“They say that Maui…”
I have always loved the words to that song. Personally it’s hard for me to say which island is the best, for they each have their own intrinsic beauty. I love the wide open spaces on the Big Island, the variety of Oahu, the mystery of Molokai, the fun of Maui, and I have often said, “I could spend the rest of my life as a rock if you planted me in Hanalei Bay on Kauai.”
I continue to see evidence of success is on Maui; but not for everyone. Here are some examples:

Full flight to West Maui
I snapped this photo on my Island Air flight to West Maui.

93% Booked
I asked the rental car shuttle bus driver about business. He said, “Were real busy; 28 of 30 cars are going out every day.”

Check In Line
Generally I hate lines, but I was pleased to see them lining up to check in at the high end Westin Maui hotel. In case you do not know how high, I got a special Kamaaina rate; $255 plus “resort fees.” I asked the front desk clerk how many rooms there are in the hotel and what visitors are paying. He said, “780 rooms at about $400 a night, some much higher.” I did some quick arithmatic, at 80% that’s about $250,000 bucks a night. The  evidence that people are spending money is pretty clear.

Lahaina Town
I checked in, caught up on my e-mail and headed into Lahaina Town at about 4 PM. That’s a pretty dead time as a lot of people are in their rooms resting up or dressing up for a night on the town. In spite of that, I saw plenty of “evidence” of people on the sidewalks.

Red Lights
I also looked into the stores and galleries, and as always it was feast or famine. In Retail Selling Made Easy I talk about “Red Light - Green Light” referring to the physical positioning of salespeople, and whether they are attracting customers or not. Unfortunately I saw more red lights than I to see:

For some, working to attract business was just too much!

 

Green Lights
In those cases where people were staying busy the green lights were drawing people into their businesses. People stop outside to decide if to go inside. What they see in there makes the decision. To be busy; get busy!

Almost Dinner Time
It was now getting close to dinner time so I peeked into a few Lahaina bars to see how they were doing. I was pleased to see a lot of people having a good time eating and drinking before dinner.

There was a waiting line already at Bubba Gumps on Front Street.

Show Time
I decided to head back to Kaanapali before dark to see how things looked at Whalers Village. As I was passing by Lahaina Cannery Mall I saw a lot of people gathering across the street, so I parked to check it out.

Old Lahaina Luau
People were lining up in large numbers to see the Old Lahaina Luau. I asked someone at the reservation desk how many people they have tonight, and she said, “280 so far, but there will be more walk-ins.” I aked the price and she said, “$93 per person.” Again I did the arithmatic; $26,040!

Hyatt Luau
On my way to Whalers Village I dropped by the Maui Hyatt Regency to see if they have a luau happening as well. They did; 480 people at $99 each. Added up that’s another $47,520! Are you keeping track? Are you feeling good about the opportunity yet? If not, there’s more.

Leilani’s on the Beach
As I arrived at Whalers Village I peered into Leilani’s on the Beach and saw a packed house having dinner. I looked across the sidewalk at Hula Grill and saw another packed house.

The Sunset
I looked around the other way and saw more people snapping memerable photos of the West Maui Sunset.

And as I headed into Whalers Village I was confronted by even more people on their way to the restaurants.
I really hope that these photos and stories will serve to boost your confidence in our Hawaiian opportunity. No doubt that there are still some people on the mainland who are depressed over this so called poor economy, but I must say they are not the ones making the trip to Maui. The people traveling to Hawaii are not the affected by high airfares and or gas prices. Those people are staying home. We are blessed to have a clientelle that is still coming to Hawaii and spending a lot of money to have a good time. Do NOT let anyone bring you down by talking about what is NOT here. Stay focused on what IS here. Help these visitors enjoy their vacation and they will reward you with their business.
Remember this Proverb:
“When the wind doesn’t blow; row!”
I hope you like my positive spin on things; it’s for you.
Happy New Year. Let’s make 2012 the best ever!!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 10:51 am and is filed under Customer Experiences, Retail Selling, Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.