Revenue Generation
- Marketing & Communications
- Revenue Management
- Market Leading Website
- Central Reservations
- Group & Wedding Sales
Expertise Creates Brand Legacy
CORPORATE SUMMARY
Cape Resorts is a leading regional hospitality investment and management company, with more than two decades of experience in creating value from owning and operating hotels and other related assets. Since inception, Cape Resorts has pursued real estate investments, including major repositioning and ground-up development projects.
The company’s equity investments and management strategy target value-added/opportunistic returns across market cycles by adding value through the adaptive reuse or the implementation of a creative development plan for the real estate.Cape Resorts achieves this through intensive programming of the completed assets to outperform and strengthen the market. Curtis Bashaw acquired the historic Virginia Hotel in 1989 and then with partners acquired Congress Hall in 1995.
Cape Resorts was born out of a family connection to a grand summer hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, and has expanded to eight hotels and another sixteen supporting assets. The company-wide commitment is to create iconic assets in tradition-rich places where memories can be made and shared. The portfolio is architecturally and characteristically unique, comprised of luxury resort properties located in Cape May, New Jersey, and Sag Harbor, New York.
The Cape family has created destination properties that are classically American, celebrating simple pleasures, excellent service and comfortable design. By applying local knowledge and respecting established traditions, the Cape team has succeeded in creating places to which guests return again and again. It is this unrelenting attention to the details of the neighborhood, to active partnering with local institutions, and to sincere service standards that create a vibrant experience and a place to call home for guests as well as for those who live in the community.
Hospitality
Cape Resorts manages eight distinctive hotel properties, specializing in seasonal resort markets. Whether a new build or restoration, each property captures a sense of place.
Along with an exceptional lodging experience, each hotel is programmed with dynamic restaurants, exciting nightlife destinations and successful retail and wellness outlets.
While Cape Resorts’ focus is primarily in New Jersey, the brand is currently expanding into other American resort destinations, including its most recently opened hotel, Baron’s Cove, in the historic village of Sag Harbor, NY.
- Baron's Cove, Sag Harbor NY
- The Pridwin, Shelter Island NY - 2022
- Congress Hall, Cape May NJ
- Virginia Hotel & Cottages, Cape May NJ
- Beach Shack, Cape May NJ
- Sandpiper Beach Club, Cape May NJ
- The Star, Cape May NJ
- Congress Place Suites, Cape May NJ
- Beach Plum Farm Cottages, West Cape May NJ
PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
Restaurants & Bars
Cape Resorts enjoys a true knack for developing and successfully managing exciting food and beverage concepts that are both popular and profitable. Each is unique, but all share a commitment to local ingredients, authentic service and comfortable ambiance. Whether fine dining or a surf shack, Cape has succeeded in delivering not only for the hosted guests but for the local community as well.
- The Restaurant & Lounge at Baron’s Cove
- The Blue Pig Tavern
- The Ebbitt Room
- Rusty Nail
- Boiler Room
- Brown Room
- Veranda Bar
- Beach Plum Farm Bakery & Café
- Beach Plum Farm Market & Kitchen
Cape Resorts offers more than just a bed for the night.
Lifestyle
Over the years Cape has horizontally integrated other businesses and investment classes successfully across the portfolio. Guests not only enjoy a first-rate hotel, but also indulge in a relaxing spa retreat and shopping with all the other little extras that help make a perfect vacation.
Running an exceptional spa and retail operation not only enhances the guest stay, but it also delivers significant incremental revenue and provides excellent opportunities to build even stronger brands and greater guest loyalty through merchandising.
- Sea Spa
- Tommy’s Folly Boutique
- Tommy’s Folly Branded & Home
- Tommy’s Folly Kids
- West End Garage
- Beach Plum Farm
A Passion for Hospitality
Everything about a Cape Resorts stay is designed to deliver a simple all-American vacation. It all starts with a signature pre-arrival concierge service where a dedicated concierge calls each guest prior to arrival and curates a vacation itinerary based on individual desires while also selling the value of Cape services and amenities. From the pool and beach service to the Sea Spa, yoga and beach boot camp, each guest knows that a Cape Resorts hotel will be far more than just a place to stay the night.
