Hospitality Design - July 2024 - 145

The Islander, the newest flagship
cruise by Margaritaville at Sea
The iconic flip flop sculpture takes centerstage on the Islander ship, designed
by the McBride Company, which handles the interiors for the brand
Colorful poolside cabanas at Margaritaville
Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
How did you get into hospitality?
It was serendipitous. I went to law school,
but I never practiced law. I did a few
different things. I found myself working in
private equity with Nelson Peltz, and we
bought a conglomerate called DWG that
owned a range of businesses, including
Arby's and RC Cola. We were based in New
York and Nelson wanted to live in Palm
Beach, Florida. I was 38 years old and single,
and the last place in the world I wanted to
live was Palm Beach. But he twisted our
arms, so we moved the corporate office
[there]. It lasted nine months before we
moved back to New York.
During that time, I met Jimmy Buffett,
and he invited me to something I'd never
heard of growing up in New York called [the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival]. I was
standing on the side of the stage as Jimmy's
guest looking out at 100,000 people. He still
holds the record for the most people at the
main stage. I told him that he had something
special here.
The 349-room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach
Resort in Florida, which opened its doors in 2015
What led you and Buffett to turn
Margaritaville into a brand?
Edgar Bronfman was an executive at Universal,
and the company was building Islands of
Adventure at CityWalk, which is a retail
entertainment district [in Orlando] that you pass
through before going to the parks. They wanted
to license the Margaritaville name to build a
30,000-square-foot restaurant at the entrance.
Jimmy was an intuitive guy. He called me up
and said, 'I'm not sure about licensing my name
to Universal. There could be a real brand here.
I can't pay you, but you can wear shorts and fl ip
fl ops.' It's a story he loved to tell. I leſt [DWG] to
do that. He and I started this, and it evolved into
something neither of us could have imagined.
What was your initial vision for the
Margaritaville restaurants?
We were trying to create what we are today
but on a smaller scale-a lifestyle environment
where people come to relax and escape the daily
grind. We wanted to celebrate the idea that when
you work hard, you should have time off . It came
from Jimmy's creative life, which has to do with
the idea of relaxing, being social-that vacation
state of mind. We describe ourselves not as a hotel
business, but a lodging business. We have 150
restaurants today with over 40 lodging locations.
Our main business is lodging, where we provide an
opportunity for you to enjoy that lifestyle.
What is the common denominator found
throughout Margaritaville properties?
Everything we do is about emotion. One of the
advantages we have is that Margaritaville is well
known. The song was writt en in 1977, and it elicits
an emotion. You're introducing that feeling and
experience to them in diff erent forms, and it starts
with people walking into something that's organic
and authentic.
When did you decide to move into hotels?
It happened organically aſt er about 10 years. It was
always clear this was the business we wanted to be
in, but it was a question of being able to get there.
Our fi rst big resort was in Hollywood, Florida
[which opened in 2015] and people were having so
hospitalitydesign.com July 2024
145
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - July 2024
