Sunday, March 28, 2021
Aloha Valued Homeowner,
Things are starting to look up in Hawaii’s travel and tourism industry. Yesterday, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported that there were 90,776 visitors in Hawaii on any given day in February 2021. While this is still a far cry from the typical 250,052 visitors per day in February 2020, it is a big step in the right direction.
In anticipation of increased travel to Hawaii during the upcoming summer months, the State has established and expanded Pre-Clear programs with domestic and international airline partners that allow travelers to confirm compliance with the Safe Travels Program prior to departure and bypass mandatory airport screenings upon arrival.
Pre-Clear Partners
The following airlines have confirmed Pre-Clear programs as follows:
Alaska Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered from all U.S. mainland hubs with non-stop flights to Hawaii.
All Nippon Airways: Currently in training and will soon offer pre-clearance for its flights from Japan.
Hawaiian Airlines: Over 15 cities, including Japan and Korea, offer Pre-Clear. Austin and other locations are coming soon.
Japan Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered to all travelers out of Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).
Southwest Airlines: Offering Pre-Clear service from five gateway airports in California.
United Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered from all U.S. mainland hubs with flights to Hawaii.
Pre-Clear Process
To qualify for pre-cleared arrival into Hawaii, travelers must complete the following prior to departure:
Create a Safe Travels account for every adult on the itinerary.
Add all flight and lodging information to the account.
Complete the mandatory health questionnaire within the account.
Upload negative test results (PDF format) for every adult and minor (five years
and older) on the itinerary to Safe Travels prior to boarding. Bringing a printed copy of negative testing results is also recommended. Note that the COVID-19 test must be from a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner and taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure.
Visitors who meet all of the pre-testing requirements will be exempt from quarantine and receive a Pre-Clear wristband from their air carrier’s guest-service agents who will verify their documents before boarding. Once in Hawaii, travelers will be allowed to deplane and bypass airport screening lines.
We are cautiously optimistic about the future of Hawaii travel and will continue to keep you informed of the latest news.
With warmest Aloha,
Alan
________________________________
Alan R. Mattson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Castle Hospitality Group
Friday, March 26, 2021
Aloha Valued Homeowner,
Things are starting to look up in Hawaii’s travel and tourism industry. Yesterday, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported that there were 90,776 visitors in Hawaii on any given day in February 2021. While this is still a far cry from the typical 250,052 visitors per day in February 2020, it is a big step in the right direction.
In anticipation of increased travel to Hawaii during the upcoming summer months, the State has established and expanded Pre-Clear programs with domestic and international airline partners that allow travelers to confirm compliance with the Safe Travels Program prior to departure and bypass mandatory airport screenings upon arrival.
Pre-Clear Partners
The following airlines have confirmed Pre-Clear programs as follows:
Alaska Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered from all U.S. mainland hubs with non-stop flights to Hawaii.
All Nippon Airways: Currently in training and will soon offer pre-clearance for its flights from Japan.
Hawaiian Airlines: Over 15 cities, including Japan and Korea, offer Pre-Clear. Austin and other locations are coming soon.
Japan Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered to all travelers out of Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).
Southwest Airlines: Offering Pre-Clear service from five gateway airports in California.
United Airlines: Pre-Clear is offered from all U.S. mainland hubs with flights to Hawaii.
Pre-Clear Process
To qualify for pre-cleared arrival into Hawaii, travelers must complete the following prior to departure:
Create a Safe Travels account for every adult on the itinerary.
Add all flight and lodging information to the account.
Complete the mandatory health questionnaire within the account.
Upload negative test results (PDF format) for every adult and minor (five years
and older) on the itinerary to Safe Travels prior to boarding. Bringing a printed copy of negative testing results is also recommended. Note that the COVID-19 test must be from a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner and taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure.
Visitors who meet all of the pre-testing requirements will be exempt from quarantine and receive a Pre-Clear wristband from their air carrier’s guest-service agents who will verify their documents before boarding. Once in Hawaii, travelers will be allowed to deplane and bypass airport screening lines.
We are cautiously optimistic about the future of Hawaii travel and will continue to keep you informed of the latest news.
With warmest Aloha,
Alan
________________________________
Alan R. Mattson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Castle Hospitality Group
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Roy Thompson
12:25 PM (1 hour ago)
to Roy, Neoma, Mark
The April 5th reopening of Kauai is just around the corner, and all of us at Castle are extremely excited and pleased to be working to make this a success! To state that this has been a long, trying year is a huge understatement.
To that end, our Master Marketers at our company are working hard to get the word out to customers and travel partners. Last week this showed very positive signs in terms of increased demand and a very large number of bookings for April and beyond. Let’s hope that this pace lasts as we do still have a long way to go!
Our island is progressing nicely in terms of vaccinating. All of our staff at Kiahuna that wish to do so have received their first dose already, and by the time you receive this the 2nd dose should have been administered. As this progresses throughout the state, we are hearing the authorities discussing how to combine proof of vaccination into our Safe Travels protocol. We all are hopeful that this will happen in the next few months, further stimulating travel to our island paradise.
With the increased demand, and the desire to return to somewhat normal travel, Castle is also working on restoration of services both for our guests and our owners. Beginning 3/21/21 we have extended our office hours. We are now open at 8am until 9pm daily. We have also added in some reservation shifts to better serve property reservations and owners. For after hours arrivals we still need to have guests advised to utilize our lockbox (code 4601).
At this time, for the near term, we will continue with our Castle Cares program, which means spacing of reservations will continue, and housekeeping services will continue to be contactless. We will regularly review these policies, and as more folks get vaccinated, and assuming caseloads remain low, we can ease these requirements.
Roy and your Team
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