Global Traveler: Describe your career in the hotel industry and your affiliation with Prince Hotels.
Donn Takahashi: I started in the hotel business as a bellman in San Francisco when I was 14 and have since worked all sorts of jobs. The most difficult job was in the hotel laundry room. My experience in these positions gives me an understanding of how a hotel operates and, more importantly, a deep respect for the people who do this type of work. I spent seven years with Stouffers Hotels and have been with Prince Hotels now for 14 years.

GT: Prince Hotels has a strong presence in Japan and Hawaii. Describe your properties.
DT: Prince has 70 hotels in Japan and four properties in Hawaii. Our Hawaii hotels have wonderful locations with beach views and great golf venues. We offer 99 holes of golf in Hawaii — 27 on Oahu, 36 on Maui and 36 on the Big Island.

In Japan, our hotels include the Hiroshima Park Tower, which opened in 2005 to go head-to-head with the Park Hyatt. We also own 40 golf courses that offer our guests preferred tee times, including Kawana Golf Course, one of Japan’s best. In many cases, we own the surrounding land and act as a land management company as well.

Alyeska Prince Hotel in Alaska is 40 minutes outside of Anchorage and we offer skiing to our guests. They take a gondola and enjoy a magnificent view of Kodiak bears and bald eagles on the way up the mountain.

Our city locations are very convenient and suited to the needs of the business traveler. They are close to business centers and offer access to ground and air transportation.

GT: Do you find a crossover among your best customers from North America visiting Japan and Hawaii?
DT: Our frequent guests do overlap between business and leisure. Many go to Japan for business and then stop over in Hawaii to relax or play golf. This is true of the Japanese traveler as well. The American business traveler will find our hotels in Japan to their liking as we cater to their needs. When we can get them to venture away from the U.S. chains, they find the food, service and locations of Prince Hotels are perfectly suited to their needs — and at a more affordable price.

GT: What can Prince Hotels offer business and luxury travelers that other hotels cannot?
DT: We feel our personal service sets us apart. We try to greet every guest by name and pay very close attention to the quality of our food and restaurants. We have some of the best sushi chefs and offer some of the best buffets in the business. Our guests know they will receive high quality and very good food at a reasonable rate.