How it started
Hawaii Discount was born in 2001, but was conceived when CEO and founder John Fradella traveled to Hawaii in 1996. There, he was captivated by the beauty of Hawaii. On his trip he discovered that each of the Islands had their own flavor; Oahu’s Waikiki city atmosphere, Maui’s hint of old Hawaiian towns, and Kauai’s beautiful scenery and the Big Island’s diversity. Yet on John’s first trip to Hawaii he was unprepared and did not do his homework about Hawaii Activities. Along the way John found himself in what is an "activity hut". An activity hut sells timeshares and activities. At the activity hut he was shipped in and shipped out. John left feeling overwhelmed about having to make quick decisions. Not being able to think through the logistics he lost time because the activities that were chosen were farther away than expected.
After the experience of a lifetime John left to go back home to Charleston, South Carolina. He was dismayed at the amount of money he spent. John, a hard working assistant manager of a paint store, spent $5,000 in Hawaii tours and Hawaii activities. He never wanted anyone to experience the poor service and the poor prices of the activity hut. Shortly after, John, decided to make an informational website about Hawaii and the Hawaii activities that it offers.. Once he started gathering information on Hawaii activities and Hawaii tours a new idea formed. What if he could sell Hawaii activities online? This led him to make another trip to Hawaii where he visited and talked to over 300 companies. John set up contracts with all of the companies on a commission basis. Hawaii Discount was formed. Now we discount our Hawaii activities and tours to make sure the customer gets the best price they can.