Leaving Lana'i

There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go.”

Tennessee Williams

So today marked the departure from a week long corporate gig in Hawaii on the island of Lana’i. It is a gorgeous island with only sixteen miles of paved roads. There are 3 main hotels on the island, two of which are inland and one is on the water. The Ko’ele Lodge by the four seasons and the Hotel Lana’i, which is a small 12 room hotel, are the two hotels in land. If you take the only paved road down the hill, approximately 8.5 miles, you will eventually get to Manele Bay. It’s beautiful and overlooks the water.

Half the staff stayed at the Ko’ele lodge which is beautiful and secluded. I loved it and really felt like it was its own secluded property. There were wild turkeys on the property behind my room in the morning and the moonlight was so bright that you would think you were walking amidst a summers morning. One night in particular, I couldn’t sleep because i decided to drink Iced Tea (bad idea). I couldn’t sleep and walked around until 4am in the morning looking at the amazing property and the Ko’ele experience which is the golf course. If you haven’t been and you enjoy golf, I highly advise playing here. It is well worth it and you can almost always get a tee time.

So part of what I do as a travel director, is plan the event on site and sometimes that involves many changes on the part of the client. This particular trip I was in charge of room (ammenity) deliveries. One of the things we do at the end of the day is discuss some of the things (funny) that have happened to us that day. It is a great way to really enjoy what we do for a living and it keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously.

One story we heard was, Client arrived with guest from Japan. She immediately came into the hospitality suite and said she wanted to play “Garf” aka golf. We informed her that she couldn’t do garf because the course was on a waitlist status. She then asked if she could do “Spar” aka Spa. We told her spa was very limited and that she may not be able to do that either. We informed her that she was on the snorkel/sail excursion. She informed us that she cant swim because she started her period and that she would attract sharks.... Enough said, I , as well as the rest of the staff was in hysterics...

I was sitting at Ko’ele lodge while the Maui Jim guy graced our presence and let us know about facts on the island. At one point he was so comfortable he took his shoes off. I thought to myself, okay when in Hawaii, do as the Hawaiian’s do. I went to my room and decided to get a protein shake for the afternoon. I came back to the desk only to note that Maui Jim guy was now sitting right next to me. This is not a problem, but as I busted open my protein shake and decided to take the biggest swig ever, Maui guy decides to start picking his toes at the hospitality desk infront of staff and clients...Needless to say, i almost threw up.

Finally, I just found out from the client that a family didn’t know they had to pick their kids up from the day care at night. Apparently they thought they could take the night off from being parents...

Oh the joys of what i do. I love the stories we all share. I love the family I have built on the road. I wouldn’t change what i do for the world. I think i have found a niche. For now, i sit in Honolulu airport reflecting on the amazing memories of Hawaii. Since this was my first time, it was truly a great and memorable experience. Great sunsets, great people and a fantastic time.

Until next time...