Partnership in Paradise

LG Electronics, Best Buy Business and Outrigger Hospitality Group demonstrate that working together means smooth sailing

Outrigger Hospitality Group has achieved an elusive goal in hospitality — hitting the perfect balance of a unique brand experience that guests rave about and a commercial operations model that industry insiders hold in high regard. Central to its success is a strong group culture rooted in a value system with three core elements: Host, Guest and Place.

Today, Outrigger Hospitality Group is one of the fastest-growing, privately-held hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific, Oceania and Indian Ocean regions. The group owns and operates Outrigger Hotels and Resorts in iconic beach destinations like Hawaii, Fiji, Thailand, Mauritius, and the Maldives, and also partners with other groups under the Embassy Suites, Wyndham and Hilton Grand Vacations flags. Outrigger Hospitality Group provides guests with an authentic, localized signature experience at beachfront resorts including full-service and select-service hotels, condominium resorts, timeshare resorts and resort retail complexes.

Effective use of technology has been key to Outrigger Hospitality Group’s dual success at delivering a compelling guest experience and maximizing profitability. The group has strong in-house capabilities for developing cutting-edge proprietary marketing and reservations software but partnerships with organizations like LG Electronics and Best Buy Business are also integral to its technology strategy.

“Word of mouth and positive guest reviews have consistently proven to be the most effective marketing channels for Outrigger and so we place a heavy emphasis on guest experience,” Sean Dee, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Outrigger Hospitality Group said today. “A key part of the guest experience is the in-room television that guests naturally gravitate toward at the end of an active, fun-filled day which we can incorporate custom programming that’s relevant to the resort location. Our partnership with LG and Best Buy ensures we provide the reliable premium viewing experience that our guests expect.”

Whereas the in-room televisions were the key component of the partnership with Best Buy and LG, technology alone does not represent the entirety of the partnership. Being located in Hawaii has tremendous advantages in the hospitality trade but Outrigger’s island location presented considerable logistical challenges to its previous reseller. LG and Best Buy partnered to bring hospitality televisions on-island and to provide local systems integration and support.

“Having hospitality televisions available on-island meant Outrigger properties got them at mainland prices and within mainland windows,” explains Larry “BLT” Tran, Best Buy Business Hospitality Sales Leader. “When a property operates at 99% occupancy, having a quick turnaround on television installations determines whether rooms are saleable or not. Being able to provide local support and quick, affordable turnaround on televisions at mainland prices has a measurable, positive impact for the operator. Partnering with LG to come up with such an effective solution is gratifying for a reseller.”

Outrigger Hospitality Group primarily uses LG 55-inch LED hospitality televisions in guest rooms (actual models will depend on brand and timing of the order), and larger LG LED displays for restaurants and bars. Hawaii properties typically prefer traditional wood and bamboo design motifs so digital signage is less prevalent than in urban hotels, but when Outrigger does digital signage applications LG displays are the go-to solution.

“Knowing that we can trust our partners to innovate the right solution, back it up with comprehensive warranties and support, and also design clever solutions as we’ve done with LG and Best Buy is the essence of partnership,” Sean Dee continued.

“The Outrigger Hospitality Group and LG always make it easy for the Best Buy Business team to confidently go into a new installation or upgrade,” Christine Nguyen, Strategic Account Manager, Best Buy Business. “When you’re working with other teams who not only understand your challenges but also work to ensure a project is pushed through the pipeline successfully, it is easier for everyone.”

Nicole Charleton, Hospitality Account Manager, LG Electronics, Commercial Displays Division concurs. “Partnership at LG is not a one-and-done proposition. We seek to work with people like Larry and Sean to engineer long-term solutions to enhance the guest experience, strengthen operational efficiency and address real-world challenges — like the fact that Hawaii is a gorgeous archipelago of islands but islands nonetheless!”

Picture perfect in paradise is something that Charleton, Tran and Sean agree is a shared goal. In doing so, this partnership has elevated the less-glamorous side of hospitality — backend service, support and logistics — to an artform. Not quite a Hawaiian sunset, but definitely worth watching.