The resurgence of Margaritaville: Two massive resort chains open on opposite coasts after bankruptcy scare

One resort opened in Lake Tahoe, while the other is in Florida on Fort Myers Beach

Two new Margaritaville Resorts have recently held their grand openings, one in Lake Tahoe and the other in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

The openings come after the Margaritaville Resort Times Square Hotel filed for bankruptcy in July 2023. Now, people seem optimistic about what the resorts in California and Florida can do for their local communities.

According to NBC, the $200m Fort Myers Beach location is the first property of such a large calibre to be on the beach front in almost two decades. The resort plans to employ almost 400 people, many of who lost jobs due to Hurricane Ian.

“Anytime you can bring more people to an area, it benefits everybody,” Jay Johnson, the president and CEO of the Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, told NBC about the value of the resort. “…This is the first major step of recovery for the beach.”

Even local business owners were excited at the prospects of the resort. “We’ve been excited since they were groundbreaking and when they started to build it. We knew it was going to draw more people into the area,” Yo! Taco employee Doug Kolbjornsen told the outlet.

As for Tahoe’s location, their grand opening was on Thursday 14 December. The Davison Hospitality Group decided on the snowy mountains with the goal of warming up the skiers and reminding them of the beach even in the cold.

“Being the first ski destination resort where we can bring our style of lifestyle and escapism for the Margaritaville to the mountains is great,”  Tom Geshay, the CEO and president of the Davidson Hospitality Group told 2 News. “In our other locations we get toes in the sand. Tahoe we get tips in the snow."

The group is aiming for the new resort to eventually be the “centre of the universe” of South Lake Tahoe. “Margaritaville is synonymous with fun, activating and exciting food, and beverage outlets, and restaurants and bars,” Pete Sams, the chief operating officer for Davidson Hospitality Group told 2 News. “If you haven’t been to the land shark yet it’s incredible we think it’s going to be the epicentre of the community.”

According to the managing director of the resort, there are a total of 399 suites and the resort has provided over 300 jobs to the local community. “399 suites are completely redone in Margaritaville style,” he said. “It is an incredible personality brand named after a guy and a song from 1977 and our whole attitude is delivering fun and escapism, and that’s what we’re going to do there. Winter, summer, water, ski and the beautiful mountains. It’s going to be an incredible addition to the local community.”

Since the announcement of both resorts, many people have taken to social media to give their own opinions on the new Lake Tahoe Margaritaville Resort. One person on X, formerly known as Twitter, appeared to like the idea as much as the people in charge of it did. “I will go get smashed at the new Margaritaville they’re opening in Lake Tahoe this December in Jimmy’s honour,” they wrote, in reference to the death of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett in September.

Other Tahoe locals questioned the decision on Reddit under the r/Tahoe subreddit, while some joked about the new resort.

“Hopefully the next step is to start building those overwater bungalows on the lake like they have in Fiji,” one Reddit user joked on the platform.