The Evolution of Hawai‘i Life One (HL1)

Several years ago, I sat down with Winston Welborn, Hawai‘i Life’s Chief Design Officer, to talk strategy. We began by listing some of our top clients on a whiteboard. I use the term ‘top’ clients to mean those whose true net worth is likely undiscoverable and whose names would be recognizable to many people. I say that at the risk of sounding a little arrogant and overblown, but it was both powerful and humbling to review that list of names, especially in the context of the question we were posing: How do we best represent these clients?

I asked the question because these clients – their processes, demands, considerations, and expectations – are markedly different from the more typical 1500+ clients that Hawai‘i Life represents in a given year. Exceeding their expectations demands extreme focus and depth of skill – a degree of mastery aimed at saving them their most important resource, which is time.

Our solution was to create a platform where we could curate the best of the best…the best residential offerings in Hawai‘i, both on and off-market, and the best brokers in the state. We meant “best brokers in the state” quite literally. We meant individuals in possession of a distinctive knowledge of Hawai‘i, who focus with an uncompromising quest on unique achievements, and whose results speak for themselves. We call that platform Hawai‘i Life One or HL1.

HL1 is a curated collection of Hawai‘i’s exceptional properties and locations. It’s meant to distill the noise of the overhyped notions of luxury down to a purity that represents the authentic, timeless and sustained knowing that only truly talented brokers can provide. We call that team of brokers HL1 Directors and we task them with curating the best real estate offerings in the state of Hawai‘i and the representation of our top clients.

Today, we have the extreme good fortune of completing that team with the greatest of all exclamation points – The CHOI Group with Hawai‘i Life. At any point in the evolution of Hawai‘i Life or HL1, if you had asked me to pinpoint who would be the one broker I’d most want to serve as the HL1 Director for the Island of O‘ahu, I would have unequivocally answered Patricia Choi.

Matt Gabriel (Broker-in-Charge), Patricia Choi (HL1 Director), and Julianna Garris (Broker-in-Charge) of The CHOI Group with Hawai’i Life

Patricia and her husband Cedric have co-created a reputation in Choi International that stands for unadulterated and unsurpassed excellence. Aligning themselves with Hawai‘i Life is one of a long list of decisions that demonstrate their readiness to embrace change. It is this willingness to evolve that has helped them to stay relevant in a fast-paced world, all the while preserving their original ethos. What’s most remarkable about Patricia, Cedric and their exceptional team of Honolulu agents and brokers is that they never strived to be the biggest, but always to be the best.

Their brokerage was among the original affiliates of Christie’s International Real Estate in Hawai‘i, now a network of 138 luxury brokerage firms worldwide, spanning 46 countries. Hawai‘i Life is now the exclusive, statewide Christie’s affiliate. The Chois were also early members of Luxury Portfolio International®, the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®. The latter is the largest relocation organization in the country. Luxury Portfolio International® is the largest global network of locally branded, independent luxury brokerages, with more than 200 premier affiliates in their worldwide network.

We couldn’t be more excited to finally have Patricia Choi on board as the HL1 Director for the island of O’ahu. With her credentials, reputation and business acumen, as well as her team’s exceptional dedication to service, we are honored to bring her into the fold of our HL1 leadership team. We like to think of HL1 as the Fight Club of Hawai‘i Life. We don’t talk about it much. It’s not about demand creation, but rather, it’s about demand fulfillment. It’s about serving the clients we already have with the utmost care and dedication, with the ultimate goal of exceeding their expectations and saving them valuable time.