Maui Business

The 2024 award cohort included seven businesses of Maui County that excelled in sustainable business practices.

Castle Hospitality Group has promoted Ashley Asuega-Stark from assistant general manager to general manager of Chase ‘N Rainbows, the company’s West Maui Vacation Rental Division.

Prolific herds of hungry Axis deer continue to wreak havoc in Maui County, damaging farm crops, overgrazing livestock pasture lands, threatening fragile watersheds and even encroaching in heavily urbanized areas like Kahului Airport’s runways and baggage claim areas. Without natural predators in the islands, the deer have flourished unchecked. Now, in part due to an initiative funded by Maui County, some deer are falling prey to hungry humans.

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Kā‘anapali has expanded its commitment to wellness with a new partnership with Aloha Fitness Maui.

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union has released its financial education webinar series schedule from July to September 2024.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s Meet Hawai‘i has launched a refreshed website experience to support its efforts in attracting meetings, conventions, and business groups to the Hawaiian Islands.

To gain a deeper understanding of how local companies utilize digital and broadband technology for their business operations, the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Hawai‘i Broadband and Digital Equity Office recently published its Hawai‘i digital economy survey involving more than 1,000 businesses.

Qualified nonprofit and for-profit organizations in Maui County are invited to apply to administer the County of Maui Agricultural Micro Grants Program for the Fiscal Year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The deadline to apply to administer the program is July 26, 2024.

In May 2024, Maui County continued to have the largest supply of available vacation rental (TVR) units in the state, but occupancy rates for them were below half, at 49.5%, according to a report by the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawaiʻi (DBEDT).

The Hawaiian Coffee Labeling Act 211, which was enacted in July 2023, requires all coffee products carrying a Hawai‘i geographical reference to include the disclosure of the location where the coffee was grown in the state, and also indicate the percentage by weight of locally grown coffee and coffee grown elsewhere. The law also specifies that coffee products claiming to be 100% Hawaiian in the labeling and advertising must be grown and processed in Hawai‘i. 

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa will host its next Kōkua for Maui event on Friday, July 5, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the resort. The event is a place where Maui residents and visitors can shop and show their aloha for local artisans and Lahaina small businesses who were impacted by the August 2023 wildfires.

A two-day Financial Literacy for Teens workshop, which covers basic money management skills, will be held in-person Monday, July 1, and Tuesday, July 2, at Maui Economic Opportunity in Wailuku.

Hawaiʻi State Federal Credit Union has announced five management team promotions, including Ellen Liddle, Genesis Nicklaw, and Ashley Noji to senior vice president, and Reid Hinaga and Jason Martinson to division manager.

Maui County hotels continued to be impacted by the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, but still led the counties in May 2024 revenue per available room (RevPAR) due to comparatively higher average daily rate (ADR).  Maui County hotels achieved RevPAR of $302 (-10.9% vs. 2023, +14.6% vs. 2019), with ADR at $517 (-4.2% vs. 2023, +49.8% vs. 2019) and occupancy of 58.3% (-4.4 percentage points vs. 2023, -17.9 percentage points vs. 2019). 

The Construction Industry of Maui (CIM) awarded three Maui high school students each a $25,000 scholarship—the Bob Poulson scholarship—to encourage education towards a career in the construction industry. This year’s scholarship recipients are Maui high school seniors, Carla Mae Agrade of Lahaina, John Kaahui of Haʻikū and Emi Sado of Kahului. “I am immensely proud to award this year’s scholarships to such […]

Tajima Ramen, a Japanese cuisine restaurant in San Diego and Tijuana, announced the grand opening of its first location in Hawaiʻi on the island of Maui. The new restaurant, located in the Kukui Mall opened its doors to the public on June 10. Restaurant owner, Sam Morikizono and his talented staff, have built a reputation for delivering high-quality handmade dishes, with a commitment to the purity of taste and style.

Hawaiʻi on the Hill, a partnership between Sen. Hirono and the Chamber of Commerce (CoC) Hawaiʻi, was a four-day event that provided members of the Hawaiʻi business community with the opportunity to meet directly with Congressional leaders and Administration officials, while also showcasing Hawaiʻi businesses and products to Members of Congress, their staff, and the D.C. community. This year, dozens of individuals from across the islands, representing nearly 60 Hawaiʻi businesses and nonprofits from the state, were in attendance.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. marked a milestone as it formally recognized the grand opening of Maui Bay Villas, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club, located on 27 acres in South Maui.

Maui County residents, nonprofits, internet service providers and others are encouraged to help update information about locations that have unserved or underserved internet connectivity in an effort to bolster high-speed internet across the state.

Without resuscitation, the future is bleak for Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, with the aging, once premier Central Maui shopping destination caught in a downward spiral — store closings lead to less foot traffic, which beget more loss of business, and so on.