Mission Statement | Project Pookela | Awards & Timeline
 

In 1986, hotel General Manager, Mike White, and Hawaiian scholar, Dr. George Kanahele, embarked on an exciting journey of discovery – Project Po‘okela.  The journey began with a class on Hawaiian values that inspired employees to create their own mission statement that reads, in part, “We, at Kā‘anapali Beach Hotel recognize the need to enhance our sense of place for the mana of the land, its Hawaiian past, present, and future, because this is the essence of being the most Hawaiian hotel.”  Through their commitment to become stewards of their ahupua‘a and their respect for the traditions of their ancestors, the future of the hotel will be assured.  
 

The beginning of their journey included four-hour quarterly classes taught by Dr. Kanahele during a workday on subjects such as A Hawaiian Sense of Place, The World of the Sacred, and Hawaiian Technology. In 1988, the hotel hired a full-time cultural staff, now led by Lori Sablas, Director of Po‘okela.

Under the leadership of Sablas and Dee Coyle, Director of Training, the program evolved to include interactive field trips to the kalo fields in Honokōhau Valley, the forests and crater of Haleakalā, a voyaging class to the island of Lāna‘i, an archaeological and historical class on Moku‘ula, and a class on fishing and respect for the ocean in Kahana. To date, the late Dr. Kanahele and the hotel’s cultural resource and training staff have researched and presented 65 unique classes.  Project Po‘okela fulfills the Hawaiian value of na‘auao (applicable knowledge) for all employees.

Po‘okela classes reinforce Hawaiian values with discussions centered on actions that apply to work, home, and community. The newfound knowledge is also used to make the hotel a more Hawaiian place. Examples of employee-driven changes include hiring a cultural resource staff, creating a new logo, unique uniforms and English and Hawaiian signage found throughout the property.  Other operational changes include a complete overhaul of marketing efforts, daily singing to guests, a lei kukui departure ceremony, an ‘Ohana Welcome Breakfast, and more than 30 complimentary Hawaiian activities and events offered weekly to guests.  Project Po‘okela validates the value of ho‘ohuli (to initiate meaningful change) because it is the right thing to do.