Timbers Kauai Ocean Club and Residences has established an enhanced-movement quarantine program for its property, also known as a "resort bubble," even as the state prepares to launch a coronavirus pretravel testing program on Oct. 15 that will allow visitors who test negative to skip Hawaii's mandatory two-week quarantine.
Gov. David Ige approved the idea for allowing quarantining individuals to leave their rooms to make use of some resort and hotel amenities in September, and Kauai County developed its own regulations for how the program would work, including stipulating that both the property security staff and Kauai Police Department would participate in enforcement.
Guests subject to the enhanced-movement quarantine must sign agreements indicating they understand the rules and stipulations and have to wear a bracelet that tracks their movement with geolocation technology. Timbers Kauai launched its resort bubble on Oct. 1 and was expecting more than 40 guests to come through in the first two weeks of the month and participate in the program. The resort has asked all guests, no matter when they arrive, to take a coronavirus test within 72 hours of arrival.
"Testing the guests in the enhanced-movement quarantine was not under the county plan, but we do have employees here, and we have folks already staying here, including some owners," said managing director Gary Moore. "It gives us another option, but our hope is that we do it for 14 days and then we never have to pull it out again. That said, if there is a spike in infections and we have to shut down again, we have this plan already approved and ready to go as a contingency."
The pretravel testing program was delayed twice before the Oct. 15 start date was announced. Starting on that day, visitors can bypass the mandatory quarantine if they test negative for coronavirus within 72 hours of their arrival.
Timbers Kauai features 47 residence-style accommodations in two-, three-, and four-bedroom configurations. About 60% of the residences are sold, and owners can opt in to have their accommodations included in the pool for public bookings. In addition, all of the unsold residences are open for booking, Moore said.
"They're spacious, and the property lends itself to social distancing with few common hallways," he said.
Timbers Kauai is part of the 450-acre Hokuala Resort and includes walking trails, a golf course and two separate pools, each with multiple basins and plenty of space for guests to spread out.
After the pandemic shutdown began in Hawaii in late March, the property closed to everyone but residence owners. On July 1 it reopened to the public and had been seeing guests come in from the neighbor islands, Moore said.
"I believe around Thanksgiving we will see some rental pickup and leading into the festive end-of-year season with Christmas and New Year," he said. "We've seen some demand, but I don't think it's going to be off the charts. We see things picking up more in the second and third quarter of 2021, provided things go smoothly."
Moore said they felt confident in the plan, and his staff was working hard to make sure all the details are communicated to guests.
"We want the guests coming in to understand the rules, and we don't want anyone showing up saying they didn't know they had to wear the tracking bracelet, or they didn't know they couldn't leave the property," Moore said.
Even with the pretravel testing program's start days away, many questions remained on implementation, and some elected officials, including Kauai mayor Derek Kawakami, have suggested they would like to see more safeguards put in place to reduce the risk of an outbreak. Kauai has been Hawaii's most successful county in limiting the spread of coronavirus, with fewer than 60 cases total and no deaths. Kawakami and other elected officials have advocated for a post-travel follow-up test a few days after arrival, but state officials say the capacity is not available to execute such a plan.
"There are no guarantees," Moore said. "There will be false negatives and false positives. There are almost surely going to be more cases. But I think it can be managed, and we are going to do our part to help manage it. You can't eliminate all risk, but I see it like putting on your seatbelt in the car and doing what you can to be safe."
Even with limited activities available due to emergency orders, Moore said he believes just being in Hawaii is a draw in and of itself.
"Especially on Kauai, I feel people come here to be on the island and in this atmosphere and to be outdoors," Moore said. "For people in urban centers feeling cooped up, it's a relief just to be here in Kauai. Sure, a luau would be great; we can't do that right now, but we have 17 miles of meandering trails, a lagoon for kayaking and lots of other ways to get out and enjoy the island."
CORRECTED: This report was updated to correct the title of Gary Moore. He is the managing director of the Timbers Kauai Ocean Club and Residences.