DEVELOPMENT
business with Karisma , which has US $ 400 million going into the ground throughout the Caribbean for four Margaritaville projects as well as the Compass select-service brand , which has one under development and four or five more about to come out of the ground . Cohlan says he ’ d be disappointed if the joint venture didn ’ t grow to 10 projects in the near term . “ It ’ s going to be a very big business for us .”
At the end of the day , what Cohlan says he understands more than anything is the goodwill that Jimmy Buffett handed him 22 years ago and how important it is to protect the brand . As a result , he believes in spending time and money on quality control , training and the sales and development team .
“ The culture , it ’ s almost like patriotism ,” he says . “ 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 .” destinations . Minto had another partner in Daytona before bringing in Margaritaville , where Cohlan estimates it sold more than 1,000 homes in the first 18 months — without any models . In total , Cohlan estimates they are selling about 4,000 homes in Daytona and 3,000 in Hilton Head .
These are license agreements where Margaritaville gets paid on every home sale . “ The whole experience is like summer camp ,” Cohlan adds , knowing how much it means to the real estate sales pitch . “ We will be the Del Webb for baby boomers . I don ' t really have to do the programming , but it ' s our brand and I understand the opportunity .”
Margaritaville also has a high-end condominium brand called One Particular Harbor where , for example , the penthouse unit in the Nassau , Bahamas , development is a US $ 5 million play . It is already selling units at a development next to the site of the first Compass property in Anna Maria Sound , where the average selling price is US $ 800,000 .
For a topper , Margaritaville runs F & B and entertainment programming at about 10 cruise ports around Caribbean islands and is doing F & B on Norwegian Cruise Lines . Cohlan says it is considering branding a ship with one of the major cruise lines or do something more boutique in nature . It is also looking at branding higher-end RV parks , having opened its first one at Lake Lanier .
Margaritaville is getting into the franchise business with its new limited-service brand , Compass .
34 hotelsmag . com January / February 2020