Honolulu, Hawaii USA, August 1997 -- Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce that Dean Nakasone, CHA, has joined the company as general manager of the 625-room Outrigger Prince Kuhio hotel.

He was most recently director of administration at the Halekulani Hotel. Nakasone brings over 15 years of hospitality experience to Outrigger Hotels & Resorts. Much of that time was spent in management positions with four- and five-diamond rated properties. According to Barry Wallace, Outrigger's senior vice president of operations, Nakasone's extensive experience in hotel sales and marketing at deluxe properties, and his solid background in rooms, reservations and food & beverage allow him to bring a unique perspective to Outrigger operations and the Outrigger Prince Kuhio.

"We're delighted that Dean has chosen to join Outrigger Hotels and the Outrigger Prince Kuhio," Wallace said. "As general manager, Dean will focus on creating an individual identity for the Outrigger Prince Kuhio as a first-class, full-service hotel. He is presently planning for upcoming renovations and will be developing those plans to reflect the interests of our guests from the U.S. mainland, Japan and other Asian markets."

The Outrigger Prince Kuhio is one of Outrigger's deluxe "four-paddle" properties. It is the only hotel operated by Outrigger in Waikiki that offers complete banquet and meeting facilities, making it an ideal choice for guests traveling to Waikiki for business and leisure. Guests also have the option of booking the hotel's Voyagers Club, an exclusive level of guest rooms and suites on the 34th through 37th floors with private lounge and concierge service.

Nakasone began his hospitality career as a corporate management trainee with Sheraton Hotels in Hawaii and California. He was later promoted to increasing positions of responsibility with Sheraton Hotels in Hawaii, first as assistant food & beverage manager for the Sheraton Moana & Surfrider hotels, next as assistant manager for the Sheraton Royal Waikoloa on the Big Island, and finally as rooms division manager for the Sheraton Waiakea Village hotel in Hilo. Nakasone moved to the Halekulani Hotel in 1983 as reservations manager. He was later promoted to corporate sales manager, and subsequently director of international sales with emphasis on the Asia/Pacific region. In 1987, Nakasone was a member of the pre- and post-opening team that successfully opened the Waikiki Parc Hotel, a four-diamond full-service hotel operated by the Halekulani Corporation. As director of sales and marketing, he was instrumental in the hotel attaining an above-average occupancy level during the hotel's first three years of operation. Nakasone spent a year as director of sales for the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki before being wooed back to the Waikiki Parc Hotel as executive assistant manager, and subsequently, hotel manager. In 1996, he was promoted to director of administration at the five-diamond Halekulani hotel. Born and raised in Hawaii, Nakasone attended the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan, before transferring to the University of Hawaii's School of Travel Industry Management. He graduated with a B.A.A. degree in hotel management and is a T.I.M. international award recipient. Nakasone currently is on the board of the Hawaii Hotel Association. He is a member of Travel Industry Management International and received his Certified Hotel Administrator designation from the American Hotel Motel Association in 1995.

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is Hawaii�s largest hotel company and the 28th largest in the U.S., offering 29 hotels and resort condominiums throughout the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific, with projects under development in Guam, Palau, Tahiti, Fiji and the Cook Islands. This year marks the company's 50th anniversary of doing business in the Islands. Outrigger's affiliate, Outrigger Lodging Services, manages nearly two dozen hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. mainland.