OPPORTUNITY
PROFILE
THE LEGACY MAKER
OPPORTUNITY
COMES
Belize
TO
FIRST-TIME HOTEL DEVELOPER BETH CLIFFORD MAKES A HUGE IMPACT ON ISLAND NATION – NOT ONLY BY DRIVING BUSINESS , BUT BY LAUNCHING LOCAL , SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES .
Contributed by MEGAN ROWE
Beth Clifford went fishing for a destination where she could leave her mark . She found it in Belize . It took 16 years , but the opening of Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club last December embodies a commitment she has made to improving the lives of Belizeans .
Today , Clifford has made an indelible impact on Belize ’ s economy that goes beyond the resort . Her original plan was to start , fund or ignite 50 new companies ; so far she ’ s helped launch 22 startups , often through seed funding . But she doesn ’ t want to run those firms . Her end game is to leave behind 50 sustainable businesses that will be owned and operated by locals .
Clifford took a few detours before tackling her first resort , spending 14 years in technology and working as a management consultant before leaving those worlds behind to focus on construction and real estate , mainly residential and office projects . But she craved more . “ I was looking for a long-term , legacy project ,” she recalls , and narrowed it down to the hospitality space , preferably in an emerging destination . She spent more than two years studying potential markets before settling on Belize .
“ We wanted a place we could help define and grow appreciation in — and a place that was a natural for great tourism ,” Clifford explains . “ Belize has so many different great aspects : you can feel like you ’ re in Africa , on a wild river in South America , on a savannah or in a rain forest . And it also has the largest living reef in the world .” The Caribbean nation ’ s shabby chic ethos made it ripe for travelers seeking authentic experiences , she reckoned . And with a dearth of upscale accommodations — most of the island ’ s lodging stock consists of older small properties — the time seemed to be right for a project like Mahogany Bay .
DETOURS , ROADBLOCKS Getting Mahogany Bay off the ground wasn ’ t the simplest process , but Clifford ’ s development experience , ingenuity and tenacity helped her overcome some of the tougher hurdles on her largest development yet . The first one was a lack of local funding . “ Anyone who develops here has to bring their own money ,” she explains .
And this project was capital-hungry — so far , more than US $ 70 million has gone into the 60- acre village , which now includes 205 cottages and villas as well as a retail marketplace . Clifford
April 2018 hotelsmag . com 41