Cementos sol

Butler´s hideaway

Jonathan Butler sipped his Piña Colada on the sundeck of his terrace overlooking the Caribbean sunset and felt very pleased with his decision to create butler´s. butler´s hideaway had opened five years before with a mission to offer the most discriminating of guests a vacation hideaway. Located on the island of Grand Cayman in the British West Indies, which is well known forits beautiful seven-mile beach, magnificent waters, peace and quiet, political stability and strong economy, butler´s had been a smashing success.

Grand Cayman Island was only a 75 minute flight from Miami International Airport. This was one of the important strengths highlighted by the feasibility study conducted by Pannell k

Kerr Forster before the investment was made. Mr. Butler, aninvestor not a hotelier, felt that the product butler´s was offering was working very well.

An award-winning architect had been selected to design butler´s to complement the colors and rhythm of the tropics with a distinctly opulent and luxurious flavor. Butler´s overlooked a magnificent seven-mile beach. The Great House included 20 rooms and 20 suites. Also in the Great House was a Cartierboutique, a Carita beauty salon, and a sun and sundries store. A beautiful lounge had a water-fall that cascaded down to a freshwater pool, bar, and casual restaurant called Pimms, which served breakfast and lunch. The fine dining room was fronted by famous chef Roger verge and offered both lunch and dinner.

There were also 20 villas in the complex, some with one bedroom and a few with two bedrooms.Each included a private pool exquisitely designed to meander thorough the villa´s own dining terrace. A fully equipped kitchen was concealed with a service entrance in order that room service might be of the highest standard and served with discretion. Butler´s had become known as one of the great hideaways for the elite.

The finest of personalized service was offered at butler´s; all guests hada personal concierge who coupled as their driver. A water sports center chartered luxury motor yachts for those wishing to visit neighboring island or seek well-known snorkeling or diving spots.

Current status

Butler´s had just had its best year. Its average annual occupancy was 74 percent and its average daily rate was $450 European Plan, $340 in the Great House and $850 in the villas.Although the past two years had been tough years due to international turmoil and weak economies, Mr. Butler felt they were right back on track as he looked at the customer profile. Butler´s clientele was the rich and famous. It included celebrities. CEOs, private bankers, high level executives, dignitaries, and entrepreneurs. Thirty percent through travel agents, 20 percent through selectedAmerican and European wholesalers, while 10 percent were corporate bookings, and 25 percent were direct. Sixty-five percent came from the United States, 20 percent from Europe and the rest from around the world. The average length of stay was 6.5 days, 5 days for Americans and 8 days for Europeans.

Repeat business had grown to 34 percent. Butler´s prided itself on remembering all the whims and fanciesof each guest staying with them. This demanding clientele seemed to be very happy, with the facilities of the hotel and the services provided.

Serious competition in the region included Cap Juluca on Anguilla, La Samanna on St. Martin, and Manapany on St. Barthelemy. None of these were large resorts and there seemed to be penty of business for all.

Advertising for butler´s was handled byYesawich, Pepperdine y Brown, one of the leading agencies in the hotel industry. Mr. Butler was very happy with their services, which included differentiated advertising, press trips, media blitzes, news releases, and special event promotions. He felt that their efforts were timely, cohesive, and targeted.

The General Manager of Butler´s, Kathryn, had been there since it opened. Mr. Butler was...