CEO (The Hartling group)

Being a British Overseas Territory with an independent Government, Turks and Caicos Islands have a unique position in the Caribbean. With 24.000 USD per capita is one of the countries in the region with the highest standard of living. But there are many countries in the Caribbean that compete in similar sectors; tourism, real estate, financial services... What do you think that are the advantages of TCI in relation to its neighbors?

The Turks and Caicos Islands have a magical dimension; a perfect size where there are neither overdeveloped areas nor crime zones. Our late development cycle started at a time when the world was looking for luxury real estate, which has led us to develop a unique high-end and exclusive product. The creation of the condo hotel model led to a profound positive impact on the country that allowed the development of some ultra high-end rooms that a conventional hotel cannot compete with. Unlike the hotel that only generates cash revenues, the condo model entails a real estate value. The units may increase the price and are a liquid investment that can be bought and sold, in addition to the personal use value that does not exist in hotel ownership.

Our condo purchasers are buying it because they want personal use and, on top of that, they have the ability to earn income. This model allowed in Turks and Caicos a very high quality hotel to be built and capitalized, while the places focusing on the traditional models were falling way behind competitively. The TCI are truly blessed by the success of the condo hotel model. From the government’s perspective, you are not only getting a resort, but also a return client that bought the unit and the potential revenues of an eventual resell of the property.

When the downturn in the economy generated a downward spiral in the travel industry, the condo owners kept using their properties and we did not lose any airlift. The hotels might not have had that many paying guests, but we had our loyal returning ownership base. It not only generated commerce, but a level of product that became a branding.


Tourism is the engine of the Turks and Caicos’ economy as it generates 80% of GDP directly and indirectly, and the visitors arrivals are increasing every year. How can the tourism sector maintain its growth?

Number one, safety. Everything starts there; it is like oxygen. Maybe safety alone does not make us successful, but a lack of security automatically make our clients not interested. Turks and Caicos are geographically small, so we have a lot better chance of keeping the crime under control than in bigger countries. The size of the islands geographically and in terms of residents make it easier to ensure long term sustainable safety.

Being a British Overseas Territory is a big deal for the investors too, as well as the fact that we use the US dollar, which gives people a lot of comfort because they do not have foreign exchange risk per se related to the destination. Our location has become a lot more critical. We are down low enough to enjoy guaranteed good weather, not to mention the proximity to North America. The increase in private jet usage has done a lot for us, because one can save 20,000 dollars’ worth of fuel both ways visiting the TCI instead of southerner islands.


The Hartling Group was founded in 1997, since then you have been the pioneer of the real estate and tourism development in TCI. Unlike smaller enterprises, you are a local group of companies that provides a full service from the design of the project to the IT services. What is the history behind the creation of the Group?

After university I really got into chartered accounting and eventually I stepped into a partnership to carry out developments in Nova Scotia, Canada. We were fortunate enough with the success of the projects and I could come to the TCI. I fell in love with the place and ended up buying the first six acres where The Sands is, a project that led to The Palms.

Grace Bay is growing towards high density and with The Shore Club on Long Bay we wanted to create something that is only two miles away, but you feel like in a whole different place. It is a very unique area, and it should remain that way. Grace Bay will always be breathtaking, but some of our clients want to buy a low-density exclusivity that cannot be altered. It is a private and exclusive location, but not isolated.


Hartling Group activity has three main branches: project development, project management and real estate. How do you operate in these three areas?

We do everything; the design, the construction and the management of the properties. There are amazing opportunities in the Caribbean, but they need control and nurturing. We like to control all parts of the process, which gives width to our corporation. It entails more energy and coordination, but our goal is to do four successful hotels rather than seven and one fail. We do not want a typical development; we are working to do each property as a very unique investment.


The Sands at Grace Bay was your first project in the country, followed by The Palms, two reference resorts in Providenciales. However, Tourism in TCI is booming and there are plenty of high-end hotels in Grace Bay. What makes your facilities different from your all the others in Grace Bay?

We went a little opposite of a market that is leaning towards designing a hotel with a spreadsheet, but we said: “what is it that our guest wants?” then we evaluated the costs and whether the client would be willing to pay. We designed our hotels to make them different, avoiding the typical room, pool and beach lounge room.