Programming is strategically designed to create demand all year and to enhance rates during each season. Holidays are carefully choreographed to ensure that each will provide a wealth of cherished memories, and every day is punctuated with special rituals and cherished traditions, such as Kids Camp, carnival night on the lawn, pig roasts, clam shell pitching tournaments, summer clambakes and Dinner and Bingo with Blue.
Each season brings new experiences to create cherished memories such as Winter Wonderland festivities including a magnificent tree lighting, Cape Resorts Explorers Club for Spring and Fall breaks, and the annual Fourth of July week long celebration with lobster bake and fireworks. Constant innovation keeps things fresh and new.
These destinations are what keep Cape guests coming back and what give the hotels their remarkable vitality and charisma.
Cape Guests
The deep and abiding loyalty of its guests is truly Cape Resorts’ most valuable asset, and the trust guests place with them is a priceless resource. Over 40% of room nights are filled with returning guests, many of whom have stayed with the resort for three, four or more years in a row. Guests range from couples to multi-generational families, newlyweds to empty nesters, young families starting a new tradition to groups of friends looking for a summer vacation or weekend getaway. With that said, 48% of returning guests in Cape May stayed at multiple hotels throughout the year, proving that having several different types of properties is beneficial, as guests select hotels based on the type of getaway they are seeking.
Today, Cape Resorts boasts a relationship with over 175,000 prior guests. The vast majority of them are married with a household income in excess of $150,000 and live within a three hour drive of Cape May and Sag Harbor. Major feeder markets for both destinations is New York DMA and Philadelphia DMA. The hotelier’s ability to reach its guests combined with the company’s high levels of loyalty and trust have resulted in extremely highperforming promotional campaigns and opportunities for cross-selling between properties and destinations.
Principles for Success
The Cape Resorts mission statement both drives and reflects the success the company has achieved:
“We are a family
of hotels providing welcome, offering superior service and
impeccable standards in settings that are relaxed yet elegant,
luxurious yet fun, building loyalty, value and tradition for our
guests, community, team members and partners.”
This mission is built on Cape Resorts’ values:
AN ETHOS OF WELCOME
“Company is Coming” 24/7 and we are the hosts who have invited guests to stay with us. We welcome them sincerely to a place where they are encouraged to make themselves at home. An authentic welcome.
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT
We extend the benefit of the doubt to our guest. We would rather be taken advantage of by a few guests than ever risk offending someone with a legitimate complaint. For us, assuming the customer is always right is simply a shortcut to a good vibe. By owning and operating first-class, full-service hotels and resorts, we provide comfort and hospitality to those away from home, while building meaningful relationships, supporting our associates and creating long-term value in our hotels. By extending the benefit of the doubt to our guest, when we do fail, which we will, they will more often than not extend it back to us.
OUR DUTY IS SERVICE
We have a servant’s heart. We understand that to provide winsome hospitality we must pay attention to the menial details of meticulous beds, clean rooms, delicious food and efficient service.
OUR HONOR IS TO KEEP OUR STANDARDS
Standards are not just operating procedures or side work check lists; they are the very essence of our integrity. We have to keep our promises.
OUR COMPANY IS CAPE RESORTS
We create an internal SUPPORT system based on family, loyalty and the knowledge of “I’ve got your back.” As we do our guests, if we extend the benefit of the doubt to our teammates, when we make mistakes, our teammates will extend the benefit of the doubt back to us.
Why Cape Resorts?
Cape Resorts offers a proven formula that has delivered success across its diversified portfolio and represents a significant opportunity for owners hoping to optimize the performance of their existing assets or ensure the success of future projects. Cape’s team of managers are experts at bringing hotel projects to life through fresh and authentic design, strong property branding and exceptional resort programming. The company’s marketing expertise attracts high-value guests, while their operational excellence and superior service culture converts first-timers into life-timers.
