Caribbean Hospitality After COVID: Reimagining Travel for a New Era

Headshot of Brad Dean

Caribbean Hospitality After COVID: Reimagining Travel for a New Era

In the spring of 2020, the global hospitality industry came to an abrupt halt.

Borders closed. Airlines grounded their fleets. Cruise ships sat idle. Hotels that had welcomed guests for generations suddenly stood empty. For a region where tourism represents one of the largest contributors to GDP, employment, and foreign investment, the uncertainty was unlike anything the Caribbean had ever experienced.

While much of the industry focused on managing the immediate crisis, AG&T believed it was equally important to begin asking a different question:

What would Caribbean hospitality look like after COVID?

To help answer that question, AG&T partnered with the Urban Land Institute Caribbean Council to launch a series of thought leadership conversations featuring many of the region’s leading voices in tourism, finance, hospitality, manufacturing, and economic development.

One of the most memorable discussions featured Brad Dean, then CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico’s Destination Marketing Organization.

Rather than focusing solely on the challenges of the pandemic, the conversation explored how the industry could emerge stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for the future.

Brad Dean offered a perspective that has become increasingly relevant in the years since.

“This downtime gives the travel industry our George Bailey moment. We have all seen that without travel it’s pretty ugly. There is far greater value to travel than most of us ever realized. Travel lifts spirits. It connects people. It leads to progress.”

Those words resonated deeply throughout the Caribbean.

Travel is more than hotel occupancy or airline arrivals. It supports small businesses, restaurants, taxi drivers, artisans, tour operators, construction workers, architects, engineers, farmers, entertainers, and countless entrepreneurs whose livelihoods depend upon a vibrant visitor economy.

The pandemic reminded us that hospitality is not simply an industry—it is an ecosystem.

Creating Dialogue During Uncertainty

Throughout the pandemic, AG&T recognized that one of the greatest needs facing the Caribbean was the exchange of ideas.

As uncertainty grew, we brought together leaders from government, international finance, hospitality, manufacturing, infrastructure, and development to discuss not only recovery, but the long-term future of the region.

These conversations explored topics including:

  • The future of Caribbean hospitality

  • Tourism recovery strategies

  • Public-private partnerships

  • Sustainable destination development

  • Capital markets and investment

  • Resilient infrastructure

  • Manufacturing and supply chains

  • Puerto Rico’s role within the U.S. economy

  • The evolution of luxury hospitality

The objective was never simply to host webinars.

It was to create a forum where industry leaders could share ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and help shape the future of Caribbean development.

From Recovery to Renaissance

Looking back, many of the themes discussed during those early conversations proved remarkably accurate.

The Caribbean has experienced one of the strongest tourism recoveries anywhere in the world. Puerto Rico has reached record visitation levels, international hospitality brands continue expanding throughout the region, luxury resort development has accelerated, and institutional investment has returned to Caribbean hospitality with renewed confidence.

Today’s hospitality industry is fundamentally different from the one that entered 2020.

Developers place greater emphasis on wellness, sustainability, outdoor experiences, resilient design, mixed-use destinations, branded residences, and authentic cultural experiences. Investors have also recognized that the Caribbean’s long-term fundamentals—including strong tourism demand, limited luxury inventory, and growing global interest in experiential travel—remain exceptionally compelling.

AG&T’s Commitment to Caribbean Thought Leadership

For AG&T, these conversations reflected our broader mission.

As a Caribbean real estate development and capital advisory firm, we believe that leadership means more than executing successful projects. It means creating opportunities for dialogue, sharing knowledge across markets, and connecting investors, developers, hospitality brands, government leaders, and financial institutions throughout the Caribbean and the mainland United States.

Whether through our work with the Urban Land Institute, partnerships with Bisnow, industry conferences, investor forums, or conversations with leaders such as Brad Dean, AG&T remains committed to advancing ideas that strengthen Caribbean hospitality and encourage long-term investment across the region.

The pandemic tested every assumption about travel.

It also reminded us why travel matters.

Because hospitality is ultimately about people—and the connections that bring communities, cultures, and economies together.

