Join Harrison Drouin-Reed, the esteemed owner of Sothebys International Reality and immerse yourself in an unparalleled opportunity to explore and discover the enchanting wonders of the captivating island of Saint Martin.
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The Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS) is reputed the premier hospitality conference in the region. Embarking on its 13th edition, CHICOS brings together over 300 regional and international investors and operators, as well as the region’s leading decision makers. Also participating as attendees or speakers are governmental representatives, opinion leaders, developers, bankers and other lenders, tourism officials, investment funds, hotel brand executives, individuals/companies seeking investors for their tourism projects, franchise and operations companies, public and private institutions, consultants, advisors and architects and designers.
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Join us for the Puerto Rico Builders Association 51st Annual Convention, an exciting event that brings together industry professionals, inspiring speakers, and a multitude of exhibits. Taking place on October 9-10, 2024, this two-day convention offers a unique opportunity to delve into relevant topics, engage in valuable networking activities, and stay abreast of the latest trends and resources. With high-profile speakers and a variety of exhibits, this convention promises to be an invaluable experience that you won’t want to miss. Learn more about this engaging event and mark your calendar for an unforgettable experience!
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Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) — With a total population of roughly 43 million, the Caribbean is heavily reliant on its tourism industry with over 25 million annual visitors.
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Looking to secure financing solutions for Caribbean projects? Don’t miss CARIF 2025 Financing For Caribbean Infrastructure on September 24-25 at Coconut Grove’s luxurious Ritz Carlton. Discover the new players in investment funds and sovereign wealth funds, and explore their appetite for collaboration. Uncover the opportunities for regional commercial lenders and multilateral development banks to partner with you. Dive into the latest trends in financial models for infrastructure development and the driving forces behind them. Above all, uncover the elusive investment opportunities waiting for you in this dynamic industry. Join us to propel your investments to new heights!
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As part of AG&T’s ongoing collaboration with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Southeast Florida/Caribbean, we were pleased to host a ULI Roundtable exploring one of the most dynamic sectors in luxury real estate: Branded Residences – Leveraging Global Brands for Higher NOI in Caribbean Resorts.
The discussion brought together an exceptional panel of industry leaders representing development, hospitality, branding, and investment, including Kenneth Blatt, Principal and Managing Partner of CPG Real Estate; Stephanie Wade, Vice President of Urban Land Institute (ULI); Kevin Davenport, Senior Vice President of Swire Properties; and Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T, who moderated the discussion.
Together, the panel examined why branded residences have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the global hospitality industry and why leading developers continue to partner with internationally recognized hotel and lifestyle brands. Beyond creating a marketing advantage, the conversation explored how the right brand can command meaningful price premiums, accelerate sales, improve financing opportunities, enhance operational performance, and ultimately create stronger long-term value for both owners and investors.
The discussion also explored a more fundamental question: What are buyers really paying for? Increasingly, the answer extends far beyond the name on the building. Today’s luxury buyers are investing in curated experiences, world-class service, wellness, security, programming, and a sense of community that transforms a residence into a lifestyle. As the Caribbean continues to attract global capital and discerning buyers, branded residences are redefining the intersection of hospitality and real estate—and setting a new benchmark for luxury resort development.
It has been the emergence of branded residences.
Once viewed as a niche product attached to a handful of luxury hotels, branded residences have evolved into one of the fastest-growing segments of global real estate. Today, nearly every major luxury hospitality company—including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Ritz-Carlton, Aman, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, and Six Senses—is expanding its branded residential platform.
Why?
Because the market has demonstrated that buyers are willing to pay a meaningful premium for exceptional brands that deliver an elevated lifestyle, consistent service, and long-term value.
The conversation is no longer simply about selling luxury condominiums.
It is about selling trust.
One of the most frequently asked questions by developers is simple:
Does a brand justify its cost?
The answer, increasingly, is yes.
Numerous industry studies have shown that branded residences often command sales premiums ranging from 20% to more than 40%, depending upon the location, the brand, and the overall quality of the project. In exceptional destinations, premiums can be even higher.
The financial benefits extend well beyond initial sales.
Developers often experience:
Faster absorption.
Higher average sales prices.
Greater international buyer recognition.
Improved financing opportunities.
Enhanced marketing reach.
Stronger resale values.
Increased rental demand.
Greater long-term asset appreciation.
For lenders and institutional investors, strong hospitality brands also reduce perceived execution risk by bringing proven operational expertise, global reservation systems, and internationally recognized service standards.
The brand becomes an important component of the capital stack itself.
Few projects illustrate this evolution better than Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Originally developed by Laurance Rockefeller in the 1950s as one of the Caribbean’s premier resort destinations, Dorado Beach had, over time, lost some of its competitive positioning as hospitality trends evolved.
Its transformation into a Ritz-Carlton Reserve represented far more than a hotel renovation.
It was a complete repositioning of the destination.
The redevelopment embraced a philosophy of lower density, larger residences, environmental stewardship, exceptional culinary programming, personalized service, wellness, and a deep respect for the property’s natural landscape and Rockefeller’s original vision.
The result has been extraordinary.
The lesson is important. The value was not created simply because a global brand was added to the entrance sign. The value was created because every aspect of the guest and owner experience, from architecture and landscaping to service, programming, privacy, and operations—was aligned with the promise of that brand.
The brand became the visible expression of a much deeper commitment to quality.
Today’s buyers are no longer purchasing only a residence.
They are purchasing access to an entire ecosystem.
For many owners, these lifestyle benefits are just as valuable as the physical residence itself.
Hospitality has become residential real estate’s greatest amenity.
One of the most interesting outcomes of the branded residence model is that it often improves the overall quality of development.
