Carmine Iommazzo of MacNaughton Hospitality Reimagines One Hotel at a Time

PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS

A little more than a year since returning to the Islands, Carmine Iommazzo is now in the midst of new development projects at MacNaughton Hospitality’s three Waikiki properties.

Iommazzo said the company is in the planning phase for renovations at The Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head Hotel, Hotel Renew Waikiki Beach, and the Waikiki Malia, where construction will most likely start.

These are some of the upcoming projects he said he is most excited about since being promoted from director of hospitality operations to vice president of hospitality at MacNaughton Hospitality in April.

With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Iommazzo is no stranger to leading hotels through major transitions.

In Hawaii, he was the general manager of The Kahala Hotel & Resort and facilitated the transition of the hotel to new ownership when Japan’s Resorttrust purchased the hotel from an entity owned by Honolulu-based Trinity Investments for $282.5 million in 2014. He also oversaw the $33 million renovation of the former Makena Beach & Golf Resort in Maui in 2013.

After leaving Hawaii in 2016, he worked at several hotels on the West Coast, most recently at the Kimpton Alma San Diego — now the Alma San Diego Downtown, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel — where he oversaw a property-wide $25 million renovation. He then returned to the Islands and has been with MacNaughton Hospitality since May 2024.

What got you into hospitality?

I was born, raised and educated in Adelaide, [Australia]. I think that at a young age, I fell into the service industry, working in family Italian restaurants. I think it’s in my DNA. I was lucky to grow and learn and have an opportunity to move to Maui back in ‘99, and that really launched my hospitality career.

How did you get connected with MacNaughton?

I was always looking for that opportunity to come back [to Hawaii]. I saw MacNaughton had posted a position, and we kept in touch. Then they were moving a little bit more seriously into finding somebody [with] Hawaii experience, which was really important. They continue to want to grow and expand and look for other investment opportunities, and that’s what I would like to do, [move] into more development and asset management.

Which hotel will see renovations first?

All three [hotels] are at different stages of planning. I think Waikiki Malia, more than likely, will be the first. The other two will be soon after. It is kind of a weird time to do it, because tariffs created so much uncertainty. We need to see a little bit more certainty, because of cost. If you’re just basing it off 145% increase in China trade tariffs, it might [not be a] good time to do a renovation. We still have a little bit of study to do with our design and project teams to understand when is the best time to maybe take on a project. But I think in the next year or two, we definitely need to see some renovation projects, improvements, at the hotels, for sure.

Circling back to your personal interests, where’s your favorite place to relax?

I bought a new house [around October], so I’m a homeowner now, and even though it’s not relaxing, I tend to spend a lot of time at my house, whether it’s mowing the lawn or pruning the garden. If you ever find me truly relaxing, it’ll be on the beach. Waimanalo, Bellows side, and Lanikai, tend to be my favorite places.

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