The Mauisunseeker is a small 16 unit hotel. With a rentable penthouse. I stayed there when it was just the Sunseeker (4 rentable room and the owners lived in the penthouse above the office) and loved the place and owner. When I came to work for him I felt like I was at home entertaining friends. When it grew into the Wailana Inn/Mauisunseeker and additional owners joined in, it became a mess of a place to work, but the hotel was still fun and clean. Unfortunatly the new owners did not get along with each other and finally decided to sell it and get away from each other. (I think they are still in litigation and no one has gotten paid from the sale of the hotel) I wouldn%26#39;t be surprised if some of the comments were from past and present owners pretending to be guests.
I started working there in Sept of 05. I was the only employee besides the owners,those three years (aside from the housekeeper which was contracted out) I worked there (reservations/front desk/common area and property clean-up/day to day operations/as well as bodywork on the side, but through the hotel) I was the one person that all the guests had the most contact with. I left the hotel when the new owner purchased it in Aug of 08. The previous owner and new owner encourage guests to comment. I know this first hand. When I saw the comments and looked up dates/locations/usernames/other places visited, a lot of it does not add up.
That is why I feel I must say something. I am not complaining about good or bad comments, just the use of my name specifically. A few are without a doubt against TA guidelines and should be removed. I have tried repeatedly to speak with someone at TripAdvisor. And no response about my concern, just the same response stating that someone will get back with me.
We had our share of difficult customers that seemed impossible to please(high maintenance) that thought they where at a 5 star resort but for the most part our guests were very polite, friendly and enjoyed what we had to offer, for the very reasonable rates and quaint setting.
The new owner as of Aug 08, hired a new general manager that is very qualified, except she is not gay. So that meant my position was gone. The owner is gay but he lives full time in New York. And the other younger staff person is gay so there is some balance. But it is not the way it was before with someone on the property 24 hrs a day, and you knew you had an available host familiar with the special needs of the gay community and willing to help with anything. When I read reviews about the hotel my name comes up in good and bad ways. Too bad it has to be personal and public. I was requesting to use terms like staff, manager, housekeeper, and owner, instead of the actual names. As I am doing.
Bottom line. It is a tough economy right now and I think any service related business has to do all it can to meet the needs of those wanting what they offer. I loved working at the hotel but would not choose to stay there with the current owner and staff. And that is the feedback I get from people I meet on island. I am sure there are some people that are glad to see me no longer working there or anywhere, some people are just that way. have to saw that for me the positive feedback and received and still get is so much more rewarding than the few negative comments. Still a great hotel but possibly not a ';gay friendly'; hotel.
I had to get my say in. thank you..
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