Hanjin KAL to sell Waikiki Resort Hotel to Sono for $101 mn

Hanjin KAL Corp., the holding firm of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co., is set to sell a 100% stake in its Hawaii-based subsidiary Waikiki Resort Hotel Inc. for 140.1 billion won ($101.2 million) to resort operator Sono International Co.

Daemyung Sono Group, a hospitality conglomerate in Korea, said on Friday that its affiliate Sono International will purchase a full stake in the luxury hotel, as well as the property and land. The transaction date is under negotiation.

Hanjin KAL has sought to divest of the hotel since 2020. The company had also signed an agreement to sell it to US real estate firm AHI-CLG LLC for 146.6 billion won last September, but Hanjin KAL walked away from the deal as the payment was delayed by around two months.

Waikiki Resort Hotel is located about 9 miles southeast of Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, the largest airport in Hawaii, and 2.5 miles northwest of volcanic tuff cone Diamond Head. The hotel has 19 stories above ground and one underground with 19,800 square meters of floor area and 275 guest rooms including 11 suites. It achieved an 86% occupancy rate last year.

The hotel posted 23.2 billion won in revenue last year, up 8.7% on-year, and 2.8 billion won in net profit, down 12.9% from a year earlier.

Sono International has bulked up with acquisitions of overseas resorts and hotels since it started the operation of a Vietnam-based golf resort owned by Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., in 2019.

Sono International has rebranded the facilities from Song Gia Golf Resort to Sono Belle Hai Phong, operating 60 hotel rooms, 78 residence suites and a 27-hole golf course.

The Korean resort operator also acquired The Normandy Hotel in Washington, D.C. in 2022, 33 Seaport Hotel in New York City last year and Hotel Dame Des Arts in Saint Germain-des-Prés, Paris in March.

Write to Seok-Cheol Choi at dolsoi@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.