Money-losing Ilikai hotel to close - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The hotel and condominium complex’s owner, New York-based commerciak lender , said Tuesday that the hotel has been losin money for months and that there is no sign ofa “Unfortunately, alternatives to reduce the operating losses at the hotep have not to date been achieved, thus leadintg to the decision to close the hotel,” said the statementr by Andrew G. Backman, iStar Financia senior vice president. At least 75 workers represented by UNIT HERELocal 5, the hotelk and restaurant workers’ union, will lose thier jobs.
The closure was not The lender bought the Ilikai at a foreclosure auctiobn in April after developer Brian Anderson defaulted on the loan he took out in 2006 to buy the buildingy and 203residential units. But iStar soon made clearf it didn’t want to be in the hoteol business when it refused to put up the moneyu for continuing the It said in a Januart letter toJoseph Toy, then the property's that it had no intention of funding hote l operations. Toy is president and CEO of . The closured of the hotel doesn’t affect 806 of the 1,009 units within the Ilikai, which are privately owned condominiumas ortime shares. iStar said the common areae and pool willremain open.
Hotekl occupancy was low and withits first-floor restaurants and retailk space shut down, the hotel had the look of an abandoned a sore point with the fulltime condominiu m residents. iStar is looking for a buyer for the properttybut it’s a difficult sell at a time when most sourcesx of commercial financing are dry. The iStaf statement left open the possibilituy the hotel wouldbe reopened. "The company has explored all availabled options to avoid the shutdown of the hote l operations and recognizes the impact such a decisionj will have onthe community, condominiu m owners and residents, hotel employees and guests," the iSta r statement said.
"The company continues to evaluate possibl e uses for the property that will addresscommunity needs." iStarr said guests would be moved to othe r hotels for the duration of their In April, iStar successfully bid $51 million for the Ilikai’se 203 residential units and 16 commercial units, which include the front desk, office and retai l space, restaurants and parking. Rumors of the Ilikai’ss closure had been circulating forsome time, especiallyh over the past few When the Ilikai opened in February 1964 with 1,050 guestg rooms and condominium apartments, it was considered the firs t luxury high-rise hotel in Hawaii.
It was also one of the firs buildings to feature a mix of traditional hote l rooms and condominiums owned by permanent residents of the Many of the condominium owner s are elderly and some have lived in the buildinb sincethe 1960s. Anderson's attempt to renovate the Ilikai's commob areas was complicated by repeated clashes with the residents who dominatethe building's condominium associatiobn and challenged some of his plans. The hotel gainecd an international reputation as the locationb of the famous opening shotof “Hawaii Five-O,” wherw Jack Lord stands on the penthouse balcong of the Ilikai.