MEDIA CONTACTFORAQUA HOTELS& RESORTS: SandiYara Em:[email protected] Ph:808-221-2759(Hawai‘iStandardTime) BenjaminRafter PresidentandCEO BenjaminRafterwasnamedPresidentandCEOofWaikiki-basedAquaHotels&Resortsin November2008. Thecompanycurrentlyoperates16hotelsundertheAquaBoutiqueand Litebrands.Inthisposition,Rafterischargedwithadvancingthecompany’sglobalgrowth strategy. “Benisagenuinerisingstarinthehospitalityand technologyindustries,contributingabroadrangeof leadershipexperiencetotheAquateam,”saidPaulin.“His backgroundsaysitall,ashehasco-foundedorled e-commerceandtravelcompaniesinSeattle, LasVegasand Honolulu.Heworkedinmarketinganddistributionat WestinHotels&Resortsandhisrelationshipswith Cambridge TechnologyPartnersandWasserstein&Co. haveprovidedhimabroadviewofcorporateAmerica.” “Beniswellequippedtodealwiththechallengesof Hawaii’severchangingandcompetitivemarketplace.He sharesourvisionthatAquaisonitswaytobecominganinternationalbrandrenownfor serviceandculturalauthenticity.Hisappointmentallowsmetoexpandmyroleworking withourhotelownersanddeliveringonAqua’sservicestandardsandpromisestoour customers,”addedPaulin. Rafterhasspentmorethan15yearsguidingsuccessfultechnologyandtravel companies.Hehascreatedglobalinnovationcenters,actedasaprincipalstrategistfor Fortune500andstartupcompaniesandfoundedthrivingcompaniesofhisown. Mostrecently,hewaspresidentandCEOofJetAway/Travelworm,aLasVegas-based onlinetravelretailerfocusingoncasinoandleisurevacationmarketsacrosstheUnited States.PriortoTravelworm,RafterwasCEOofGet2Hawaii,aHonolulu-baseddynamic packagingtechnologycompanyandonlineaggregatoroftravelinventory.Previously RafterdirectedCambridge TechnologyPartners’InnovationCenterandNewCoSolutions practices.In1996,heandtwopartnersfoundedInnerlinx(renamed LiveBid)whichwas acquiredbyAmazon.com.Hebeganhiscareerinthemarketinganddistributiondepartment ofWestinHotels&Resorts. -30- William“Bill”Henderson VPofDevelopmentofAquaHotels William“Bill”HendersonjoinedAquaasVicePresidentofDevelopmentinlate2007. “ThisnewpositionwascreatedtoincreaseexpansionandgrowthoftheAquaBrand,”said MikePaulin,ownerandCEOofAquaHotelsResorts.“WeareveryfortunatetohaveBill onboard.HisoutstandinghistoryofhospitalitysuccessesinHawaii,includingalong associationwithOutriggerHotels&Resorts,isunrivaled.” HendersonfocusesonaddinghotelstoAqua’sthreebrands: Lite–representingthecompany’svalueproduct,Aqua Boutique–selectgroupofaffordableupscalepropertiesand AquaResort–resortboutiquehotels. ImmediatelypriortojoiningAquaHotels,Henderson providedconsulting servicesfortheOceanNetwork(anew "startup"televisionchannelinHawaii),particularlyfocused ondevelopingrelationshipswithvariousgroupsinvolvedin advocacyforHawaii’soceansandreefs,includingNational OceanandAtmosphericCondition(NOAA),Castle Foundation,CoconutIsland,andOfficeofHawaiianAffairs. Hendersonbringsover30yearsofmarketinganddevelopmentexpertisetoAqua.His resumeincludespositionsasimmediatepastVPBusinessDevelopmentforOutriggerHotels &Resortswhereheplannedandleddiversificationeffortthatresultedintransformationofa companythatoperated20hotels(18inWaikiki)with7,000roomsinHawaii,toaPacific- wideregionalchainwith55hotels/resortsopenorunderconstruction,withmorethan12,000 