Business View Caribbean - August/September 2018

26 27 BLUE BAY CURACAO GOLF & BEACH RESORT to a group of local developers, who began the master planning of what is now Blue Bay Golf & Beach Resort. They put in some infrastructure, sold a bit of land, but the golf course and beach were never developed. Sepp Koster, CEO of Blue Bay Golf & Beach Resort, continues the story, “The property changed hands at the end of the ‘90s, when two Dutch men took over the resort and built the golf course. One of them was my grandfather (who was retired and wanted to invest a little bit on the island). His partner, the real developer, eventually ran into financial difficulty with other developments in Europe – so my grandfather, at the wonderful age of 79, ended up with a resort that had no functioning business model at the time.” When Koster came on in 2003 to help kick- start the real estate sales, there were only 20 permanent homes and 10 little studios for rent. He recalls, “Our first project was to renovate the beach and build 52 vacation homes. Those started selling well, while still under con- struction. Sadly, my grandfather never saw the completion, as he passed away in 2007. At that time, I took on the mantle of General Director/ CEO to further develop the resort under the guidance of a family trust that was managing the estate. Between 2007 and 2011, we brought SEPP KOSTER, CEO Blue Bay Resort to the next stage, but I felt I needed more financial freedom and leeway to speed up de- velopment. In 2015, I bought out the family members and the trust and took over the resort, together with a partner.” The main objective was to accelerate development. A two-year plan that started in 2016 has seen sales going well, and growth of the organization moving in the right direction. Construction is still underway in several areas, and there are now about 500 homes on the resort. Real estate is a big component. Blue Bay offers luxury villas and apartments for vacation rental with full hotel service (300 to 400 beds available for rent). Amenities include pools, four restaurants, two main bars, two private beaches (one undeveloped, the other has been welcoming sun lovers for 15 years). Koster notes, “We have a wide-ranging setup: for residential, we either sell a piece of land and the buyer has their own house built, or we can assist them AT A GLANCE BLUE BAY CURACAO GOLF & BEACH RESORT WHAT: A 220-acre resort community WHERE: Near Willemstad, Curaçao WEBSITE: www.bluebay-curacao.com