The Tribune

A Bahamian real estate firm believes the two resorts and one private island it has listed for sale for collectively less than $6m “can revolutionise the hospitality industry on Cat Island”.

Engel & Volkers, in a statement issued yesterday, said the three properties located in southern Cat Island represented a major real estate and resort development opportunity for investors.

They include Greenwood Beach Resort, which has been a family-run business for more than 25 years and gone through two generations, and the Fernandez Bay Resort. The latter was founded, and owned and operated, by the same entrepreneur for almost 50 years. Engel & Volkers said both current owners feel it is time to move on, having established a strong repeat visitor portfolio.

Hawks Nest Cay, meanwhile, is a vacant 40-acre island with about one mile of linear waterfront. The “back yard” of the island has extensive flats and mangroves, representing one of the best fly-fishing areas on Cat Island. Both Greenwood Beach Resort and Fernandez Bay are situated on beaches and have been run profitably for decades.

Leo Huber, the listing agent for Fernandez Bay, said: “The hotel is built using locally sourced cut native stone and lumber, and sits right in the middle of the most beautiful leeward facing beach.

“Everything is so relaxed that the bar is on an honour system. It’s difficult to know or even think of what to change. Fernandez Bay is already a model of what a hotel product in the Family Islands of The Bahamas should be.”

The growth of the vacation rental industry is among the challenges facing Bahamian hotels. Goldman Sachs recently revealed that once people have stayed in vacation rentals, the likelihood that they will stay in traditional hotels is cut in half.

Colin Lightbourn, Engel Volkers’ license partner and real estate advisor, added: “The Bahamas is perfectly positioned for the changes that are taking place internationally, and these properties on Cat Island check all the boxes, including niche market experiences; the layout of the resorts cater to both the hotel customer and the vacation rental market; the trend is larger vacation homes for families and groups of friends; and these resorts offer a ‘rent the entire property’ opportunity. Collectively the properties can also fill a void on the island by creating new amenities and experiences for each other.”