 

Manufacturing 2.0 with Manuel Laboy

Puerto Rico's Economic Transformation: A Conversation with Secretary Manuel Laboy

 Economic development is driven by leadership, vision, and the ability to anticipate where investment is heading.

 

In this exclusive interview, Manuel Laboy, then Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC), shares his vision for positioning Puerto Rico as one of the most competitive jurisdictions in the Americas for manufacturing, life sciences, logistics, and industrial investment.

Our discussion explores many of the initiatives that were reshaping Puerto Rico’s economy, including the expansion of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, Opportunity Zones, public-private partnerships, tax incentives, infrastructure investment, and regulatory reforms designed to attract new private capital. Secretary Laboy also discusses the significance of new legislation affecting foreign cargo and why he viewed it as a potential game changer for the island’s long-term competitiveness.

For AG&T, interviews such as this are part of our ongoing commitment to understanding the policies, market dynamics, and public-sector initiatives that influence real estate and economic development throughout the Caribbean.

Our longstanding relationships with government leaders, institutional investors, developers, and financial institutions allow us to provide clients with perspectives that extend beyond individual transactions. By engaging directly with the people shaping economic policy, we help clients better understand the opportunities, challenges, and strategic direction of the markets in which they invest.

Whether advising on industrial development, mixed-use projects, hospitality, or large-scale investment opportunities, AG&T believes informed decisions begin with informed conversations.

Watch the interview with Secretary Manuel Laboy to gain insight into Puerto Rico’s economic development strategy and the policies that continue to influence investment across the island.

The Elimination of Section 936

Zaida Feliciano Queens College

The repeal of Section 936 resulted in lost manufacturing jobs for the USA and a 15 year economic crisis for Puerto Rico. 

As we sit today in the middle of a world pandemic, a few things seem certain. COVID 19 is a health crisis that has forever changed our relationship with globalism. It is time for a new understanding of how manufacturing keeps us all safe. This is especially true of the pharmaceutical industry. With shortages of basic supplies, medicines and protective gear, is it time to bring critical manufacturing back to the United States?

In this AG&T Thought Leadership conversation, we speak with economics professor Zadia Feliciano (see bio)of Queens College and explore the consequences for the USA and Puerto Rico of eliminating the manufacturing tax incentives –  Section 936.

In her groundbreaking work on Section 936, entitled, “US Multinationals in Puerto Rico and the Repeal of Section 936 Tax Exemption for U.S. Corporations“, professor Feliciano and Andrew Green, “analyze the effects of the phase out and elimination of Section 936 on the number of establishments, value added, employment, and wages in Puerto Rico’s manufacturing.  

Unfortunately, the elimination of Section 936 helped push critical manufacturing AWAY from the USA. Critical manufacturing left Puerto Rico (USA) and  sought cheaper markets in Mexico, Ireland, Latin America and China.

Moving Forward.

The Food and Drug Administration has for some time been expressing concern that the United States is too dependent on China within the medical supply chain. Puerto Rico has 49 FDA-approved pharmaceutical plants in place, and produces not just one quarter of all U.S. pharmaceutical exports, but also significant amount of medical devices.

Puerto Rico’s manufacturing industry is in need of support, but is also in a position to blossom, similar to other areas of the country that used to have a strong manufacturing base. In the area of pharmaceuticals, Puerto Rico has the advantage of an educated workforce and many people experienced in the industry. Puerto Rico produces 25% of the pharmaceuticals exported by the United States. This is more than any State. The Island has the cold chain logistics for pharmaceuticals in place. The learning curve would be lower for Puerto Rico than for many other U.S. regions. The time to act is now.

To learn more about how Puerto Rico can help USA manufacturing. 

Puerto Rico’s Manufacturing Renaissance: Strengthening America’s Supply Chain

Luis Fortuno

Puerto Rico's Manufacturing Renaissance: Strengthening America's Supply Chain

About Luis Fortuño

Luis G. Fortuño is the former Governor of Puerto Rico (2009–2013) and one of the island’s leading voices on economic development, manufacturing, and public policy. Prior to serving as governor, he was Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in the U.S. Congress, where he advocated for the island’s economic and federal priorities. Today, he is a partner at Steptoe LLP, advising multinational corporations, investors, and governments on public policy, international trade, infrastructure, energy, and economic development.

