A managing director at The Laylow Waikiki
The Laylow Waikiki has appointed Joey Woofter as Managing Director. His remit covers guest experience, financial performance, hotel operations and associate engagement. The property is The Laylow Waikiki, Autograph Collection, at 2299 Kuhio Ave in Honolulu, described on its own site as a mid-century modern boutique hotel.
The rooms record behind the appointment
Woofter brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience across Hawaii and the US mainland. He began with Hyatt in front office and housekeeping at Hyatt Regency Waikiki, then held leadership positions across hotel brands before joining Turtle Bay Resort. He served at Turtle Bay as Director of Rooms and was promoted to Resort Manager in August 2022, through the property’s repositioning and reflagging.
He moved to Hawaii to attend Hawai’i Pacific University, where he took a bachelor’s degree in hotel and tourism management in 2003.
What the property sells
Every room at The Laylow carries a private lanai. The property sells on Marriott Bonvoy alongside its own booking engine, a reservations line and a reservations email address. Hideout, the restaurant and bar on the property, runs live music every night from 6 to 9 p.m. and a DJ programme on Friday and Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. The private-events business covers 1,500-plus square feet of space and receptions of up to 200 people.
Those lines price alongside the rooms, and the appointment puts one executive over the guest-facing product and the commercial result at once. A revenue leader reading the hire gets a rooms-side operator on a property whose food, beverage and events programme runs seven nights a week.
The duties beyond the four named areas
The announcement adds three duties to the remit: supporting the property’s team, identifying opportunities for growth and developing The Laylow’s positioning within Waikiki. Only the last of the three is a district question, and it is the one a distribution or revenue plan has to answer before the next rate season.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to lead a hotel with such a strong sense of identity,” Woofter said. “What immediately drew me to The Laylow was its personality, design, and energy.”
The appointment was reported by Hospitality & Catering News on September 18, 2026.