OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber Receives Prestigious ENERGY STAR Designation

• 

Whether you are running a grocery store, a school, or an office building, getting the most out of your energy dollars - while reducing your carbon footprint - just make sense

Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii (Vocus) May 6, 2009

General manager Dean Nakasone announced today that the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber has received an ENERGY STAR designation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ENERGY STAR is the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection, and is awarded to qualified commercial and industrial buildings that rate in the top 25 percent of facilities in the nation for energy efficiency.

"In the rebuild of the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber, energy efficiency was a core component; today we continue to strive towards reducing our carbon footprint in every way possible," said Nakasone. "The ENERGY STAR achievement is great recognition of our commitment to environmental stewardship for Hawaii and beyond."

OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber's ENERGY STAR certification was based on several environmental protection efforts, including replacing the buildings original chillers with variable frequency drive chillers, installing a guestroom air conditioning energy management system (InnCom) and tinted lanai doors as well as replacing all of the hotel's T-12 light bulbs with energy-efficient T-8 bulbs and electronic ballasts. Additionally, OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber installed motion sensors to shut off back-of-house lighting and replaced the hotel's electrical motor to premium efficient motors.

Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 40 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

"Whether you are running a grocery store, a school, or an office building, getting the most out of your energy dollars - while reducing your carbon footprint - just make sense," said EPA Administrator, Stephen L Johnson.

EPA's national energy performance rating system provide a 1 - 100 scale that helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a rating of 75 or higher is eligible for the ENERGY STAR.

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 50 different kinds of products, new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. For more information about ENERGY STAR visit http://www.energystar.gov.

For reservations or additional information on the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber, call OHANA Hotels & Resorts toll-free at 1-800-462-6262 or visit http://www.OhanaHotels.com. E-mail reservations are also available at reservations (at) ohanahotels (dot) com.

Note to media: Style usage for OHANA® Hotels & Resorts is that OHANA is printed in all capitals. We appreciate your assistance in following this guideline when writing about any OHANA hotels (e.g. OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber.)

About OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber
OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber, is an all-new, island contemporary hotel that is being rediscovered by visitors to Waikiki following a recent and extensive $21 million renovation. The property offers guests upscale accommodations with modern, revitalized guest rooms as well as a newly refurbished pool, lobby and port cochere. Located in the center of Waikiki, the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber is steps from the beach and surrounded by diverse shopping, dining and entertainment venues.

This property is one of seven OHANA Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and Guam, all of which offer guests affordable rates and a host of complimentary amenities. OHANA Hotels & Resorts is part of the Outrigger Enterprises Group family. The OHANA brand was created in 1999 for travelers seeking quality accommodations at mid-level pricing. Owned by Hawaii's oldest and largest hospitality company, the OHANA brand provides guests with local expertise and a friendly staff. For more information, visit http://www.ohanahotels.com.

About Outrigger Enterprises Group
Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the largest and fastest growing privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions and continues to expand its presence throughout the area. A family-owned company with more than 60 years of hospitality experience, Outrigger runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger® Hotels & Resorts, OHANA® Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection®, Embassy Suites®, Best Western® and Wyndham Vacation Ownership®. Currently, Outrigger operates and/or has under development 47 properties with close to 12,000 rooms located in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji, Bali and Phuket, Thailand. Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. For on-line information, log on at http://www.outriggerenterprisesgroup.com and http://www.outrigger.com.
*Embassy Suites is a registered trade mark of Hilton Hotels Corporation.

CONTACTS:    
Nancy Daniels, APR, Director of PR
Outrigger Enterprises Group
Ph: 808-921-6839

Monica Salter
Bennet Group PR
Ph: 808-531-6087, ext. 102

# # #

PDF Print