Member profile: COVID doesn't stop Hawaiian rental operation
By Connie Lannan
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Member profile: COVID doesn't stop Hawaiian rental operation

Even though the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shuttered their operation for a while, Hannah and John Lozano, owners of Hawaii Island Events, Kailua Kona, Hawaii, are coming out of the pandemic stronger and more diversified than ever.

“We specialize in doing the whole wedding, from start to finish. That is our niche, which includes coordinating and dealing with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, particularly regarding permits. We have just ended the mask mandate outside, but you still cannot have a wedding on the Big Island without a permit,” Hannah says.

The Lozanos have focused on what they call “stylized packages” for their consultation and coordination services.

“We offer consultation services, where the client handles all the planning, but they hire us to consult with them because it is difficult to find trusted local vendors. This is true, especially for destination brides. When they get here, they don’t know who is trustworthy or how to get the permit. We give them access to our online planning portal, which they can use to create their timeline and event diagrams. We also offer complete coordination in which we do all the planning. We match them with the vendors who we know will provide them with what they need and want. We engage the vendors, get quotes and see them through the contract and negotiations, provide diagrams for social distancing, get the permits, provide all the rentals, including signage, sanitizing stations and optional masks so clients do not have to haul it in. We also develop a menu and work with the caterers and florists. In addition, we show up the day of the event and manage everything that day, too,” she says.

That desire to take care of brides from start to finish as well as provide rentals for corporate events began 24 years ago, first as a part-time venture and then blossoming into a full-time operation.

“My husband and I had both worked at a resort on the coast. That is where we met. Being trained by these five-star resorts, you are very customer-oriented — ready to do anything to provide what the customer wants. Coming from that mindset, John initially had side jobs with other event companies in which he focused on the lighting. Many of these companies were not able to service the smaller clients, and clients started approaching John because they loved what he did. During this time, we also discovered a bigger need for more stylized events. People were coming to us with these beautiful visions, but there was nothing on the island that could fulfill that need. I started shopping and John would build these crazy designs that I came up with. Together we started providing more stylized rental packages. It was mostly for weddings. We also started servicing a lot of destination wedding service companies,” Hannah says, adding that when her job at the resort was eliminated, they decided to offer this service full time.

“That is when I became a certified wedding planner. Most here are not certified. I felt it was important to have certification. I believe I am the only certified wedding planner on the island,” she says.

Through the years it has been Hannah and John, their children and about 14 loyal part-time staffers who come in and helped as needed.

They feel fortunate to be members of the American Rental Association (ARA), having first learned about the association through insurance. “Now our view of ARA is that it is very essential for us as a company. I feel like people who are looking for rentals and something that we offer see that ARA is very trusted in the industry. Our membership partners us with ARA. I have it listed on our website that we are members of ARA,” she says.

That trust is key to what the Lozanos have built their business on — bringing the bride or corporate planner’s dream to life. It also flows into Hannah’s belief that “design is only as good as what you can design with. You can have a wonderful designer, but if you don’t have the rentals to fulfill that, the event will not be what it was planned or meant to be. The rental companies have to have the vision and foresight to understand what the need and trends are. We have to be on top of that,” she says.

To make sure each client’s experience is the best it can be, she works only with her approved vendors and venues. “We have two venues in particular with which we do their planning and coordination. We work at hotels alongside in-house coordinators. We have our trusted vendor guide, what we call our ‘TV Guide,’ of those who we are sure will pull through — are flexible and will do whatever it takes to make the event successful. Being in the business for 24 years, we have seen it all. There is a reason we work with the vendors we trust,” she says.

All of that came to a screeching halt when the pandemic hit. “We had 14 months of absolutely no business. But since then we have made a lot of changes in how we serve our clients. I feel a lot of the changes are for the better. One year of being shut down was very scary. We felt lost. Honestly, this business is our legacy. This is what we built from the ground up. There were questions about how we were going to pay our mortgage. Yet every single company worked with us so we could get through the pandemic. It is such a beautiful thing to see. We got a PPP loan. We took advantage of all of that. We were able to purchase more equipment. We have opened back up in full bloom and are ready to serve our clients again,” she says.

While most event rental companies in the States saw a significant jump in tented events during the pandemic and when restrictions started to lift, particularly with backyard or other outdoor weddings, Hannah said that hasn’t been the case on the Big Island.

“The rain is not too much of an issue here. You can have weddings out in the open with no tents here in Hawaii,” she says. She also has seen weddings resume at resorts, hotels and some vacation rentals, even though large events are still prohibited at these properties.

“In terms of volume, we haven’t gotten into our pre-COVID numbers yet, but we are getting there. Because we don’t have a wedding season here and every day is a good wedding day, we feel that by the end of 2021 we should get there,” she says.

The pandemic did instill the importance of expanding her company’s reach. “I feel that flexibility and diversity are really important. The next event is not guaranteed. That is why I really diversified our offerings, including our inventory. I also enrolled in a home staging course. We offer home staging, both short- and long-term, for everything from subdivisions that have model homes for display to helping someone who is selling their home and needs to stage it for good photos. We also offer inventory for stylized photo shoots — fancy tables and lounge settings — for businesses that need a beautiful setting to show off their products. We had been doing some of this prior to the pandemic, but we are offering it even more now,” she says.

What the pandemic has not done is dampen their enthusiasm for what they do. “I love that we can be creative. When I put together a proposal, I can almost hear the bride’s excitement that we nailed her look. It is so neat to have product that can fulfill all these dreams — from what they see on Instagram and Pinterest, etc. When I hear how excited the couples are — whether a local couple or those who come from other places to Hawaii — that they can have the wedding they always dreamed of here in Hawaii, that is the fun part. I also enjoy seeing the whole thing come together and, at the end of the night, seeing how everyone is so happy,” Hannah says.

The other gift the industry offers is that the Lozanos’ relationship with their clients usually doesn’t end after the wedding has taken place. “We stay in touch with the couples we work with. We consider them family. Remaining close with our couples is the most rewarding thing besides working with our family,” Hannah says.

Connie Lannan

Connie LannanConnie Lannan

Connie Lannan is special projects editor for Rental Management. She helps plan, coordinate, write and edit ARA’s quarterly regional newsletters, In Your Region. She also researches, writes and edits news and feature articles for Rental Management, Rental Pulse, supplements, special reports and other special projects. Outside of work, she loves to bake for others, go for walks with her husband and volunteer for her church and causes she believes in.

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