Turtle Bay helps rejuvenate the North Shore

Travel Updates

Turtle Bay upgrades and a fresh focus on ocean sports rejuvenate the North Shore

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 October, 2012 : - - Turtle Bay Resort, the only full-service hotel on Oahu's North Shore, has embraced its identity as the place for water adventurers. Capitalizing on surf culture and tourism might seem like a no-brainer for Turtle Bay, but for years the 443-room resort labored to find its identity. When other Oahu hotels were posting near-record numbers in 2004, Turtle Bay was struggling to fill 45 percent of its rooms.

Fast-forward to 2012. The resort incorporated surf into its logo last December, and now markets itself as Turtle Bay, on "Oahu's fabled North Shore." It completed a $2.5 million renovation of its lobby and bar. It provided space last month for the Waterman League, organizer of a stand-up paddling world tour, to house its headquarters. In November it opened Surfer, the Bar, a partnership with Surfer Magazine.

The resort's push into the niche surf and watersport market is helping fill rooms. Turtle Bay expects to finish this year with an average annual occupancy of 88 percent, which is on par with or better than many Waikiki hotels.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Replay Resorts, Turtle Bay's asset manager, brought in sports and brand marketing guru Mark Skip Taylor about two years ago to integrate the resort with the local community and create high-energy events that develop the region's "DNA and soul."

Turtle Bay, which has long hosted activities related to the annual Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, began hosting more ocean-sports events, Taylor said. The additional activity builds on the Triple Crown, which pumped about $21 million into the North Shore in 2010. The event, started in 1983, has created a big-wave tourism market, positioned Hawaii as the world's surfing capital and cemented the role of surfing companies like Rip Curl, Quiksilver and Billabong.

Turtle Bay's repositioning also has positively changed the mix of visitors. Experiential travelers are coveted in Hawaii's visitor industry because they typically do more and spend more in the isles and, as a result, have higher satisfaction levels. Bringing the Waterman League to Turtle Bay resonates with experiential travelers and lends credence to the resort's push to be seen as an epicenter for ocean sports and culture, Taylor said.

Since Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing and stand-up, it seemed natural to select Turtle Bay as the global headquarters of the Waterman League, said Tristan Boxford, Waterman League CEO and a former British and European windsurfing champion and ocean-sport athlete. Hawaii is unique because it embraces all of the ocean sports and has a strong waterman heritage.

the relocation of the Waterman League will build on the momentum of Surfer, the Bar, said Taylor. The bar is a venue for famous watermen to talk story about their sport and to showcase surf-related music, film and fashion, he said. "We've built that venue like a live studio," Taylor said. "We can go live to the world with a flick of a switch.

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Talk Story (mo’olelo) is the tradition of sharing important stories to preserve them for future generations. Surfing is full of colorful, charismatic and creative characters whose contributions to the world span far beyond the waves. Surf Talk Story, held every Thursday night at Turtle Bay Resort's 'Surfer The Bar', brings us surfing’s legends and their tall but true tales, as told to host Jodi Wilmott. The event is streamed live.

Check out the Surf Talk Story blog
Upcoming Talk Story events available here

Turtle Bay Resort is host and a part-time home to many of the world’s elite surfers, stand-up paddlers and surf industry executives. It is the official partner and headquarters to some of the world’s premier ocean events including The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Pipeline Masters, SURFER Magazine Peer Poll Awards, SUP World Tour, Volcom Pipe Pro etc