BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gasoline prices to fall by 6 cents
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Hawai'i's wholesale gasoline price cap will drop 6 cents a gallon to about $2.02 for regular on O'ahu Monday, according to the state Public Utilities Commission.
That price excludes taxes and dealer mark-up. The cap is set weekly and covers Mondays through Sundays. The caps only set wholesale price ceilings. Retailers can charge what they wish at the pump.
3 HOTELS PLAN JOINT BARGAINING
Three Waikiki hotels have formed a negotiating group for this year's upcoming contract discussions with the hotel and restaurant workers' union, UNITE HERE Local 5.
The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and the Waikiki Beach Marriott have notified the union they formed a Laulima Council to negotiate a new contract. The present agreement expires June 30. Negotiations have not yet been scheduled.
WAIKIKI TOWER WILL BE RENAMED
Aqua Hotels & Resorts has agreed to manage the former Mauka Tower of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Hotel.
The 72-unit property, recently purchased by Hawai'i-based investment group Z Tower LLC, will undergo a $4 million renovation and will be turned into a boutique hotel. The property will be renamed Ocean Tower Hotel at Waikiki Beach.
MACAU AIRLINE PLANS ISLE FLIGHTS
Viva Macau, a discount airline in the former Portuguese colony, aims to start flights to Hawai'i and Russia, becoming the first Asian budget carrier to express interest in flying to the two destinations.
The Macau, China-based carrier is also planning flights to Northeast Asia including Japan and South Korea as well as Australia, the Middle East, and Europe, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Pyne said today.
"We are supremely bullish about Macau's potential as the low-cost carrier hub for the region," Pyne said at an airline symposium in Singapore.
The carrier is "focusing very seriously on Honolulu as a destination," since there are no direct flights to Hawai'i from South China, Pyne said.
