Summer 2021 Hot Topics Series
Ground Transportation:
Curves Ahead in Hawaii’s Road to Recovery
Friday, April 30 2021
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
As Hawai‘i’s visitor industry starts to show renewed signs of life, the need for ground transportation is on the rise. Will a shortage in rental car inventory threatens to cause a slow down on the road to recovery? With the U.S. market leading the recovery and with 70 to 80 percent of U.S. visitors typically renting cars, are other viable transportation alternatives available to visitors as they start to reappear in the Islands? Find out what our line-up of experts from Charley’s Taxi, Roberts Hawai‘i and rental car industry experts. These insights will help you better navigate uncertainty in the year ahead!
Moderator:
Janet Kuwahara, Maui Visitor and Convention Bureau
Speakers:
Dale Evans, CEO, Charley’s Taxi and Limousine
Joann Erban, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Roberts Hawaii
Kristine Wada, Marketing Manager, HUI
Seward ‘Akahi, General Manager, Hertz
Speaker Bios:
 Ernie Young is Director of Hawaii for United Airlines. Ernie joined United in 2016 as Senior Manager of Station Operations at Newark Liberty International Airport, United’s NYC Metro hub with a high market exposure to business and international travel. Prior to joining United, Ernie managed operational risk at Goldman Sachs in New York City. Before Wall Street, Ernie was moved by the attacks on 9/11 and served in the Global War on Terror as an Army officer, leading troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Ernie earned his Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point. |
 Kelly Knox started her career at Southwest Airlines in 2011 after graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She joined Southwest as an intern on the Community Affairs & Grassroots team and was hired fulltime to work in Customer Relations, and soon after was promoted to Team Leader. In March of 2015, Kelly returned to her roots as the Community Affairs & Grassroots Team where she was responsible for managing Southwest’s grassroots outreach programs . In her current role as West Coast Outreach Lead, Kelly champions community causes in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Nevada. |
 Kristine Wada has been marketing manager at Hui Car Share since its launch in 2018 as an innovative mobility service from Toyota Connected and Servco Pacific Inc. Over the past three years, the service has grown to include over 120 vehicles at 50 stations across Oahu and 40,000 drivers. Prior to joining Hui, Kristine worked at Anthology Marketing Group, with Hawaiian Airlines as her client. She holds an MBA from the Shidler College of Business. In her free time, Kristine enjoys spending time with her husband Kevin, their daughter Kora and their chihuahua-pug mix Toby. |
 Seward ‘Akahi is the General Manager at Hertz, Dollar & Thrifty Rental Car on Maui. Seward also sits on the Maui County Board of Ethics as well as the HTA, Maui Steering Committee for Destination Management Action Planning. Being a Maui Native, he looks for ways in which he can give back to the people of Maui that affect the community, and its industries. On Maui they have a saying, “Maui No Ka Oi”, which means “Maui the Best”… Seward wakes up each and every day thinking of new creative ways to maintain that creed. |
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
FREE attendance available to PATA and TTRA members who log in with memberplanet profiles. Don’t have one yet? Click here to sign-up and renew your membership today! Booking at the corporate level? Check with your company administrator to make sure your 2021 corporate membership is updated and ask them to add you to the member list.
Questions? Contact Tina Yap at [email protected].
PATA Member FREE
TTRA Member FREE
Non-Members $20.00
SAVE! Book all 4 Hot Topic forums for only $65.00
To pay by check: Please contact Tina Yap at [email protected] and send payments to PATA Hawai‘i Chapter, P.O. Box 1342, Honolulu, HI 96807, phone: 808.864.7214