Writer: Max Crampton-Thomas
2 min read September 2021 — Nick Falcone, managing principal of NDM Hospitality and Rentyl Resorts, talked to Invest: about the unique value of his product which is accommodation that blends the comfort of home with the convenience of resorts. The sheer growth of the company proves the demand this product is enjoying, he noted.
What strategies did you deploy to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic?
Our business model in general was set up to weather a lot of what we dealt with in the last year-and-a-half in a really positive way. When you look at food and beverage, especially the markets that we are in, the biggest impacts were felt by the full-service, larger, sit-down restaurants that put a lot of people under one roof. We were associated more with the quick service model of restaurants. We had already positioned our restaurants with the addition of outside seating, the ability to do social distancing and carry out good practices. We saw a much smaller hit on our business than a lot of other restaurants. We’re also much better positioned from a technological perspective. We have an in-house software team, so when you talk about the things that people are struggling with, such as how to create efficiencies and leverage technology to generate exposure, we were very well-positioned for that.
What were some strategies permitted by technology?
When you talk about the hospitality space, there was a massive shift in trends. We all know that in the hospitality space, hotels and resorts make decisions concerning what rates should be, how much occupancy there should be in a particular period. Those changes were really highlighted this year with COVID. No one had a crystal ball; no one knew where things were going to go. An area where we were able to create a lot of value for our partners and businesses was to find where those changes were really coming from. We have some very cool technology that allows us to pinpoint who is looking to travel, where they are traveling from, what their interests are and what they’re looking for from an accommodation perspective.
How has your primary concept — the comfort of home with the convenience of resorts — been received by the public?
So far, the public has received our product extremely well. Despite the fact we’re not a massive company, we’ve grown significantly. We have exposure — over 10 billion impressions on an annual basis and over 150 million visitors to our website. What we’ve seen is that people are excited that you can have the togetherness that a home brings but without sacrificing the amenities and services of a resort. You get the best of both worlds: a beautiful home in a branded format, so you know what you are going to get and you don’t have to just trust the photos and reviews. You’re able to have your dining on site, housekeeping services and people who can cater to you. That one-stop shop really resonates with our consumers.
How are you addressing the labor shortage?
Any business is built on its people. In hospitality, you’re in the business of providing people with an amazing vacation experience. If a team member comes in having a bad day, it can affect the customer’s experience. We’re really cognizant of that. If we’re doing the right thing for our team, that mutual success will occur. I think, with that in mind, we’re looking at ways to show our team members how to feel the success of the overall company. That’s an ongoing element that we’re focused on. We are a really fast-growing company. We started with five resorts and we’re at 20 right now. We expect to get to 40 or 50 by the end of the year. Our staffing budget is going to increase by five or six times. When you look at the growth of our company, our staff is a key component.
How is the influx of new residents in the area affecting your operations?
We’re definitely seeing that influx. In general, Florida is very attractive economically. With this influx, the velocity for our for-sale products is through the roof. The people in our program are also seeing the value of their property go up. Much of that has to do with the performance of the product. In some cases, our owners are able to double or triple their original price. Such is the effect of incoming residents to Palm Beach.
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