PHOTO: David Carey, president and CEO, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, which has been in business since 1947 as a family-owned company, has long been a major player in Hawaii, with resorts and condominium properties on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. In the last 10 years, however, it has expanded internationally, with resorts opening or under development in Australia, Guam, Fiji, Thailand, China, Mauritius, Maldives and Vietnam. Now, it is engaged in a rebranding of those resorts with the Outrigger name being used only for premier beachfront properties. We spoke with David Carey, Outrigger’s president and CEO, about the new branding scheme and the company’s plans for global growth.

What do you think has changed with Outrigger over the years?

What’s changed is the quality of the product. When I first started, we were really targeted at the budget market. Our founder, Roy Kelly, had the vision that he would build affordable properties for people in Hawaii. In the 1980s, the Japanese bubble hit and that stepped up the game for us. So, now, our properties are in the four-star category on the beach. Before, we were really aimed at providing principally budget resorts, but now we’re a full-service resort company. Outrigger Resorts’ goal now is to be the premier beachfront resort company in the world.

In terms of the brands, you now have Outrigger Resorts, your beachfront properties, Ohana and Hawaii Vacation Condos by Outrigger?

Outrigger Resorts, our beachfront properties, will be the only one to carry the Outrigger name on the front. Ohana will probably sunset, and we’re in the process of developing a new brand for our properties located off the beach that we hope to announce in the next six months that will be “by Outrigger.” Our condo properties, which used to carry the Outrigger name on the front, are now an endorsed brand, Hawaiian Vacation Condos by Outrigger.

What is an Outrigger Resort today? What is going to be common to your resorts in Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific?

First of all they are all going to be on beach. Second, we make a real effort to connect the guest with the authentic local culture, whether it’s in Hawaii, Guam, Fiji or Mauritius or coming soon in Maldives. We try to connect with that local culture from a design standpoint and in the language used by employees, so you know you are in the place.

Where are you seeking to expand around the globe? Is there still room for growth in Hawaii or are you just going to be expanding internationally?

We would love to have more properties in Hawaii. The issue that’s going on right now is that the pricing of acquisition properties has been through the roof in Hawaii. We’ve modified our model. For a number of years we were really a management company, but now we’re trying to be an owner and operator. Our mission is to be a multigenerational family company. The idea is to buy pieces of real-estate that will gain long-term value over time and give us not only the operating capability today but also long-term appreciation over time.

When you look internationally, where else do you want to develop resorts?

Other places on our list are Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Palau, Bali and Tahiti — places that have beachfront capability. We had properties in Bali and Tahiti but we’d like to be there again. We would look at Mexico in Los Cabos and maybe southern California beachfront resorts. But the real estate markets are pretty hot there now, so as a family-run company we may have to wait.

Are you still marketing heavily with the U.S. travel agent community? Are there going to be any changes there?

I think the shift like everybody else is we’re using more interactive commerce. Whether that’s direct to travel agent, direct to consumer, B-to-B and B-to-C. We are making a much more robust effort on mobile technology, particularly when you hear the statistics that many more people are using mobile devices. People don’t always book online, but they certainly look. We’ve seen a massive growth in the number of looks where people are shopping more online. On the other hand, we have a great heritage with the travel agents. We’ve staked our reputation on making sure travel agents are well-educated about our product to make it easier for them to sell it. And we follow through to make sure their customers are well taken care of after they book an Outrigger resort. At the end of the day, if you go to an experienced travel agent who has booked a product before, you can have that human touch that you can’t get online.