When Jimmy Buffett’s song “Margaritaville” came out in 1977, its message was clear: find paradise and relax. It’s this notion that propelled Buffett, with the help of John Cohlan, to turn Margaritaville into a hospitality powerhouse centered on a laidback lifestyle.

The first restaurant opened in Key West in 1987, the first hotel in Pensacola Beach opened in 2010, and in 2017, Nichols Architects designed the Margaritaville Orlando Resort. Our version of the Jimmy Buffett-inspired perfect vacation stay includes 20 suites, three restaurants and a grab-and-go outlet, a 7,000 sq.-ft. ballroom, and 99,000 sq. ft. of lagoon-style pools.

 

Read the highlights bellow and follow the link at for the full interview:

Hospitality Design: What was your initial vision for the Margaritaville restaurants?
John Cohlan: We were trying to create what we are today but on a smaller scale—a lifestyle environment where people come to relax and escape the daily grind. We wanted to celebrate the idea that when you work hard, you should have time off. It came from Jimmy’s creative life, which has to do with the idea of relaxing, being social—that vacation state of mind. We describe ourselves not as a hotel business, but a lodging business. We have 150 restaurants today with over 40 lodging locations. Our main business is lodging, where we provide an opportunity for you to enjoy that lifestyle.

Hospitality Design: What is the common denominator found throughout Margaritaville properties?
John Cohlan: Everything we do is about emotion. One of the advantages we have is that Margaritaville is well known. The song was written in 1977, and it elicits an emotion. You’re introducing that feeling and experience to them in different forms, and it starts with people walking into something that’s organic and authentic.

Hospitality Design: When did you decide to move into hotels?
John Cohlan: It happened organically after about 10 years. It was always clear this was the business we wanted to be in, but it was a question of being able to get there. Our first big resort was in Hollywood, Florida [which opened in 2015] and people were having so much fun being there. The biggest evolution was taking that resort experience at Hollywood and bringing it into all these other lodging formats.

Read the full interview here: The Merrymaker: John Cohlan of Margaritaville Holdings (hospitalitydesign.com)