Outrigger Celebrates 65 Years

Kim Steutermann RogersMonday, July 23, 2012

I like history--perhaps for the same reason as I like reading books and watching movies. All three take me to new worlds of the imagination.

This year, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts celebrates its 65th year of hospitality. Roy and Estelle Kelley started the company in the post-World War II era. We might call that time the glory days now, but I'm guessing Roy and Estelle would have called them the questionable days, like any early days of a new business. Waikiki was different then. It certainly wasn't the visitor destination it is today. Could a new hotel concept offering affordable rates to the middle class survive?

You could say the couple was in the right place at the right time. But so were many other people. The difference is Roy and Estelle took a chance, even with small children at home who needed feeding and clothing. That chance paid off. The company is still in business. It's stilled owned by descendents of Roy and Estelle. I kinda like that. I like working for a Hawaii-owned business.

I try to imagine what Waikiki must have been like 65 years ago--the beach, the energy, the roads, the ways. This video gives a glimpse of that, as well as how the company has evolved through the years.