DEVELOPMENT
of food and beverage would you like ?’ Even though we ’ re not a hotel management company , we use companies like Davidson ( Hotels & Resorts ), who is terrific , to manage . But we co-manage the food and beverage because we really know how to execute on that .”
While Margaritaville works with multiple management companies , including giant Aimbridge Hospitality in the Bahamas , Davidson has been a big partner , operating the Hollywood flagship and the new Nashville property . It also manages Pebblebrook ’ s Paradise Point Resort in San Diego , which upon renovation will become the West Coast flagship .
Cohlan points to the partnership with Davidson , whose parent , KSL Capital Partners , owns the Hollywood project , as an example of the importance of finding the right partners .
“ What Davidson really brought to the table is the group corporate business ,” Cohlan says . “ We are incredibly successful with corporate Fortune 500 meetings at our properties .”
“ As the visionary for Margaritaville , John Cohlan has also done an extraordinary job guiding the brand into various consumer segments , all while building critical brand awareness ,” says Davidson CEO John Belden , adding that the brand
THE COMPANY CULTURE , IT ’ S ALMOST LIKE PATRIOTISM . WE BELIEVE IN SOMETHING CALLED MARGARITAVILLE . IT ’ S LIKE , ‘ DON ’ T TARNISH THE FLAG .’ AND WHEN YOU HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT A BRAND , IT ’ S INVALUABLE . IT ’ S THE KEY TO EVERYTHING .”
JOHN COHLAN doesn ’ t pretend to be something it ’ s not . “ While they ’ ve had countless successes over the last 20-plus years , I feel like their journey has led them to their true calling in the hotel industry .”
Cohlan has an unexpected answer when asked how he defines Margaritaville Holdings and its full-time staff of 51 : “ We ’ re a training company . We have to train the people who are on the front line ,” he says . “ Because we don ’ t manage those properties , we have to train the Davidsons of the world to know how to deliver our experience . That is really the core .”
Belden calls Margaritaville a complex and sophisticated brand that requires an operator with deep F & B skills , exceptional culture and a dedication to quality . “ You can ’ t fake the experience , nor can you undercapitalize the asset from a quality standpoint , or you ’ ll risk cheapening the experience ,” he says . “ You have to be committed to creating a highly stylized , casual luxury environment . You also have to assemble a team that can truly bring the brand to life , so that the experiences can generate outsized revenue streams and exceptional profits .”
THE ROAD AHEAD Margaritaville ’ s pipeline is filled with big projects , ranging from the US $ 250
COHLAN ’ S
JOURNEY
“ I ’ ve had more fun than I could have imagined ,” says John Cohlan , who got a call about 22 years ago from Jimmy Buffett , asking for advice how to move forward with his restaurant business .
He calls his time at Margaritaville Holdings a “ fantastic ride , and I feel like we ’ re just getting started .”
Cohlan studied American history at Princeton University , attended the London School of Economics and then studied constitutional and corporate law at Georgetown Law Center before landing at Triarc , a publicly traded holding company of consumer businesses , where he was senior vice president of corporate finance . During his time there he helped develop and maintain businesses like Arby ' s , Snapple and RC Cola .
Cohlan met Buffett in the 1990s and saw the potential of the organic brand . When Buffett decided not to license the Margaritaville name to Universal Studios in 1997 , he asked Cohlan to oversee the branding and development of the name as a full hospitality business . The rest is history .
With his wife , Louisa , and their three sons , Cohlan lives in Palm Beach during the school year and in Skaneateles , New York , during the summer .
30 hotelsmag . com January / February 2020