[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what Brian saw, what they ran, the instinct that made them stand out.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
Consulting · Waimea, Kauai, HI
Waimea Plantation Cottages and Resort
[PLACEHOLDER: 1-sentence thesis for Waimea Plantation Cottages and Resort — what the room was, what it asked of the program, what Brian delivered.]
01 · The brief
Ten-month supervision of a property purchase-and-sale.
Resort hospitality engagement on Kauai. Supervised a 10-month purchase-and-sale process at Waimea Plantation Cottages, coordinating the operational transition across the full acquisition timeline. Different character than a restaurant engagement — the scope was the transition itself.
Kauai, Hawai'i. Waimea Plantation Cottages is a cottage-style resort on the west shore — dispersed buildings, long-stay guest patterns, resort-style food and beverage alongside accommodations. The engagement wasn't a bar build or a restaurant launch; it was a ten-month supervisory role during a property purchase-and-sale process.
Purchase-and-sale supervision at a resort means keeping the operation running clean through an ownership transition. Guests arriving don't know a P&S is in progress; the operation has to hold. My scope was the operational continuity side — coordinating between the outgoing operator, the incoming ownership, and the property's working staff across the ten-month window.
Different work than a consulting launch. No opening sequence, no new program to install. The deliverable was the transition itself — a clean handoff across a complex legal and operational window at a resort where the guest experience had to stay intact the entire time.
The property currently operates under Coast Hotels — the resort continues in its cottage format on the Kauai west shore.
02 · The work
Keep the operation running through the transition.
The scope was continuity — not a new program, not a new concept, not a new room.
01
Operational continuity
Kept the resort's daily operation running clean through the P&S window — guests, staff, daily service.
Guest experience had to stay intact across the full transition.
02
Transition coordination
Coordinated between the outgoing operator, the incoming ownership, and the working staff.
Ten-month window of legal and operational complexity.
03 · The room
IMG · 4:5Bar, service · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:3Menu detail · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:5Room, late night · [placeholder]
04 · The team
The team Brian built.
Who ran the room. Both are still in the industry.
[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what they brought, the moves they ran, why their palate mattered.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
03 · Recognition
Condé Nast Readers' Choice. Fodor's Choice. Hawaii Magazine Best Boutique.
The resort has sustained national travel-press recognition — Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice, Fodor's Choice, and repeated Hawaii Magazine features — across its operating decades and through the ownership transition.
A tremendous recognition by the readers of the magazine, and a remarkable achievement for Waimea Plantation Cottages.Read the piece
A stay at Waimea Plantation Cottages will transport you to a simpler time in Hawaii and leave you truly relaxed.Read the piece
Unique lodging experience. Quiet setting and lovely grounds.Read the piece
Executive Manager Clayton Weber: We want to be designed for locals, but we want to be welcome to all.Read the piece
04 · Operating
Now under Coast Hotels.
The resort continues in its cottage format on Kauai's west shore.
A note from Brian
A resort transition is different work. The guest arriving doesn't know anything's happening — that's the entire deliverable.
Brian Howard
Owner & Founder, Liquid Chef Consulting