Most importantly, Cape brings an owner’s perspective to its management role. The company maintains whole ownership or a significant equity stake in the vast majority of its current properties. Regardless of the ownership structure, the Cape Team brings the same focus on profitability and income generation to all the properties it manages, enabling Cape Resorts to be fully aligned with its joint venture partners. This model has delivered repeated and consistent success and serves as an attractive template for future projects.
Centralized Services
Cape Resorts centralized services ensure streamlined processes, cost efficiencies, and reduced redundancies while yielding profitability. With a comprehensive infrastructure of hospitality management services, the Cape team hosts individual stays that cultivate guest loyalty, create sustainable value and return on investment.
- Marketing & Communications
- Revenue Management
- Central Reservations Office
- Human Resources
- Accounting
- Purchasing
- IT Services
Executive Oversight
Operational Expertise
- Hotel & Resort Management
- Food & Beverage
- Human Resources
- Spa Management
- Programming Activities
Development Expertise
- Acquisitions & Joint Ventures
- Entitlements
- Innovation & Design
- Project Management
- Construction Management
CAPE LEADERSHIP
Curtis Bashaw
FOUNDER
& MANAGING PARTNER
Curtis Bashaw has been in the real estate and hospitality industry since 1982. Mr. Bashaw has been a managing partner in approximately $1 billion in real estate development projects including office, hotel, restaurant, retail, mixed use and residential. He has also served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Casino Redevelopment and Reinvestment Authority where he oversaw several hundred million dollars of economic investment in projects throughout New Jersey. He earned a Masters of Business Administration at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
Curtis Sachs
PARTNER,
ACQUISITIONS & DEVELOPMENT
Curtis Sachs joined Cape Resorts in September
2007, and has served as project manager on a
number of the firm’s hospitality projects. Prior to
joining Cape Advisors, Mr. Sachs worked in the
Real Estate Credit Group at PB Capital and in the
Commercial Real Estate Group at M&T Bank, both
in New York City. He graduated from the School
of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in
2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a
concentration in Real Estate Finance.
Colleen Bashaw
VICE PRESIDENT, HOTEL INTERIOR DESIGN
Colleen Bashaw is an interior designer with a passion for restoration and creative detail. Colleen is known for her use of whimsical prints, bold colors and nautical inspired décor. Through a family legacy in the hospitality industry, Colleen has learned to celebrate the history and unique character of each hotel and home she works on. With Cape Resorts, Colleen has overseen the renovation of Congress Hall, Baron’s Cove, The Virginia, Beach Shack, and the Star Inn. Prior to working with Cape Resorts, Colleen worked at Parish-Hadley and Bunny Williams Design.
Jeanni Seetoo
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, REVENUE MANAGEMENT
Jeanni Seetoo has devoted her career to Cape Resorts, spanning over 30 years. Her first job was bussing tables at the Ebbitt Room which began a succession of advancement through the Virginia Hotel, including Front Office Manager and in 2000, Jeanni was promoted to General Manager and served in that role until January 2004. As Cape Resorts grew, Jeanni was tasked with opening our first Central Reservations office and soon moved into a concentration in Revenue Management. She is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the brand’s inventory optimization and revenue results. Through the years Jeanni has established procedures, protocol and standards relating to guest service, quality assurance and training, which define Cape Resorts today. She graduated from Towson University, MD, with a Bachelor of Science degree and a concentration in Marketing.
Clari Blum
CHIEF FINANCIAL STRATEGIST
Clari Blum has been with Cape Resorts since 1996 where she serves as Chief Financial Strategist. She oversees management of accounting and tax functions for all Cape Resorts properties. Prior to Cape Resorts, she spent 6 years with Sturdy Savings Bank as the IT/Network Administrator. Ms. Blum is a graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA, where she acquired a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems and Accounting.
Rob Coburn
PROJECT MANAGER
Rob Coburn joined Cape Resorts in January 2012 and managed the company’s renovation of Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor, NY. Prior to joining Cape Resorts, Mr. Coburn spent a decade in banking, working in the real estate and corporate finance groups of JP Morgan. Mr. Coburn then spent a decade in alternative investment management, directing strategy and investor relations for a global hedge fund. He earned a Masters of Business Administration at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College.
John Huo