roomsthroughouttheHawaiianIslands,Australia,NewZealand,Fiji,Guam,Palau,Majuro, FrenchPolynesia,andBali. Othersenior-levelpositionswithintheindustryheldbyHendersonincludeSeniorVP MarketingandCustomerServicesforHawaiianAirlines,VPMarketingandSalesforAloha AirlinesandRegionalVPforColonyHotels. HendersonreceivedhisBAMath/EconomicsfromDukeUniversityandhisMBA Marketing/FinancefromtheUniversityofHawaii. -more- William“Bill”Henderson VPofDevelopmentofAquaHotels Page2 Hehasadistinguishedmilitaryservicerecord,havingservedintheU.S.MarineCorpsas Captain-InfantryandIntelligenceandawardedtheSilverStar,NavyCommendationMedal w/combatV,PresidentialUnitCitationandNavyUnitCitation. Throughouthiscareer,Hendersonhasbeenactiveandinvolvedinthevisitorindustryandthe community.HehasservedonboththeMarketingandResearchcommitteesfortheHawaii Visitors&ConventionBureau;MarketingAuthorityandBoardofDirectorsforPacificAsia TravelAssn(PATAinternational);BoardofDirectorsofInternationalHawaiianCanoe Assn;BoardofDirectorsoftheAustralia-HawaiiChamberofCommerce;AirlineCommittee fortheGuamVisitorsBureau;AirlineCommitteeforthe Tahiti TourismBureau;adjunct teacherofMarketingatHawaiiPacificUniversity;andStrategicMarketingandResearch InstructorforExecutiveDevelopmentInstituteforTourismprogramatUniversityofHawaii “TherearenumerousopportunitiesthroughoutHawaiiandBillknowsexactlywhatAquais lookingfortocomplementourportfolio,”addedPaulin.“Hisdevelopmentacumenand invaluablerelationshipsinthebusinesscommunityaresuretoadvanceAqua’sgrowth objectivesasHawaii’sonlyboutiquehotelchain.” -30- ElizabethChurchill VPSales&Marketing Elizabeth(Beth)ChurchillwasnamedtothepositionofVicePresidentSales&Marketing inMay2007. ChurchillhasbeenwithAqua since2005andwasmost recentlyVPMarketing&GuestServices,responsiblefor strategicmarketingandadvertising,eCommerceinitiatives, guestservicesaswellasdevelopmentofnewproject acquisitions.Inherexpandedrole,Churchillalsodirects theglobal salesandrevenuemanagementinitiativesfor Aqua’s16Hawaiiproperties. PriortojoiningAqua,Churchillwas ExecutiveDirectorfor thenon-profitHawaiiStateConsortiumforIntegrative HealthcareandSeniorProjectManagerinchargeof developingHawaii’shealthandwellnesstourismforthe StateofHawaii. ChurchillalsoworkedasInternationalSalesandMarketingManagerfortheUSS Missouri MemorialAssociation,RegionalDirectorPacificforReed TravelGroup–theworld’s largesttravelpublishingcompanyandMediaSupervisoratPeckSimsMuellerAdvertising agency. ActivelyinvolvedinboththeinternationalandHawaiitravelindustry,Churchillwaspart ofthePacificAsia TravelAssociation’s(PATA)ResponsibleandSustainable Tourism Committee,pastpresidentofthe Travel& TourismResearchAssociation–Hawaii Chapterand Educationand EnvironmentalChair,PATAHawaiiChapter. ChurchillreceivedherBachelorofSciencedegreefromSyracuseUniversity,Syracuse, NewYork. -30– Michael(Mike) Paulin ChairmanandFounder MichaelPaulinistherecognizedfoundingfatherofthe“Condotel”resortconceptin Hawaii,andcurrentlythe“seniorlodgingindustryexecutive”inWaikiki,activelyinvolved inHawaii’svisitorindustryforover40years. 