Maui Business

The Maui Chamber of Commerce now is seeking nominations for the Annual Mayor’s Small Business Awards in 2020. The awards recognize outstanding businesses in the community that have 100 or fewer employees and have had a Hawaii General Excise Tax license for no fewer than two years.

Menor McNamara called the program a “win-win,” saying, “it provides people who have qualified  a little extra cash and also helps local small businesses that are struggling.”  She noted that since March, an estimated 60% of Hawai‘i’s businesses have fully or partially closed.

Since mid-March, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to an abrupt shutdown of Maui’s tourism economy, emergency food distribution sites have sprung up at more than 30 locations around the island, and on Molokaʻi and Lanai. While residents’ needs for food has ebbed and flowed based on government assistance availability, it hasn’t gone away. Far from it. Maui County’s unemployment remains the highest in Hawaiʻi – and among the highest around the country – at 20.7 percent. The emergency food giveaways continue.

Hawaiian will resume nonstop service between Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas starting tomorrow, and between HNL and Oakland, Phoenix and San Jose international airports on Nov. 1.

Mayor Michael Victorino and his administration will host a series of six community meetings in October to receive comments and suggestions from the public regarding the proposed Maui County budget for the Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

In August, total visitor days fell 96.8 percent in Maui County from a year ago. There were 2,341 visitors to Maui in August versus 273,638 visitors a year ago, according to a new report released by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Imagination Reality announced on Monday a virtual tutoring program that features tutors dressed in princess-themed costumes beginning October 5, 2020. The “Imagination Starz Program” covers all foundational and early education fundaments for preschool and kindergarten.

Maui’s Cancer patients are invited to attend a cancer support workshop from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2020  at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Kīhei.

Lahaina restaurant Fleetwood’s on Front St., which has been closed since March due to COVID-19, plans to reopen as soon as Hawaiʻi’s pre-travel testing option goes into effect, possibly as early as Oct. 15.

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Clare E. Connors joined a bipartisan coalition of 30 states and Washington, DC in filing an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The brief supports states’ authority to enforce price gouging regulations to protect consumers during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jon Benson was named general manager of Hāna-Maui Resort, a hotel which recently joined the Hyatt portfolio and anticipates an Oct. 15, 2020 reopening after suspending operations due to COVID-19.

During the months of October through December 2020 a portion of all gasoline sales at Maui ʻOhana Fuels locations will be donated to Hui No Ke Ola Pono.

Maui County hotels reported revenue per available room of $18 (-94.2%), with declines in both average daily rate to $207 (-47.2%) and occupancy of 8.6 percent (down 69.4 percentage points).

Go Maui, Inc. is focusing its efforts on housing, jobs, water, agriculture, economic opportunity and infrastructure to sustain a strong economy, better paying jobs, a vibrant housing market, better education for children, energy conservation and environmental stewardship.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has compiled a list of Native Hawaiian-owned businesses operating during COVID in the hopes of generating support for the local economy.  

Information in this article and video is provided in part by Premier Restoration Hawai’i. Molds are a common issue in homes that have the potential to cause structural damage and a variety of health problems to residents. Premier Restoration Hawai’i recommends eliminating the sources mold needs to survive in order to prevent further mold growth. […]

The Hawai‘i State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations announced on Thursday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August was 12.5 percent compared to the revised rate of 13.5 percent in July. Initial and weekly unemployment insurance claims also continue to decrease while establishments remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 15 Maui businesses, including eight restaurants, have closed their doors for good due to the lack of tourism and other economic woes caused by the coronavirus. Many more Maui businesses are teetering on the brink, as government assistance programs for small businesses dry up and the pandemic drags on. “We are literally hanging on by our fingertips,” said Josh Curi, owner of Da Babooze Bar in Wailuku.

Mayor Victorino said he supports an interisland pre-travel test, which leaders are looking at to gauge effectiveness ahead of launching a program for mainland arrivals.  

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced Monday the availability of funds to reimburse state and local government entities and certain non-profits for unemployment insurance benefits.