Throughout his career, Governor Fortuño has been a strong advocate for strengthening Puerto Rico’s role as a strategic manufacturing hub for the United States. His deep understanding of government policy, international business, and economic competitiveness offers valuable insight into how Puerto Rico can leverage its world-class pharmaceutical industry, highly skilled workforce, and U.S. legal framework to support the reshoring of critical manufacturing and build a more resilient American supply chain.

 Luis Fortuño, partner at Steptoe and Johnson (Governor of Puerto Rico 2009-2013), 

 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way governments and businesses think about global supply chains.

For decades, manufacturers optimized production by moving operations to lower-cost jurisdictions around the world. The pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of that model. Shortages of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, personal protective equipment, semiconductors, and other critical products demonstrated that efficiency alone could no longer be the primary objective. Resilience had become equally important.

Today, reshoring and nearshoring have become central components of U.S. industrial policy.

One question remains especially relevant:

What role can Puerto Rico play in rebuilding America’s manufacturing capacity?

That question was the focus of a conversation between Luis Fortuño, former Governor of Puerto Rico (2009–2013) and Partner at Steptoe LLP, and Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T. Their discussion explored Puerto Rico’s unique position within the United States and why the island remains one of America’s most important strategic manufacturing platforms.

A Manufacturing Legacy

Puerto Rico’s manufacturing story began long before COVID-19.

Beginning with Operation Bootstrap in the late 1940s, Puerto Rico became one of the United States’ premier manufacturing hubs. Over the following decades, the island attracted many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing companies.

At its peak, Puerto Rico produced a significant share of the pharmaceuticals consumed in the United States and became home to one of the highest concentrations of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world.

That industrial base continues to represent one of Puerto Rico’s greatest competitive advantages.

Why Puerto Rico Still Matters

Governor Fortuño emphasized that Puerto Rico possesses several unique characteristics that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

First, the island already has an extensive network of FDA-approved manufacturing facilities, many of which can be expanded or modernized far more quickly than constructing entirely new plants.

Second, Puerto Rico has a highly skilled workforce with decades of experience in highly regulated industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, aerospace, and medical devices.

Third, the island’s universities—particularly the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (RUM)—continue to produce outstanding engineers, scientists, and technology professionals who support many of the world’s leading manufacturers.

Combined with Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. jurisdiction, these assets create a compelling environment for advanced manufacturing.

Lessons from the Past

The conversation also examined the factors that contributed to Puerto Rico’s manufacturing decline.

The expiration of Section 936, increased global competition, the implementation of NAFTA, and aggressive incentive programs offered by countries such as Ireland, Singapore, and China all encouraged manufacturers to relocate production.

At the same time, Puerto Rico faced economic recession, rising energy costs, fiscal challenges, and the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Despite these setbacks, the island retained one of its greatest strengths—its manufacturing ecosystem.

The Reshoring Opportunity

The pandemic fundamentally altered how companies evaluate supply chains.

Today, resilience, geographic diversification, national security, and supply chain reliability have become strategic priorities.

Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned to benefit from these trends.

As a U.S. territory operating under the American legal, regulatory, and intellectual property framework, Puerto Rico offers manufacturers many of the advantages of domestic production while maintaining strategic proximity to major U.S. markets.

Rather than rebuilding manufacturing capacity from the ground up, many companies have the opportunity to leverage an existing industrial base supported by experienced workers, established infrastructure, and decades of operational expertise.

Policy and Investment

The discussion also addressed the importance of public policy in supporting Puerto Rico’s manufacturing future.

At the time, bipartisan legislation introduced by Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, together with members of Congress, sought to strengthen America’s critical supply chains while recognizing Puerto Rico’s strategic role in national manufacturing.

Although specific legislation has evolved over time, the broader objective remains unchanged: strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity while reducing dependence on distant supply chains for essential products.

