The big interview: Kenneth Kan, chief development officer, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts

Hawaiian-headquartered Outrigger Accommodations and Resorts is surging its progress across the two sides of the Pacific, so what is the within monitor on the chain’s technique?

Chief development officer, Kenneth Kan, reveals how the coastal vacation resort professional is intending to achieve its lofty ambitions.

Outrigger has the aim of currently being ‘the premier beach vacation resort brand in the world’ – do you truly feel you’ve attained that status?

Outrigger Hospitality Group was born on the seashore in Hawaii 75 several years ago. Now we have 33 resorts and resorts in leading beach front vacation resort locations across Hawaii, Fiji, Mauritius, Thailand and the Maldives alongside a strategic expansion prepare concentrated only on seaside communities all-around the world. In the final yr by yourself we additional 3 seashore resorts in Thailand, one in Hawaii and most a short while ago in the Maldives. Our mission to be ‘the leading beach front resort company in the world’ is unquestionably ambitious, but we have the knowledge and drive to make it a actuality with a number of active development initiatives in the pipeline.

With four Asian openings in the final six months, are you intending to carry on that development?

Outrigger’s advancement staff carries on to look for and is actively pursuing a selection of chances in the Asia Pacific area, such as Thailand, Bali, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Outrigger has mentioned its concentrate on locations for enhancement are across the US, central The usa, the Considerably East and Oceania – why have you discovered those places?

Other attractive goal destinations include markets where Outrigger has client distribution overlap and the client is common with our distinctive brand name characteristics and localised authenticity. This incorporates Australia and New Zealand as very well as coastal resort locations of the mainland US and Mexico.

What does your present-day enhancement pipeline glimpse like?

Outrigger’s progress pipeline has surged in the past six months. I’m on the street more than ever wanting at potential new Outrigger beach front locations – it is an remarkable time!

Did the pandemic have an effect on your development amount at all?

In the early levels of the pandemic, the uncertainty led to constrained prospects for the reason that resort builders and owners have been placing major decisions on hold. As the situation began to make improvements to, with journey and tourism returning, advancement action resumed.

Will you be maintaining your vacation resort resort product or are you hunting toward other assets varieties or industry segments?

Outrigger is laser concentrated on staying a toes-in-the-sand manufacturer our customers know and value the authenticity that our resorts provide and this is the section we want to keep in and increase.

Being section of KSL Money Partners, does this negate the have to have for external traders for your developments?

Outrigger performs with numerous proprietors of present qualities and developments in numerous capacities, these kinds of as administration providers and joint investment opportunities.

Do you have a desired supplier record for outfitting new resorts or do you glimpse to regional corporations?

Whenever achievable, we search for to utilise regional partners for our resorts. For illustration – at our a few new attributes in Thailand, the vacation resort redesign was conceived by Bangkok-based mostly Santhaya & Associates (S+A), an award-winning architectural business and spouse with Outrigger since 2013 for projects in Thailand, Fiji and Mauritius.

What are your conditions for pinpointing suppliers to work with?

We have a quantity of terrific supplier associates that we operate with nowadays, but are normally on the lookout for new local expertise and offerings. A new course for our procurement process is currently being aware to not only search for out community suppliers, but also come across much more girls and minority-owned firms to get the job done with and assist.

How do you see Outrigger progressing as a organization over the following few a long time?

Outrigger has a thorough strategic strategy that outlines how we’re making brand name price by getting greatest in course operators, obtaining excellent partnerships, elevating our properties and growing with new houses and distribution. In the next two several years, Outrigger will have even more refined our branding way, proceed becoming great stewards of the places we do business enterprise by our ESG (environmental, social, governance) initiatives and have a larger portfolio of resorts which merge barefoot luxury and regional authenticity.