DeSilva DMC 分享：如何在会议与活动中策划一场尊重夏威夷文化的传统卢奥（Lūʻau）

You’re never wrong for doing the right thing, but you could do the right thing the wrong way.

For a long time, that was the case with how many private lūʻau experiences were designed for meetings and events. The intention to show an appreciation for the local culture may have been there, but the execution often involved tacky “grass” skirts, plastic leis, coconut bras and misinterpretations of the Hawaiian language, none of which represent Native Hawaiian culture in a respectful way.

It doesn’t take becoming a cultural expert to design a culturally authentic Hawaiian lūʻau experience, either, just a real desire to respect the culture of the Islands as best as you are able.

“All native and Indigenous host cultures deserve the utmost respect and to be represented authentically and genuinely,” said Josh DeSilva, president of DeSilva Meeting Consultants (DeSilva DMC), a Maui-based destination management company founded in 2003. “We don’t expect people that aren’t spending a lot of time here in Hawai'i specifically to become cultural experts. I’ve been here my entire life and I still have a lot more to learn than I know. We’re not under any illusions that we’re here to educate people to be Native Hawaiian experts.

“But I do firmly believe that—whether it’s Native Alaskan, Native American, Native Irish, it doesn’t matter—the host culture deserves that level of respect,” he continued. “And I think the meetings industry has, over the last few decades, been consistently moving in that direction without fail.”

DeSilva—also the 2026 chairperson of the board for DMC Network, the only fully member-owned community of award-winning destination management consultants—was raised on Maui himself and has more than 30 years of experience in the DMC space. His company, a member of DMC Network, was one of the first two Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI)-accredited DMCs in Hawai'i and offers a wide variety of services, including authentic, private Hawaiian lūʻaus.

Here’s his advice for planning a respectful, traditional lūʻau experience that will leave attendees entertained and educated.

*DeSilva DMC lūʻau event setup at Fairmont Orchid. Credit: DeSilva DMC*

Plan With Purpose

“The first thing to do—from a locally rooted DMC perspective or lens—is to have those conversations early on about what the client is trying to accomplish, so setting a tone of purpose with the event,” DeSilva said.

It can be difficult to agree on a shared purpose sometimes, as DMCs and many corporate groups have to “straddle a line,” DeSilva said. “For corporate groups, it’s their prerogative to run their shows how they want to run them, and to convey what they want to their people.”

DeSilva recommends getting together with the client, maybe even the company CEO or key stakeholders and leadership, to ask them exactly what they are trying to accomplish with the particular event. Once that purpose, goal or message is agreed upon, that’s when a partner like DeSilva DMC can come in and tie the event’s overarching theme to a traditional lūʻau experience.

One example DeSilva shared: “If it’s a sales incentive and they’re changing their systems, they’re trying to navigate a new future, you can tie the celestial navigation of the Hawaiians and how they discovered the Hawaiian Islands into your lūʻau. There are ways a lūʻau can fold into the theme or concept that you are trying to achieve, even on the nights that don’t have anything to do necessarily with the Hawaiian culture.”

Establishing the purpose of the event is part of the first step. Equally as important, however, is making sure clients and stakeholders are aware of the fact that what was once “acceptable” is no longer going to fly.

“Be clear with your clients that the days of carrying in your CEO and calling him the ‘big kahuna’ and getting him up there in a plastic skirt—those days are over,” DeSilva said. “We don’t want to shame anybody, but we want to explain the importance of respecting that native culture, and if those goals don’t align with that, then we might bring in outside experts to help guide that conversation.”

Lūʻau Structure

“When we talk about a luau,” DeSilva said, “it’s good to have a beginning, a middle and an end.”

Many traditional Hawaiian lūʻaus will open with a chant, which DeSilva said is very appropriate.

“There’s pule, which is technically a prayer, and then an ʻoli, which is a chant, and the chant might talk about the area that you’re in. It might be asking for a favor or permission to use this space, to share this moment together,” DeSilva said. “And what’s nice is to have somebody who can come out and do a traditional ʻoli and then translate it for the audience. So, it’s entertainment, but it’s also education.

“That’s a really great way to start a program,” he continued. “Then the practitioner introduces your CEO or top executive to come out and welcome the group. That’s a true start to your traditional luau.”

The middle of a traditional lūʻau allows for a little more opportunity to get creative. Oftentimes, public Hawaiian lūʻaus follow a typical format no matter what island you’re on and the entire hula performance is typically done over a 40- to 50-minute period, all at one time.

“That’s traditional,” DeSilva said. “But with corporate stuff, because your client’s goal may be, ‘I’ve got a lot of extroverted salespeople here. They love each other, they love to chat.’ They may have a shorter attention span, because it’s hard for people to sit through a 50-minute show when they’re next to someone they’ve been waiting to talk to all year.”

DeSilva DMC has done lūʻaus where the program is broken up “vignette-style,” DeSilva said, letting everyone chat while the first course is being served and then incorporating a live performance in while everyone is eating.