Looking Back

Viewed today, many of the observations made during this conversation proved remarkably accurate.

Reshoring has become a central objective of U.S. industrial policy.

Supply chain resilience now influences corporate site selection decisions.

Federal investment in advanced manufacturing has accelerated, and Puerto Rico continues to attract new interest from pharmaceutical, life sciences, medical technology, and advanced manufacturing companies seeking to expand production within the United States.

The conversation serves as an important reminder that Puerto Rico’s manufacturing potential did not begin with COVID-19—it simply became impossible to ignore.

AG&T’s Perspective

For more than three decades, AG&T has worked at the intersection of economic development, real estate, infrastructure, hospitality, and industrial investment throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Our conversations with policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and manufacturers have consistently reinforced one conclusion: Puerto Rico’s future will be built upon a diversified economy. Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned not only to participate in America’s manufacturing renaissance, but to help lead it.

Puerto Rico Ready for Development

Ponce Paradise

A Beachfront Acre For $30K In An OZ? Welcome To Puerto Rico

Published by Deidra Funcheon, Bisnow Miami

Puerto Rico was already struggling from decades of fiscal mismanagement and had just declared bankruptcy over its $123B debt when it was hit by two hurricanes in September 2017 — only to run into a botched disaster response. The way some see it, though, rock bottom is behind Puerto Rico, and the island is in the early stages of an upswing. “Puerto Rico is setting an incredible pace for economic recovery,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, a destination marketing organization that promotes the commonwealth. “Airport arrivals are exceeding pre-Hurricane Maria levels, as are lodging revenues. Given the quick rebound, reinvestment in hotel product and tremendous potential for the island’s tourism industry, this is Puerto Rico’s time. From an investor’s perspective, there’s never been a better time to invest in the island’s tourism industry.”

Buildings and infrastructure are still being repaired and upgraded, and the government has instituted a full slate of tax incentives to lure investors, said AG&T Managing Partner Adam Greenfader, who advises clients from his base in Miami. “You can still acquire assets for 50 cents on the dollar,” he said. “Beachfront land in Puerto Rico today can still be acquired at $30K an acre.” Dean and Greenfader will be panelists at Bisnow’s Caribbean Hospitality & Tourism Summit Aug. 1. Puerto Rico’s economic spiral goes back decades. After World War II, it gave big tax breaks to manufacturers, and to cover for revenue shortfalls, issued more bonds than it could repay. In turn, it implemented austerity measures that did little except drive the population away. Its problems were exacerbated by that fact that it has no voting power in Congress.

Greenfader outlined some key developments toward a turnaround. Puerto Rico’s cash-strapped government has tried to lure investors with laws like Acts 20 and 22, passed in 2012 and designed so that people who move to the island pay little or no federal income tax, even on passive investments. Greenfader said this has attracted 250 to 500 families per year, including big names such as billionaire John Paulson.  Other incentives include one that lets people with tourism-related projects get back 40% or 50% of their acquisition costs.  

 

Development Land
80 Acres in Naguabo, Puerto Rico

 

Puerto Rico’s massive government debt is currently being sorted out by a federal oversight board. “The major bonds, COFINA and GO, have been renegotiated and the bondholders have been put into payment plans,” Greenfader said.  Since the 2017 hurricanes, federal disaster aid — including $1.4B authorized in June — has trickled in. Hotels damaged in the storms were forced to remodel or rebuild and are now offering better products at higher rates. Many are incorporating solar and microgrids to be resilient for the future. The storms raised the profile of Puerto Rico — one study found that prior to them hitting, about half of Americans hadn’t known the commonwealth was part of the U.S. Airport arrivals and tourism revenue have already set records this year. On top of this, Puerto Rico is the beneficiary of community development block grant funding, and 97% of the entire commonwealth — much of it beachfront — has been designated a qualified opportunity zone. “Puerto Rico never had a 1031 exchange, so from a tax perspective, it’s the first time it’s getting capital gains money,” Greenfader said.  

