HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As state and county officials prepare to gradually reopen tourism to West Maui on Oct. 8, some say tourists are already coming to Kaanapali. .
Displaced Lahaina residents staying at the Hyatt Regency did not want to appear on camera for fear of retaliation. Still, they told HNN they were nervous to see the new arrivals at the Hyatt Vacation Club next door.
A Hyatt spokesperson said the people seen by Lahaina residents were timeshare owners who had previously made reservations.
In the quote he says:
We highly respect the Governor of Hawaii’s proclamation strongly discouraging non-essential travel to West Maui until October 8th. All revenue-generating reservations at the Hyatt Vacation Club on Kaanapali Beach have been canceled through his October. At this time, Hyatt Vacation Club owners who have a property title deed (paying property taxes) and an existing reservation are allowed to stay on the property.
“Yes, they own property. They pay property taxes,” said Saeed Sarmad of Advantage Vacations, who has been in the Maui timeshare business for more than 45 years. He estimates that more than half of Kaanapali’s accommodations are timeshares, and most of the owners are from the mainland United States.
“They don’t have the wealth here to stay here long. They’re vacationers.”
HNN reached out to the governor’s office for comment and received this statement from DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka.
This is the first time we’re hearing from visitors staying in West Maui since the governor issued his seventh wildfire declaration. The partner hotels I am in regular contact with are not accepting guests other than shelter survivors and government employees. We would like to thank our partners for respecting the survivors and following the Governor’s strong directive to refrain from non-essential travel to West Maui until October 8th.
A Hyatt spokesperson said staff are very sensitive to concerns raised by survivors of the Lahaina Fire and are restricting access to the pool at this time out of concern for evacuees staying nearby. Changes have been made, including temporarily suspending on-site food and beverage services. It also said only a small portion of the timeshare villas were occupied and owners were reminded to be respectful.
It comes as tensions continue to rise as opening day on October 8 approaches, with more than 7,000 people signing a petition. online I urge you to delay.
On Tuesday, the governor stood by his plan.
“This begins the process of recovery for Lahaina and its people. It’s a very difficult decision. At that point, we expect only a fraction of the normal travelers to come. It’s just the beginning. We’re going to survive. We will not evacuate people or their families to accommodate tourists. We will make every effort to take care of our employees no matter what,” Green said.
The incident comes as thousands of people in Maui County continue to file for unemployment benefits each week, two months after the fire.
Like it or not, you won’t be the only timeshare owner staying on Kaanapali Beach next month.
Read Hyatt Vacation Club’s full statement below:
Hyatt Vacation Club is comprised of several points-based and weekly-based ownership programs. Under normal operating conditions, non-owner guests have the opportunity to experience our services through rentals. However, all revenue-generating reservations at the Hyatt Vacation Club at Kaanapali Beach have been canceled through October. Properties at Hyatt Vacation Club at Kaanapali Beach are currently reserved by timeshare owners.
We highly respect the Governor of Hawaii’s proclamation strongly against non-essential travel to West Maui until October 8th. All revenue-generating reservations at the Hyatt Vacation Club on Kaanapali Beach have been canceled through his October.
Hyatt Vacation Club owners have property title deeds (pay property taxes) and existing reservations and are permitted to stay on-site at this time.
We communicated the Governor’s proclamation to Hyatt Vacation Club owners, provided them with information about the limited levels of service and amenities available on and off-property during their stay, and provided them with the opportunity and choice to cancel or rebook. The number of owners living on our premises is very limited, and at the moment he has only 10 of the 131 villas occupied. We also encourage owners returning to their residential units to do so in a respectful manner. We are very sensitive to concerns raised by those affected and have made changes including restricting access to all pools and dining facilities on site at this time.
We understand that our community has suffered a great loss and this is an extremely difficult emotional time for the people of West Maui. We are sensitive to the needs of our severely impacted employees and are committed to extending care to our communities while caring for our property owners. Hyatt Vacation Club at Kaanapali Beach is not owned or operated by Hyatt.
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