BUSINESS BRIEFS
Castle Group earnings decline
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Castle Group Inc., a Honolulu-based hospitality management company, said it earned $15,323 in the three months ended Sept. 30. That compared with earnings of $208,858 in the same quarter a year earlier.
The company that manages and markets resort condominiums and hotels had revenue of $6 million in the quarter, up from $5.5 million a year earlier.
Over the past six months the company has rapidly expanded its property contract portfolio to include the Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki in Honolulu, the Hotel Santa Fe in Guam, the Kata Gardens and Katamanada Villas in Phuket, Thailand, and most recently the Maile Sky Court in Honolulu.
WI-FI AVAILABLE AT KAHULUI AIRPORT
ShakaNet said it has completed a project to provide wireless Internet service at Maui's Kahului Airport.
Travelers with laptops will be able to connect to the pay-per-use Wi-Fi service at any gate area. For people who do not have their own laptop, ShakaNet has installed 27 Internet Kiosks throughout the airport.
The cost for the service is 6.95 for 2 hours and $8.95 for all day. Customers can use their ShakaNet Wi-Fi or kiosk accounts at any of the company's more than 40 locations. Under the lease agreement, ShakaNet has exclusive rights to provide the service at Kahului for seven years.
"We are very pleased to be able to provide this service to the Kahului Airport and travelers on Maui," said Meeta Vu, president of ShakaNet Inc.
STATE JOBLESS CLAIMS AMONG LOWEST
Hawai'i remains among the states with the fewest claims filed for unemployment insurance.
A total of 1,100 residents filed claims for the week ending Nov. 3, down from 1,200 for the same week a year earlier.
Hawaii's unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent in September, the second lowest in the country behind Idaho at 2.3 percent.
MAUI'S TOP EATERY SHORTENS NAME
David Paul's Lahaina Grill will shorten its name to the "Lahaina Grill" beginning Dec. 1.
The Maui eatery, owned by Jurg Munch, opened in February 1990 and has been named "Best Maui Restaurant" for the past 14 years by the Hale Aina readers' poll.
The restaurant's licensing agreement with chef David Paul Johnson to use his name ends in December, Munch said.
"With the support of our community, we look forward to spreading the word that Lahaina Grill will deliver the same great food and service which we have for the past eight years that I have owned the restaurant," said Munch.
2 HAWAI'I BANKS GAIN HIGH RANKING
Two Hawai'i-based banks received high rankings in a scorecard by Bank Director magazine that measures the performance of the country's largest banks and thrifts across a range of profitability, capitalization, and asset quality measures.
Bank of Hawaii ranked eighth in the survey. "The $10.7 billion bank doesn't have a neighboring state to expand into, which is a problem, but it has been able to cash in on a good core deposit franchise, as well as a lack of competition," the magazine said.
"They control costs very well, have conservative underwriting criteria, and they dominate their market. It's a powerful combination," the magazine said.
Central Pacific Financial Corp. ranked 12th in the nationwide survey.