Lifeafar Investments Chief Financial Officer Cole Shephard, who will also be a panelist at the Bisnow event, said his Colombia-based company is already taking advantage of Puerto Rico’s investment climate, raising $16M in an opportunity fund to reposition a 61-room hotel. Shephard said Lifeafar, which started by offering real estate services to expats in Medellín, was drawn by the tax incentives and that the opportunity zone designation was a bonus. He is now doing due diligence on additional properties. “I see the sophisticated money chasing metro San Juan,” he said, suggesting that there is a lot of opportunity for small to mid-market projects outside of the city. Not everything in Puerto Rico is rosy. 

Development Land
29 Acres in Isabella, Puerto Rico

 

As the government has scrambled to generate revenue, sales tax was raised to 11.5%, pensions have been cut, college tuition increased and some 300 public schools closed. Critics have complained that wealthy investors have been protected while ordinary Puerto Ricans suffer. “The locals have had to carry the brunt of these austerity measures,” Greenfader acknowledged. “I’d understand completely, if I see a guy who’s a hedge fund manager with $500M earnings pay hardly any taxes, versus the regular guy paying 35% taxes who’s a salaried worker at Bacardi,” Shepherd said. But Shepherd added that conversations with Puerto Rican officials convinced him they have carefully calculated the tradeoff and found that luring private investment now will help island residents long-term, even though it may take years for the effects to be obvious.

Greenfader suggested that boosting tourism is a winning solution for both investors and residents. Because Puerto Rico since the Kennedy era has been focused on manufacturing, its tourism industry was relatively neglected. The industry now accounts for less than 7% of Puerto Rico’s gross domestic product. In other Caribbean islands, that number is typically between 30% and 80%. Dean’s destination marketing organization, Discover Puerto Rico, was established last year to actively promote tourism. Bisnow’s Aug. 1 Caribbean Hospitality & Tourism Summit will also include Puerto Rico Tourism Co. Executive Director Carla Campos, Hilton VP for Development Juan Corvinos Solans, Puerto Rico Builders Association President Ing. Emilio Colón Zavala and more. 

Event Ended On: Thursday August 1 2019

Creating a Forum for Caribbean Thought Leadership: The First ULI Caribbean Roundtable

Creating a Forum for Caribbean Thought Leadership: The First ULI Caribbean Roundtable

 

Great ideas rarely emerge in isolation. They are born through conversation, collaboration, and the willingness to bring together people with different perspectives to solve shared challenges.

That belief inspired the launch of the ULI Caribbean Roundtable, an initiative created to establish a regular forum where leaders from across the Caribbean real estate, hospitality, finance, planning, and development industries could exchange ideas and discuss the opportunities shaping the region’s future.

Chaired by Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T and then Chair of the ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean Council, the inaugural Roundtable brought together a diverse group of developers, investors, architects, financial advisors, and industry leaders committed to advancing thoughtful, sustainable growth throughout the Caribbean.

Among the featured speakers were:

  • Emilio Colón Zavala, President, Puerto Rico Builders Association

  • Ricardo Álvarez-Díaz, Founder and CEO, Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón (AD&V)

  • Robbie Karver, Ernst & Young (EY), Hospitality Advisory

The event was made possible through the collaboration of the Urban Land Institute Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council and its outstanding leadership team, whose commitment helped establish what would become an ongoing series of conversations focused on the future of Caribbean development.

A Region Entering a New Chapter

The discussion took place during a pivotal moment for the Caribbean.

Only two years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the region was rebuilding with renewed optimism while simultaneously attracting increased interest from institutional investors, global hotel brands, and international developers.

Despite recent challenges, the panel shared a remarkably optimistic outlook.

  1. Tourism fundamentals remained strong.
  2. Airlift continued to expand.
  3. Hotel occupancy was recovering rapidly.
  4. Luxury travel demand remained resilient.
  5. Most importantly, investors continued to believe in the long-term strength of the Caribbean hospitality market.

 

Key Themes That Continue to Shape the Region

Several observations made during the Roundtable remain remarkably relevant today.

Access Drives Investment

The panel agreed that air connectivity remains one of the most important drivers of tourism and hospitality investment.

