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Orlando, Florida is a thriving market for family resort offerings. But Evermore, which opened this year, stands out.
The 1,100-acre property includes vacation rental-style homes designed for families, 12 dining options, a 36-hole golf course, and a beachfront lagoon spanning more than six soccer fields. In addition, this resort 433-room luxury Hilton Hotel Conrad Orlando.
Hotel Dive sat down with Stewart Brown, executive vice president of hospitality for Dart Interests, the resort’s developer and owner, to discuss Evermore’s unusual model, the rise of family travel, and Dart’s expansion plans.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Hotel Dive: How did Evermore come about?
Stewart Brown: Chris Kelsey, president of Dirt Interests, was looking at our real estate portfolio and said, “Wow, Grand Cypress Golf Club is a really interesting gem.” There are 1,300 acres here that are literally adjacent to Disney. We share approximately 5 miles of border with Disney World and are 16 miles from Universal in the heart of the tourist corridor.
So Dart spent several years thinking about what to develop on the land, and at the same time, a trend toward hospitality began to emerge. The rise of family and multigenerational travel, which was already popular in Orlando, has only grown in popularity and seen a deterioration in connectivity. I have kids and they use their own devices so trying to connect with them is like a battle.
At the same time, there is also the rise of home sharing. Platforms like Airbnb gave people easy access to that type of product, but there were a lot of problems with that model, so that was an area of opportunity.
The pandemic has exacerbated all the trends I just talked about. So we decided to change the way people vacation together. A lot of it is about enriching our cohesiveness. We have developed a true destination resort with luxurious accommodations and world-class amenities right here in Orlando.
What makes Evermore a destination resort?
When most people come to Florida, they have to decide: Do they want to go to the beach or the theme parks? You don’t have to choose now. We brought the beach to Central Florida.
There are three types in our house. We renovated our Grand Cypress vacation home. What we call a “flat” is basically an apartment with a full kitchen and washer/dryer. and 69 single-family homes. All of these are intentionally designed as vacation rentals. All of our vacation rentals come equipped with a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and seating for one at the dinner table.
And there are some things you might not have gotten if you rented a home elsewhere. We offer world-class fitness classes, activities, and 36 holes of Jack Nicklaus golf.
How does Evermore combine hotel-style hospitality with a vacation rental model?
Many sophisticated features are rapidly being introduced into rental spaces. Some people want to meet and get to know the host. This is not the case. We go after people who want to be with their tribe and spend those moments together. So we will stay out of your way if you want, but if you need help we will be there.
Many of the people we hire come from the hotel industry. We’ve managed to hire some really great, hospitable people.
In addition to all the rental options, there is also a luxury hotel on site. Why does Evermore have both?
I come from a hotel background, and I think we’ve been trained to think of vacation rentals as a bad thing. But it depends on your use case. So, using myself as an example, if I was going to attend an event, (my wife and I) would probably stay at the Conrad. We went to the spa, played golf, and spent time together at hotels.
But I have four kids, so if they’re all coming, I’ll probably rent a house. We’ll probably be cooking half the meals. There’s a product for every use case.
Orlando has a crowded hotel market. What are you doing to make Evermore stand out?
We believe our vacation rental model is highly innovative. One of the few, if not the only true destination resort in Orlando. And our location is blessed. We are really lucky to be where we are, right in the heart of the tourist corridor. If you look at the single-family vacation rental market in Orlando, most of it is further south from us. Orange County has a small number of vacation rentals, so the location is good. We believe the luxury positioning is unique in such a crowded market.
Evermore is not affiliated with any hospitality management company. Why did you choose that model?
What makes us a little different is that we own and control everything. So Conrad is managed by Hilton, but owned by Dart. And all of the vacation rentals, the lagoon, the activities, the recreation, the eateries around the lagoon are all owned and managed by the operating company that we essentially set up for that purpose.
This gives you a lot of control and allows you to do some things that you couldn’t do otherwise. Security is very high as the entire area is gated. You can let your child walk around by themselves. We provide on-site engineering and maintenance. And because we own and control everything, everything is by design. All units have the same dishwasher and additional parts. A la carte housekeeping is also available, so mom and dad don’t have to run around cleaning all their vacations. It’s like a mesh between the traditional vacation rental and hotel worlds.
We looked at other operating companies, but ultimately felt that no one else was actually doing what we were proposing. Therefore, it is difficult to know who can do it successfully if they have not done it in the past. We thought, if we’re going to crack the code here, we might as well do it ourselves. And if this works and we like the business model, we can broadcast this show all over the country.
Where else is Dart considering for future resorts?
We’ve only been in business for eight months, but the demand this summer has exceeded our expectations. So this model is working well for me and I would like to look elsewhere. Although there is only one theme park center in the world, we think Evermore makes sense. Evermore Beach might make sense. Being on a lake might make sense. We have a network of people all over the country who are looking to develop all kinds of real estate, not just this one concept or hospitality, and we’re all deeply immersed in what we do here and are excited about the potential for expansion. I’m exploring sex.