International hospitality brands impose rigorous standards across architecture, interior design, sustainability, operations, landscaping, technology, food and beverage, and guest services.
Developers are challenged to think beyond individual buildings and instead create complete destinations.
This frequently results in stronger master planning, higher-quality public spaces, more resilient operations, and greater long-term value for both owners and investors.
In many respects, the brand serves as a quality-control mechanism throughout the development process.
Few regions are better positioned for branded residential growth than the Caribbean.
The region offers extraordinary natural beauty, limited beachfront inventory, increasing international air connectivity, strong luxury tourism demand, and growing interest from North American, Latin American, and European buyers seeking lifestyle-oriented investments.
As luxury travelers increasingly combine vacation homes, remote work, wellness, and hospitality experiences, branded residences are becoming one of the defining products of Caribbean real estate.
For developers, the challenge is no longer whether to pursue a brand.
It is selecting the right brand, designing an authentic experience around it, and ensuring that every promise made during the sales process is ultimately delivered.
At AG&T, we believe the most successful branded residence developments begin long before a management agreement is signed.
They begin with a clear vision of place.
The strongest brands do not create value on their own.
They amplify value that already exists through exceptional locations, thoughtful master planning, resilient design, outstanding architecture, disciplined operations, and unforgettable hospitality.
That is the true power of a brand.
It is not the name.
It is the experience the name promises—and consistently delivers.
As hospitality investment continues to accelerate across the Caribbean and Latin America, access to capital has become one of the defining factors separating projects that move forward from those that remain on the drawing board.
To better understand the evolving financing landscape, Tim Gifford, Managing Director, Capital Advisors – Latin America for CBRE Investment Banking, joined Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T, for a discussion on the state of Caribbean and Latin American capital markets in 2024.
The conversation explored how lenders and institutional investors are evaluating opportunities across the region, the impact of higher interest rates on financing structures, changing debt spreads, underwriting standards, and the outlook for hospitality and mixed-use development.
Following several years of rising interest rates and increased market uncertainty, capital markets are gradually becoming more active.
According to Tim Gifford, lenders have become increasingly selective, placing greater emphasis on sponsor experience, project quality, market fundamentals, and conservative underwriting. While financing remains available for well-conceived developments, both pricing and loan structures have evolved significantly compared to the low-interest-rate environment that characterized the previous decade.
Debt spreads, leverage ratios, and loan terms now reflect a greater focus on risk management and long-term project performance.
For experienced developers with strong projects, however, capital continues to be available.
One of the most important themes discussed was the continued strength of institutional interest in high-quality hospitality assets.
Luxury resorts, branded residences, mixed-use communities, and destination developments throughout the Caribbean continue to attract attention from lenders and investors seeking long-term opportunities supported by strong tourism fundamentals.
The Caribbean’s limited supply of premium beachfront sites, growing international tourism, expanding airlift, and increasing demand for experiential travel continue to support long-term investor confidence.
Institutional capital remains highly interested in projects that combine exceptional locations with experienced development teams and realistic business plans.
For more than three decades, AG&T has worked alongside regional developers, family-owned businesses, landowners, and hospitality entrepreneurs throughout Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean markets.
Many of these projects fall below the transaction size typically served by the largest global advisory firms, yet they remain critically important to the economic development of the region.
AG&T helps bridge this gap by assisting clients with project positioning, feasibility analysis, capital structuring, strategic partnerships, market intelligence, and introductions to lenders, equity investors, hospitality brands, and institutional capital sources.
Our objective is to help promising projects become investment-ready and position them to access increasingly sophisticated sources of financing.
Despite higher financing costs, development activity throughout the Caribbean remains remarkably resilient.
Luxury hospitality, branded residences, resort communities, marina developments, mixed-use projects, and infrastructure investments continue to move forward across many island markets.
Developers are responding to evolving consumer preferences by emphasizing wellness, sustainability, resilient design, experiential travel, and integrated lifestyle communities.
Institutional investors continue to recognize the Caribbean’s long-term strengths:
Limited luxury inventory.
Exceptional natural assets.
Strong tourism demand.
Expanding international connectivity.
Increasing interest in branded residential products.
Growing demand for resilient, sustainable development.
These fundamentals continue to support investment even as financing markets become more disciplined.
The discussion concluded with a cautiously optimistic outlook.
While capital is no longer as inexpensive or abundant as it was several years ago, the market has become healthier and more disciplined. Projects supported by experienced sponsors, realistic financial assumptions, and strong market fundamentals continue to attract both debt and equity capital.
For Caribbean developers, success increasingly depends on thoughtful planning, disciplined execution, and assembling the right team of advisors, lenders, operators, and investors.
By working closely with regional developers while maintaining relationships with leading international firms such as CBRE and many of the world’s largest hospitality brands, lenders, and institutional investors, AG&T serves as a bridge between entrepreneurial vision and sophisticated capital markets.
As Caribbean hospitality enters its next phase of growth, those connections will become more valuable than ever.
In the Caribbean hospitality industry, one factor reigns supreme: airlift. Its significance transcends mere transportation; rather, it serves as the lifeblood fueling the region’s tourism and other economic activity.
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As sea level rise, coastal storms, flooding, erosion, and subsidence increasingly threaten our coastal communities, many land use professionals have been innovating solutions. In this webinar, speakers from design, engineering, and finance backgrounds will feature case studies of coastal resilience strategies in real estate and land use.
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ByAdam Greenfader, Chair of AG&T andAmanda Staerker, Luxury Development Specialist. Saint Barths Mansions. Photo Credit: Lovephotolove AG&Trecently brought together a group of leading capital experts to discuss the Caribbean capital markets outlook for 2024.
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