Destinations with strong international airlift continue to outperform, creating greater confidence among developers, lenders, hotel operators, and institutional investors.

The Caribbean Is Maturing

Rather than being viewed as a collection of isolated resort destinations, the Caribbean has increasingly evolved into a sophisticated investment market offering diverse opportunities across hospitality, branded residences, mixed-use development, marinas, logistics, and infrastructure.

This maturation has attracted increasingly sophisticated sources of capital seeking long-term investment opportunities.

Puerto Rico’s Competitive Position

The discussion also highlighted Puerto Rico’s unique advantages.

Federal disaster recovery funding, Opportunity Zones, tourism incentives, and the island’s attractive tax framework were already positioning Puerto Rico for renewed investment.

Many of those early observations have since materialized, with Puerto Rico experiencing record tourism performance, significant hospitality investment, and growing institutional interest.

Resilience Creates Value

One of the most encouraging conclusions reached during the Roundtable was that resilience does not necessarily reduce investment returns.

Developers increasingly recognized that resilient design, stronger construction standards, and sustainable planning can enhance long-term asset performance while reducing future risk.

Today, resilience has become a central component of hospitality development throughout the Caribbean.

Building More Than Conversations

Looking back, the greatest achievement of the Caribbean Roundtable was not any single discussion.

It was the creation of an ongoing community.

Over the following years, the Roundtable welcomed leaders from organizations including Hilton, CBRE Hotels, IDB Invest, Discover Puerto Rico, Apple Leisure Group, Sculptor Real Estate, major financial institutions, developers, architects, government agencies, and global investors.

Each conversation expanded the dialogue around the issues shaping Caribbean development—from hospitality and branded residences to climate resilience, institutional capital, infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism, and public-private partnerships.

AG&T’s Perspective

For AG&T, organizing the Caribbean Roundtable reflected a long-standing philosophy.

Economic development begins by bringing people together.

Throughout our history, we have sought to connect government leaders, investors, developers, hotel brands, universities, planners, architects, financial institutions, and entrepreneurs around one common objective: creating a stronger, more resilient Caribbean.

The Roundtable became one of many platforms through which those conversations could occur.

Today, those discussions continue to influence the way we think about hospitality, resilience, investment, and sustainable development across the region.

Because while individual projects may define skylines, it is collaboration that ultimately shapes the future of communities.

Puerto Rico’s Turning Point: Looking Beyond the Crisis

In 2018, less than a year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the headlines focused almost exclusively on destruction, migration, and uncertainty.

At AG&T, we saw something different. While acknowledging the immense humanitarian and economic challenges facing the island, we believed Puerto Rico was entering a period of profound transformation. The combination of federal reconstruction funding, economic reform, tax incentives, private investment, and long-overdue infrastructure modernization created the foundation for what could become one of the island’s most significant economic renaissances in decades.

That perspective was featured in an interview with Bisnow South Florida, where Adam Greenfader discussed Puerto Rico’s long-term outlook, the rebuilding process, and why the island’s greatest opportunities still lay ahead.

Several of the themes discussed in the interview have proven remarkably accurate. Puerto Rico experienced one of the largest reconstruction efforts in modern U.S. history, supported by tens of billions of dollars in federal investment for housing, infrastructure, utilities, schools, healthcare facilities, and resilience projects.

  • Tourism reached record levels.
  • Luxury hospitality investment accelerated.
  • New residents, entrepreneurs, family offices, technology companies, and investment funds relocated to the island, strengthening sectors ranging from real estate and finance to life sciences and technology.

The discussion also anticipated the growing importance of Puerto Rico’s tax incentive programs, Opportunity Zones, and the island’s role as a gateway between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

At the same time, many of the challenges identified remain part of Puerto Rico’s ongoing conversation, including housing affordability, infrastructure modernization, energy resilience, insurance costs, population dynamics, and creating economic growth that benefits all Puerto Ricans.

