This thesis examines the intersection of cultural tourism and luxury branding with settler colonial dynamics in Oʻahu’s high-end hospitality industry. Focusing on Disney’s Aulani Resort, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Moana Surf Rider, the study investigates how Hawaiian culture is performed, curated, and commodified as part of a five-star guest experience. Through ethnographic research and interviews with Native Hawaiian performers, artists, and cultural advisors, it traces how Indigenous identity is shaped by the demands of the tourism economy and the aesthetics of authenticity. These hotels function not only as sites of leisure but also as stages of cultural performance where issues of labour, sovereignty, and representation are continuously negotiated. Grounded in Indigenous studies, performance theory, and critical tourism studies, the thesis argues that the politics of luxury in Hawaiʻi are inseparable from the logics of colonial tourism, where Native culture is marketed as experience while underlying structures of settler colonialism persist.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines the intersection of cultural tourism and luxury branding with settler colonial dynamics in Oʻahu’s high-end hospitality industry. Focusing on Disney’s Aulani Resort, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Moana Surf Rider, the study investigates how Hawaiian culture is performed, curated, and commodified as part of a five-star guest experience. Through ethnographic research and interviews with Native Hawaiian performers, artists, and cultural advisors, it traces how Indigenous identity is shaped by the demands of the tourism economy and the aesthetics of authenticity. These hotels function not only as sites of leisure but also as stages of cultural performance where issues of labour, sovereignty, and representation are continuously negotiated. Grounded in Indigenous studies, performance theory, and critical tourism studies, the thesis argues that the politics of luxury in Hawaiʻi are inseparable from the logics of colonial tourism, where Native culture is marketed as experience while underlying structures of settler colonialism persist.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Acker, Kendall Hutchison"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"History, MA","degree_level":"Open Access Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Arts and Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joshua Goode"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z","subjects":["Cultural tourism","Disney aulani resort","Hawaii","Indigenous representation","Native hawaiian","Oʻahu","History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1010","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joshua Goode"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Acker, Kendall Hutchison"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-10-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Arts and Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["History, MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cultural tourism","Disney aulani resort","Hawaii","Indigenous representation","Native hawaiian","Oʻahu","History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1010"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the intersection of cultural tourism and luxury branding with settler colonial dynamics in Oʻahu’s high-end hospitality industry. Focusing on Disney’s Aulani Resort, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Moana Surf Rider, the study investigates how Hawaiian culture is performed, curated, and commodified as part of a five-star guest experience. Through ethnographic research and interviews with Native Hawaiian performers, artists, and cultural advisors, it traces how Indigenous identity is shaped by the demands of the tourism economy and the aesthetics of authenticity. These hotels function not only as sites of leisure but also as stages of cultural performance where issues of labour, sovereignty, and representation are continuously negotiated. Grounded in Indigenous studies, performance theory, and critical tourism studies, the thesis argues that the politics of luxury in Hawaiʻi are inseparable from the logics of colonial tourism, where Native culture is marketed as experience while underlying structures of settler colonialism persist.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Price Tag of a 5-Star Culture: Cultural Performance and the Politics of Luxury in Oʻahu’s Hotel Industry"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joshua Goode"],"dc:creator":["Acker, Kendall Hutchison"],"dc:date.available":["2025-10-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the intersection of cultural tourism and luxury branding with settler colonial dynamics in Oʻahu’s high-end hospitality industry. Focusing on Disney’s Aulani Resort, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Moana Surf Rider, the study investigates how Hawaiian culture is performed, curated, and commodified as part of a five-star guest experience. Through ethnographic research and interviews with Native Hawaiian performers, artists, and cultural advisors, it traces how Indigenous identity is shaped by the demands of the tourism economy and the aesthetics of authenticity. These hotels function not only as sites of leisure but also as stages of cultural performance where issues of labour, sovereignty, and representation are continuously negotiated. Grounded in Indigenous studies, performance theory, and critical tourism studies, the thesis argues that the politics of luxury in Hawaiʻi are inseparable from the logics of colonial tourism, where Native culture is marketed as experience while underlying structures of settler colonialism persist.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1010"],"dc:subject":["Cultural tourism","Disney aulani resort","Hawaii","Indigenous representation","Native hawaiian","Oʻahu","History"],"dc:title":["The Price Tag of a 5-Star Culture: Cultural Performance and the Politics of Luxury in Oʻahu’s Hotel Industry"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Arts and Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["History, MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z"}