising efforts. She was the first employee to volunteer to help other HTH employees when Pacific Beach Hotel opened its 'Ohana General Store. The store is a unique way for HTH hotel employees to obtain everyday items such as rice, soap, paper products and even baby diapers to
help compensate for hours of work lost during the tourism slowdown following the September 11th attacks.
"Yuriko is a wonderful role model, who has great respect for her co-workers, our guests and vendors," said Corine Hayashi, president and CEO of HTH Corporation. "She is a humble person, who exemplifies the aloha spirit without any expectation of recognition or reward. We are so proud of her."
During her career at Pacific Beach Hotel, Dunn developed the children's summer program and initiated the Pacific Beach Club, the hotel's highly successful loyalty and retention program.
Born in Japan while her father worked as a civilian for the U.S. Army, Dunn lived in Hawaii and Japan throughout her young life. After graduating from Zama American High School in Japan, she moved to Hawaii and attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She graduated from Cannon's Business College in 1985 with a major in accounting.
HTH Corporation was founded in 1975 to consolidate the diverse Hawaii-based corporations and business enterprises owned by H.T. Hayashi. Part of the Hawaiian hospitality tradition since 1964, the HTH hotel collection includes the 837-room Pacific Beach Hotel, 360-room Pagoda Hotel, and 460-room King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. HTH Corporation's Web site is