AG&T’s Perspective

For more than three decades, AG&T has believed that Puerto Rico’s future extends far beyond disaster recovery. The island possesses exceptional long-term advantages, including its strategic location, U.S. legal and financial framework, highly educated bilingual workforce, manufacturing base, expanding hospitality sector, and unique tax and investment incentives.

Our work has consistently focused on helping connect these strengths with responsible private investment while promoting resilient, sustainable, and inclusive economic development.

The interview below captures an important moment in Puerto Rico’s history when rebuilding was just beginning and the island’s future remained uncertain.

Looking back today, it serves as a reminder that meaningful transformation often begins long before the results become visible.

The following article originally appeared in Bisnow South Florida and is reproduced here with permission/summary for historical context.

Puerto Rico After The Hurricanes: Investors And Bitcoin Cowboys Are Circling

By Deirdra Funcheon as Published in Bisnow South Florida

Puerto Rico has been desperate for aid that has been too slow and insufficient following hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. But a few on the island say the attention followed might ultimately be a net positive for the commonwealth. “The bottom line is that Puerto Rico in the next two to three years is expected to see strong growth — 3 to 3.5% of GDP,” said Adam Greenfader, principal of Miami-based AG&T Development and Advisory Services. “It hasn’t had growth in 12 years. A depression is defined as negative economic growth for three quarters, so for all intents and purposes, Puerto Rico has been in a depression for 12 years.”

Greenfader married into a family that facilitates Section 8 housing throughout Puerto Rico. He then became a developer there himself. Currently, he serves as the liaison to the Puerto Rico Builders’ Association and the chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Caribbean Council. Greenfader points out that while last summer’s hurricanes devastated the commonwealth, jobs had already been scarce for more than a decade as the government faced a crippling debt crisis, owing $123B and declaring bankruptcy last spring. Though an estimated 150,000 Puerto Ricans fled to the U.S. mainland after the hurricanes, between 60,000 and 70,000 residents had already been leaving each year of the crisis. Puerto Rico’s current population is about 3.5 million, down from a peak of about 4 million, Greenfader said.

Turnaround efforts began years ago. Reforms enacted in 2012 enticed businesses and high net worth individuals to relocate to Puerto Rico by taxing corporate profits at a flat 4% and eliminating taxes on dividends, interest and capital gains for anyone who resided at least half the year in Puerto Rico. For anyone selling a company or large amounts of stock, these measures could result in saving millions of dollars on taxes. Famously, Putnam Bridge Funding CEO Nicholas Prouty invested more than $100M and relocated his family. Billionaire John Paulson bought several hotels. Michael E. Tennenbaum founded Caribbean Capital & Consultancy Corp. Goldman Sachs and various hedge funds moved in and bought distressed mortgages for pennies on the dollar. 

Greenfader said that about 1000 high net worth individuals moved to the island, and about 200 are coming each year. Cottage industries sprung up to cater to these ultra-wealthy.  Then last year’s hurricanes blew through, knocking out power and killing 64 people directly and 4,645 in total, according to Harvard University. Though the U.S. government responded painfully slowly, $18B in aid has been approved from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and billions more are expected, Greenfader said.

Recovery is slow, but happening. Tesla built a solar array to power a children’s hospital. Doctors are being offered tax incentives to stay in Puerto Rico. Private insurance companies have started to pay claims, so 60% of hotels are now operational, Greenfader said. He believes that when the economy improves, exiles will move back. 

Publicity around the hurricanes certainly brought attention to the commonwealth. Immediately after the hurricanes, only about half of Americans knew that Puerto Rico was part of the United States; that number has since risen to 76%. Following the disaster, dozens of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs relocated to San Juan to buy hundreds of thousands of acres of land, take advantage of the tax structure and set up a “crypto utopia.” Greenfader suggested there is more opportunity for economic recovery: Puerto Rico’s tourism industry makes up only 6.5% of gross domestic product, whereas on many Caribbean islands, that figure is 50% or more. That is by design, he said; in the 1950s and ’60s, laws were structured to keep out the Mafiosos who ran Cuba. It could be increased substantially. 

