Anne Pawsat-Dressler's Success Story

President and Founder of Hawaii Hideaways

Anne Pawsat-Dressler is the President and Founder of Hawaii Hideaways, a vacation service that was launched in 2004. The company caters to a niche upscale vacation segment that has been previously unmet. Anne is just 30 now but has already established a multi-million dollar vacation business for top-echelon leisure and business travelers to Hawaii. When asked about the secret to her success, she said “It's so basic: Answering my phone and always being available and accountable.”

Anne always had a passion for traveling to different places. Even as a teenager, she used to travel to Europe and Central America which eventually helped her to gain a true understanding about the needs and expectations of upscale vacationers. And now, she has met their needs to the best of her ability and surpassed her clients’ expectations. Due to her relentless commitment to provide impeccable service and client satisfaction, she was one among three in the United States to be named “Villa Rental Specialist” in 2006 by Condй Nast Traveler. She is also the sole recommended agent for Hawaii.

Anne’s company basically contacts villa and estate owners in Hawaii to include their properties in their rental listings. They then make these properties available for rent to vacationers traveling to Hawaii. Hawaii Hideaways also takes care of all the hospitality arrangements for the vacationers. Anne’s exceptional customer service skills have helped her to fully satisfy all the needs of a demanding clientele and also exceed their expectations by providing personalized attention, unmatched privacy and an extensive selection of choices on properties.

Her main challenge when she started her business was her age. She was just 24 when she started meeting estate owners to convince them to let out their properties for rent. Apart from the normal skepticism she faced, she also had to convince them about the deal within the one hour or so that these prospective clients usually gave her for meeting with them. But amazingly, within a very short period of time, she was able to build a long inventory of chic and expensive estate for rental which enabled her to position her company as the top luxury vacation provider in the state of Hawaii.

When asked about what she would like to advice other entrepreneurs, she said that entrepreneurs should take advantage of the power of Internet to test the viability of their business. Since the overheads involved are negligible, testing the waters on the Net would be a safe starting point to launch any business.