*DeSilva DMC lūʻau event setup. Credit: DeSilva DMC*

“Then you serve a second course and the performance is paused, and then while everyone’s enjoying that second course, you give them vignette No. 2,” DeSilva said. “You can break the lūʻau up into 10- or 15-minute segments that allow people to converse more around the table without being offensive.”

There’s the option of including satellite stages, too, with entertainers placed throughout the crowd, which DeSilva said works especially well with larger groups. And having an emcee come out between each segment or “vignette” to talk to the audience about the performance they just saw is a special touch.

“Whenever I use the word emcee, this is somebody that’s typically part of the hula halau,” DeSilva said. “They know the stories behind the songs and dances you’re hearing, and when the emcee can explain and interpret the lūʻau as a group is going through it, I think it has more meaning for the people. They understand what they’re seeing.”

A lūʻau’s closing can be done in a lot of ways, DeSilva said, but like the event itself, “they have to have a purpose.”

“You’re still trying to be as authentic and culturally accurate as possible,” DeSilva said. “You can have the emcee close things out with another ʻoli, or just by thanking the group. And it’s a good opportunity to mention that the meeting planner worked really hard to represent the culture authentically, and that we hope the audience not only enjoyed it but learned something from it.”

Do’s and Don’ts: DeSilva DMC’s Lessons for Planning a Lūʻau

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to planning a traditional Hawaiian lūʻau event, especially when you want to ensure the experience remains respectful and authentic while still achieving the overall event’s larger goal and mission.

Thankfully, that’s what experts like DeSilva DMC, a Maui-based destination management company and member of DMC Network, is here to help with.

Josh DeSilva, president of DeSilva DMC, has spent his whole life in Hawai'i and has more than 30 years of experience in the DMC space, including lots of private lūʻaus for corporate and incentive groups.

Here’s his breakdown of the key elements of a traditional Hawaiian lūʻau, plus advice for meeting planners looking to organize one of their own.

1. The Venue

“At all costs, if you can avoid being in a ballroom or concrete space, do,” DeSilva said. “Ultimately, you want to be on a grassy lawn, a setting that speaks to what you’re trying to accomplish.”

For groups looking to go offsite, there are a lot of things to consider.

“In Hawai'i, there are noise ordinances, and there are certain parts of the Islands that can get really windy in the afternoons, so stage props and tall centerpieces can blow over,” DeSilva said. “That’s where a local DMC is going to be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s bring these down lower and make them heavy, or anchor those pieces that you have as stage decor.”

2. The Food

In many cases, a group stays onsite for private lūʻau events, in which case most of the F&B is handled by the host hotel or resort, but despite who’s responsible for the food, “you’re not going to do a lūʻau and have a taco bar,” DeSilva said. “You want to be mindful of aligning your F&B with the theme, and it’s certainly OK, in my mind, to have food that is outside of a traditional lūʻau; it’s just got to make sense.”

3. The Music

Of course, traditional Hawaiian lūʻau music is ideal and often features a blend of sacred ancestral chants or ʻoli and rhythmic percussion (“mele”), paired with instruments such as slack-key guitar or ukulele. But in addition to keeping the music authentic, you also have to keep in mind where and when it can be played.

“Here in Hawai'i, there’s a noise ordinance, so if you’re at a permitted but private home or venue, all your amplified music has to end by 10 o’clock sharp,” DeSilva said. “If you’re a late-night partying crowd and you think you’re going to do your lūʻau and then have your DJ and music afterwards, you’re going to need to be guided through how that can happen. You either need to go indoors or back to the hotel.”

*Royal Hawaiian lūʻau male performers with torches*

Royal & Respectful: The Royal Hawaiian's ‘Aha‘aina Luau

The Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu may boast the largest ballroom in the popular Hawaiian destination of Waikīkī, at 26,000 square feet, along with 17,000 square feet of outside space for beachside events and the new Hinahina oceanfront restaurant, all giving groups the opportunity to design events of all shapes and sizes. But for a traditional and authentic Hawaiian lūʻau experience, groups will want to look next door.

“Our neighbor and sister hotel, the Royal Hawaiian, does an ‘Aha‘aina Luau show right on the ocean,” said Tetsuji Yamazaki, general manager, Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort. “One of the things that we need to make sure is right is the ‘pono,’ or doing what’s right for the culture. So, we always work with our cultural ambassadors about the authenticity of the messaging, the show, the songs.”

To ensure cultural sensitivity, the hotels work with local production company Tihati Productions, which has been in business for nearly 60 years.

“They’re a family-owned business and they make sure that the cultural component is on point. That’s something that we really, really make sure about,” Yamazaki said. "Especially for our Royal Hawaiian show, we talk about the history of tourism from the beginning—how tourism came to Hawai'i and the Matson ships and stuff like that—and how it migrated into the culture of Hawai'i. We tell the story with dance and song in the pageant.

“In Hawai'i, people are looking for the authentic experience—nothing fake,” he added. “It is entertainment, too, but at the same time, especially for younger people coming in, they’re really looking for the authentic experience—localized culture-immersion. It’s really, really important to showcase what’s so special about the Hawaiian aloha culture.”