The Village Voice

In 1959, 16-year-old Peter Schall met legendary Louis Armstrong at a hotel in Freudenstadt, Germany, in the middle of the famed Black Forest. The young Schall, who had wanted to become an automotive engineer, was working at the resort as a page boy for the summer. He had never intended on getting a permanent job in tourism, an industry that dominated his hometown. But during that summer he met Armstrong and a host of other people, who, while not as famous as the entertainer, were just as exciting.

Photo: Jimmy Forrest

By the end of the summer, Schall had a change of heart and entered a three-year program, during which he worked in every department in the hotel, doing everything from cleaning rooms (and windows) to tending bar, serving food and carrying bags. After graduation, he went on to work in various positions in Germany and Paris, France, before moving to the United States in 1963. In 1965, Schall began his career at Hilton, working at the Hilton Washington & Towers before being promoted to the resident manager at the 1,639-room Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Ill.

Schall joined the Hilton Hawaiian Village in 1986 and held the position of general manager until 1994. At the end of this month, Schall steps down from his position as senior vice president, Hawaii region, for Hilton Hotels Corp. He will retire in Hawaii after 46 years in the hospitality industry.

Schall sat down with Hawaii Business earlier this summer to discuss the future of Island tourism.

HB: The tourists are back. What went right and can we do it again? Or are we talking about global changes out of our control?

A: Hawaii has always been greatly impacted by what happens around the world. Look what happened with the SARS scare. The Japanese didn't want to travel abroad and we felt those effects. In the post-Sept. 11 world, travelers want to visit a safe, secure destination, which Hawaii is. So global forces have had a profound impact.

But the local efforts have also had an effect. When I first came to Hawaii in '86, we basically had two markets: Japan and the West Coast. With new funding, HTA [Hawaii Tourism Authority] did a better job in marketing Hawaii. We penetrated the East Coast and, as a result, have a much higher visitor rate from that area. More and more, legislators and the public have recognized the importance of tourism to the state. I don't think that was always the case. It used to be more of a love/hate relationship. After people saw the results of Sept. 11 - all that unemployment - they realized that tourism is something that has to be worked and nourished.

Of course, the reinvestment in Kuhio Park and now the redevelopment of Kuhio Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard have had a lot to do with Waikiki's rejuvenation. And the private sector is doing its part with the reinvestment in Waikiki Beachwalk, the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, International Market Place and our forthcoming redevelopment.

HB: Can a company that doesn't have the resources or critical mass of a Hilton, which can't refresh itself every so often, survive in today's Waikiki?

A: In any business, the first thing is to take care of the customer. If you provide good-quality service, chances are you will always have customers. It always comes down to a fair price for the level of service and quality that you provide. The consumer has a very keen understanding of value and has specific expectations. When you deliver to those expectations, chances are that you will succeed in business. However, you do need adequate resources. When the wallpaper is peeling in a room, you don't wait until you change the wallpaper in all of the rooms, you take care of the problem immediately.

HB: What else does Honolulu need to do to keep its tourism product fresh?

A: I recently met with Mayor Hannemann, and I applaud his efforts to make Chinatown one of the city's cultural centers. There is no more ideal cultural bridge, than Chinatown, especially for visitors from the Midwest, who may have never seen one in their lives. The future of Hawaii hospitality is in culture and the diversity of its culture. I think Kakaako can be a fantastic location for a world-class venue, where people can watch and listen to world-class concerts. People will go to Portugal to see museums, or New York City or Washington, D.C., to attend cultural events. We need that, too.

HB: What's your favorite thing about Waikiki?

A: We have millions and millions of people who visit us annually, but you can walk along the beach at 6 a.m. and you will be by yourself. You might see a couple of joggers, but you can look up into the mountains and see a rainbow, or toward the water and see a blue sky or a bluer ocean. You can take a deep breath and be rejuvenated. It gives you inspiration. Some days, you can actually see people taking deep breaths on the beach.