1964 –FollowinggraduationfromtheUniversityof SouthernCaliforniaand,togetherwithLosAngeles-based entrepreneurPeterUeberroth,Paulinpurchasesatravel agencyinLosAngelesandbeginstomerchandisevacation homesandapartmentsinHawaiiastravelpackages. This ventureeventuallyleadstotheformationofColonyHotels in1969andPaulin’srelocationtoHawaiiin1971. 1976 –Colony,specializinginresortcondominium management,expandstobecomeHawaii’sfourthlargest hotelandresortmanagementcompanyandlaterissoldto CarlsonCompanies. 1978 –PaulinjoinsforceswithlegendaryHawaiihotelierAndreS. Tatibouettohelp createAstonHotels&Resorts.ItquicklybecomesHawaii’slargesthotel/condominium managementcompanyandoneoftheworld’slargestoperatorsofaccommodations. 1987 –PaulinleavesAstontocreatehisownmanagementcompany, MarcHotels&Resorts, specializinginresortcondominiummanagementandoperatingtheburgeoningall-suitehotels includingEmbassySuitesonMauiandKauai. 1997 –Overthecourseoftenyears,PaulingrowsMarcintooneofthelargesthoteloperators inHawaii,managing22propertiesthroughouttheHawaiianIslands.In1997Paulinsells Marc toSunterraandremaineditsCEOfor3years. 2001 –PaulinfoundsAquaHotels&Resortstomanageandoperatehotelsandanew hybridofhotel-condominiums,commonlyknownas“Condotels”,withthepurposeof creatingHawaii’sfirstchainofboutiquehotels.Overthenext8yearsAquagained prominenceasHawaii’sonlyBoutiqueHotelchainand,togetherwithits Litebrand, operates12hotelsinWaikiki. -more- Michael(Mike)Paulin ChairmanandCo-Owner Page2 2008 –Forthesecondyear,AquaHotels&Resortsisrankedthe#8‘Fastest50’ growingHawaiiCompanybyPacificBusinessNews. Thissameyear,Paulinexecutesthefinaldetailsofthe EmployeeStockOwnershipPlan thatconvertsAquaintoHawaii’sfirst‘employee-owned’hotelcompany. This significant achievementmakesitpossibleforAqua’s500employeestobecome‘co-owners’ofthe growingWaikiki-basedhotelcompany.Alsoin2008,PaulinappointsBenjaminRafteras PresidentandCEOofAquaandchargeshimwithadvancingthecompany’sglobalgrowth strategy.PaulintakesontheroleofCo-ownerandChairman. 2009 –Aquaexpandsitspresencetotheneighborislandswhereitoperatesdeluxeboutiques inWailea,Maui;Kaunakakai,Molokaiand Lihue,Kauai. Forthethirdyear,AquaHotels&Resortsisrankedin‘Fastest50’growingHawaii CompanybyPacificBusinessNews. Paulinhasbeeninternationallyrecognizedforhisworkservingaschairmanoftheworld’s largestpublic-privatetourismorganization--thePacificAsia TravelAssociation(PATA) andawardedtheprestigiousPATA LifeMembershiphonor.In1996,Hawaiihotel industrycolleaguesthroughoutthestatehonoredPaulinbynaminghimchairmanofthe HawaiiHotelAssociation.HeisafrequentguestlecturerattheUniversityofHawaii. -30- AQUA HOTELS & RESORTS TIMELINE 2001 Aqua Hotels & Resorts is a locally owned and operated management company and a leader in hotel-condo transient rentals and conversions. Owner and sole managing member. Michael V. Paulin is one of Hawaii's most honored hotel operators and is a recognized authority on hotel- condo conversions. In 2001, Paulin formed Aqua Hotels & Resorts, LLC with the purpose of creating Hawaiis first chain of boutique hotels. Aqua Waikiki Marina, formerly Outriggers Ala Wai Tower and Ala Wai Terrace, was added in August 2001. December 2001, Aqua assumed management of the Aqua Bamboo & Spa, (formerly managed by Marc Resorts as Waikiki Marc). 2004 Aqua transitioned Aqua