We offer to our clients what they really want to use during the week: the most private beaches on the island to go for a walk, an adult pool to read a book for a day, another pool for the kids to enjoy while the parents have lunch, a vibrant space to meet people if you come with your couple… It is a place of many venues, so we made sure to create and special design, that makes you feel at home but with a different environment, a Caribbean experience. We want the architecture to drive the client`s experience, with different styles for different moments and moods.


The Shore Club is your third project and has been recently opened (last December). Back in 2014, The Shore Club was already recognized with the Small Hotel Construction and Design Award from Caribbean Property Awards. What were the guidelines of the project that gave you such an early recognition?

We created a design-wise space with creative ideas that enhance the guest experience. For example, everything is connected underground by tunnels, so the client does not see the maid’s cart, the food supplies or the garbage moving. We were pioneer in the this sort of ideas that allowed us to use the land better, minimizing the footprint by putting all these services underneath and making them closer to the areas that you need it to serve.

We did it in a very creative way, so it enhances the guest service and the property value because one does not see seeing the buildings that typically the developers try to hide. Those are the kind of things that led to that award.


The Shore Club has been recently opened but the more developments are still under construction. The project features 38 units and 6 villas in five different buildings. How many units are already running? When is the whole complex due to be completed?

We have thirty-eight units that convert into about one hundred and six keys, and each of these rooms is a cay. When the project is fully developed there will be another six bedroom villas: a unique space with full six bedrooms right within the resort with its own private pool, hot tub, staff, and yet the guest can walk out the door and go to the spa and to a breathtaking beach. These villas probably will be complete by the end of 2017 and then perhaps we have one remaining phase.


Hartling Realty is the branch of the group in charge of selling of the properties. How are you branding The Shore Club to attract property investors?

Our brand is the reputation of what we have previously done. We did not need to do traditional hard branding because people believe us. It is a good testament that the island has a loyal investment base and we realize people visiting the island are going to get emotionally attached. That is our customer, a person with a flare-up in the eye when we mention Turks and Caicos.

We went in depth about what our client will really do during the day and how can we enhance its journey. For example, we realized that for our client profile it was nice to have a beautiful gym and workout areas, not hiding in the back of the resort. It is an active guest, so we created an activity based location, a natural playground.


The Shore Club has opened in the year of the 20th anniversary of the Hartling Group. It is the reference hotel right now in the country. However, tourism sector is growing and international brands, such as Ritz Carlton are coming. What is the future of The Shore Club and the Hartling Group in TCI?

We will continue to be an ultra high-end and low density space. It is a market that not everybody can compete in because it does take a lot of attention, effort and passion. What we do is not a generic product, it is really hand crafted properties meant to identify to the client.


As a local company, you have a special relation with the community that began 20 years ago. You have contributed with many initiatives to the wellbeing of the local society, especially in healthcare and childhood conditions. Not to mention your support to sports and cultural resources. What does it represent for you to give back to the local community?

One of the most rewarding things that you can have investing in a country this size is that you truly see the output of what you have done. If I donate 100,000 USD in Miami I am probably never going to see what I did, but here you can see, for example, the new van of the community center or the dialysis machine in the hospital. It is similar with the investment activities. Undertaking projects here is not just about our reputation as developers, but the reputation of Turks and Caicos. The investor really need to think that its responsibilities go beyond making money, he is an ambassador for the country.


Your career began in Canada, where you became a partner in The Barrian Group until 1995. Two years later, you created the leading firm of real estate and development in TCI, and in 2009 you were recognized as the "Developer of the Year" by the Caribbean World Home and Living Magazine. What do you feel most proud of?

The biggest compliment that you can have is when great people want to be around you, and our core team is a family. They are my biggest scorecard in terms of doing the right thing. The buildings are the byproduct, but the reward is the team.


HBR readers include the most influential business leaders and decision makers in the world. As a conclusion to this interview, what would you be your final message to them?

Just having a waterfront property in a beach somewhere does not make it a special place. It needs to have all the other attributes that come with it, and these islands have features impossible to create, authenticity. It has a sort of magic that starts culturally with the people, and mixed with other unique conditions like the size, the location and the water, makes it an unrepeatable place.

Turks and Caicos are the choice of those that can choose anything; our clients have the means to be anywhere they want, but they choose to be here. When you are the choice of someone that can have anything, it means that you are doing something right.