Irvine’s White Label Asset Management, a hospitality investment and asset management firm launched three years ago, landed one of its biggest wins near the end of last year, to asset manage the Montage Kapalua Bay luxury resort on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
But you could be forgiven for not hearing about the news, which came at the time of the sale of the 146-key resort—widely considered the premier luxe hotel property in Maui—to a joint venture headed by KWC Management of Memphis, Tenn. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
White Label, led by founder by Jonathon Vopinek, as well as the new owners of the property (which include Vopinek’s real estate holding company Lionshead Capital Partners), opted to keep a low profile on their deal out of respect for the community, given the resort’s proximity (roughly 10 miles) and employee ties to the fire-devasted town of Lahaina, which is still in the early stages of rebuilding.
The resort remains open, and busy, with upgrades underway to portions of the property as of this month.
White Label, whose work has now extended to over 40 hotels, said it has partnered with the 24-acre property’s existing manager, Irvine-based Montage Hotels & Resorts, “who will continue to oversee the operations of the resort and ensure the preservation of the hotel’s distinctive culture and service excellence.”
Vopinek knows the island well; he previously served as EVP of asset management and marketing for Newport Beach-based R.D. Olson Development, which has built several hotels on the island, and now has a $53M industrial project in the early stages of construction near Maui’s main airport.
The Michelin Guide has long made the reputations of restaurants across the globe; now it is looking for the same impact on the hotel industry. Late last month it unveiled its first list of 1, 2, and 3 Key hotels across six states and Washington, D.C.
In California, a pair of Montage Hotels & Resorts properties, including the company’s flagship resort in Laguna Beach, made the cut, as did two hotels from the Irvine-based firm’s affiliated Pendry brand, including its new location next to Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
You could be forgiven for thinking that you were in Fashion Island, or the Irvine Spectrum Center, strolling through Maui’s most upscale shopping center, The Shops at Wailea. Irvine-based sandal maker OluKai has a store next to Costa Mesa’s Volcom, and directly across from them are stores for two Surf City brands, TravisMathew and Quiksilver.
Between hotel owners, retailers and real estate owners, there’s an abundance of OC ties to Maui, but good luck finding a direct flight from John Wayne Airport to the island (and many larger U.S. cities); the options are limited.
Palmer Luckey would like to fix that.
“I want [the airport] to be flying all over the world, and we can be an international hub,” he told a recent conference.
That said, “I’m never going to win that war,” the Anduril Industries founder said. “The community people hate it too much.”