Furthermore, the island has long had a mishmash system of collecting property taxes, partly because so many homes are built informally or illegally — “People get a paycheck, buy [a] few beers, invite their friends and family over to build a wall at a time,” Greenfader said — and partly because the tax code hasn’t been revised since 1950s. “A property worth a million dollars might pay no more than $2K, $3K in taxes for a year,” Greenfader said. A better system of collecting taxes could be implemented to make the government more solvent.  Although he is optimistic, Greenfader acknowledged the challenges.

While Puerto Rico is a diverse society, where rich and poor have long mixed freely, the influx of people taking advantage of the tax breaks is “adding an upper class the island never had before,” he said, and there has been some blowback. Workaday employees are facing pension cuts and austerity measures as Puerto Rico grapples with its debt. Currently, according to Democracy Now, 55,000 residents are in foreclosure and the government is turning to privatization as the solution for economic woes, which will enrich investors but hurt the working class. In a Bloomberg article Monday about the search for someone to buy the country’s beleaguered electric company, which goes so far as to ask potential buyers how they would like to be regulated, a Puerto Rico resident said, “We are tired of people coming here to get rich and take advantage of us.”  Some grass-roots organizations have taken shape to resist Wall Street — forces that author Naomi Klein explores in a new book, “The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes On the Disaster Capitalists.”

Greenfader noted that insurance premiums will likely continue to rise, and the Jones Act, a shipping law that requires goods to stop in a mainland port, makes commodities expensive. Whatever economic policies prevail, at least new construction on the island should be more resilient. Greenfader said builders already adhere to codes that mirror Miami-Dade’s, which were made stronger after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. They use reinforced concrete and no wood. Going forward, he said, there is a commitment to using more sustainable designs, particularly in the energy space, such as solar power arrays and micro electric grids. Today, about 10,000 customers in Puerto Rico who lost electricity after last year’s hurricanes are still without power. 

Read more 

Connecting Global Capital with Caribbean Opportunity

Connecting Global Capital with Caribbean Opportunity

For more than three decades, AG&T has helped position Caribbean hospitality and real estate projects before institutional investors, family offices, hotel brands, and international buyers from around the world.

Long before cross-border investment became commonplace in Caribbean real estate, AG&T recognized that the region’s most exceptional projects deserved a global audience.

One example was the 2017 China–Puerto Rico Investment Forum, where business leaders, institutional investors, government officials, and developers gathered in San Juan to explore investment opportunities throughout Puerto Rico. The conference reflected growing international interest in the island’s unique position as a U.S. jurisdiction with Caribbean geography, a sophisticated legal framework, and significant long-term development potential.

Representing AG&T, Adam Greenfader presented two of Puerto Rico’s premier hospitality developments—Royal Isabela Resort and Coco Beach Golf & Residences—highlighting the island’s emerging luxury hospitality market, expanding tourism industry, and opportunities for international investment.

The discussions extended well beyond individual projects. Investors were interested in understanding Puerto Rico’s competitive advantages, including its strategic location, access to the U.S. market, tax incentive programs, skilled bilingual workforce, and growing hospitality sector. For many attendees, Puerto Rico represented a gateway into both the U.S. economy and the broader Caribbean region.

For AG&T, participating in international investment forums has always been about more than marketing properties.

It is about building relationships.

Over the years, AG&T has worked with developers, institutional investors, family offices, hotel operators, lenders, and private equity groups throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, helping connect Caribbean opportunities with global sources of capital.

Those relationships often continue long after the conference concludes.

In the case of Royal Isabela Resort, AG&T’s involvement ultimately extended beyond introducing the project to international investors. The firm later successfully represented the ownership in the sale of the resort, demonstrating that effective investment promotion is not simply about creating exposure—it is about delivering successful transactions.

Today, AG&T continues to advise hospitality owners, developers, and investors across Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, helping position projects for institutional capital, strategic partnerships, and long-term value creation.

Markets evolve. Sources of capital change. New investors emerge.

What remains constant is AG&T’s commitment to connecting exceptional Caribbean developments with the global investment community and helping create projects that strengthen local economies while showcasing the extraordinary opportunities the region has to offer.