Sandcastle Marketing Plan 2026

“sandcastle” marketing plan 2026 index

1. About Coldwell Banker Real Estate BVI

2. BVI Real Estate Market Overview

3. strategy for marketing and selling Sandcastle

4. Little Dix Sales Desk

5. collateral and Digital marketing

6. Print advertising

7. Press and pr

8. BVI Villa Rental

9. Relationships and referrals

10. Guerilla Marketing

We opened the doors of Coldwell Banker Real Estate BVI in 2005. We did so because at that time, whilst around 80% of overseas home and land buyers were from the U.S., there was no recognised US brand Real Estate Agent in the BVI. Since then, with the strength of the global name behind us and lot of local expertise and experience on the ground, we have gone from strength to strength and are firmly established as one of the leading Real Estate Agents in the British Virgin Islands.

Our Managing Broker has been selling real estate in the BVI since the mid 1990’s. No other BVI Broker can match our sales record and experience in Virgin Gorda real estate.

www.coldwellbankerbvi.com

Our primary office is at Nanny Cay Marina, the BVI’s largest working marina and boatyard. We also have a new office/ lounge at Beef Island Airport in partnership with our friends at Bonita Concierge who offer VIP airport transfers. And we have a sales desk at Rosewood Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda.

the CB BVI team

chris smith managing broker

Chris arrived in the BVI in 1992 to work for Sir. Richard Branson on Necker Island as the island’s first tennis coach, watersports guy, bartender and anything else that needed doing! In those days, only 3 people lived permanently on Necker.

After several delightful years on Necker, Chris moved to Virgin Gorda and, after a short stint at Biras Creek Resort, became the Sales and Operations Manager for Nail Bay Resort, a then brand new 146 acre resort residential development on Virgin Gorda. He sold the prime Lot to Petr Kellner (Czech Billionaire, currently no. 68 on Forbes List), and managed his home for the first year after construction. Chris built his own home at Nail Bay which was designed by his very close friend, the late Ken Kao who worked on the Masterplan for Nail Bay. After a fire destroyed Necker Island Great House, Chris introduced Ken to Richard and he became the primary Architect for Necker and Moskito Island. The rest is history!

In 2005, Chris and his partners introduced the Coldwell Banker name to the BVI and the Agency very quickly established itself as one of the leading Real Estate Brokers in the BVI. After the hurricanes of 2017, Chris has also served on the BVI Tourism Industry Recovery Committee.

the team (cont.)

esther wheatley

real estate agent

Introducing our secret weapon. Esther is North Sound royalty! Esther, her grandparents and parents were all born there. She has lived on Virgin Gorda continuously since she returned from tertiary education in New York. Her father was the late Ralph O’Neal, OBE, the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands who served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands for 3 terms. Her husband, Vincent, is the current BVI Government Minister of Health and reprentative for VG.

Esther cut her teeth working at Rosewood Little Dix Bay as Director of Retail for 5 years before branching out on her own. Ever the entrepreneur, for 20 years prior to Irma, Esther owned and operated the hugely popular North Sound dockside restaurant, “The Fat Virgin” Sadly, in 2017 Irma took a liking to the Fat Virgin and ran away with her!

However, every disaster also provides opportunity and a silver lining. We were absolutely delighted when Esther joined the Coldwell Banker Real Estate BVI team. Next time you visit, take some time to simply sit with her, share a rum cocktail and listen!

coldwell banker throughout the caribbean

We are part of Coldwell Banker Island Affiliates and can boast the most well established network of offices throughout the Caribbean of any Real Estate Brokerage.

aruba

bahamas

bermuda

BVI

cayman

curacao

dominican republic

grenada

jamaica

St. Barths

st. croix

st. maarten

st. thomas

turks and caicos

Of particular interest are the islands with a particular nexus to the BVI. Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are linked to the BVI via the offshore financial services industry. The CB Bermuda franchise is by far the largest real estate brokerage on the island and we regularly exchange referrals, expertise and experiences. The CB Cayman Islands franchise is also very strong. The network of lawyers and accountants that work on and between the two islands is a great source of referrals. Amongst the group, there is a lot of experience selling luxury real estate to a primarily US buying audience.

The Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program sets the benchmark for luxury real estate marketing, building on the Coldwell Banker® brand’s legacy since 1906. Luxury Property Specialists® are an elite group representing approximately the top 10% of Coldwell Banker affiliated agents worldwide. Certified through one of the industry’s most rigorous luxury training programs, specialists including Managing Broker Chris Smith deliver exceptional representation backed by a global network of over 100,000 agents across 2,600 offices in over 40 countries across the globe, marketing and selling many of the world’s most significant properties.

Representation that Crosses Oceans, Continents, and Language Barriers

Coldwell Banker Real Estate BVI has been entrusted with four of the most expensive homes ever to be listed for sale in the British Virgin Islands.

2. BVI real estate market overview

First thing to note...our market is very small! Total population of the BVI is approx. 30,000 people of which around 3,000 live on Virgin Gorda. The total annual $ volume of BVI real estate sales typically runs at around $100m and the total number of closed sales transactions is around 150 to 200. The majority of those transactions are lower $ value local transactions. The balance is largely sales of vacation homes and land to ex pat buyers, 80% of whom are from the U.S.

who is buying a home in the BVI and why?

• Our typical buyer has been visiting the BVI for several years, either boating or staying in luxury Resorts or Villas.

• Over 70% will be from the US, be in their mid 40’s to late ‘50s/early 60’s and typically, but not necessarily, be from the East Coast.

• They will pay cash and it is likely to be a third or fourth home.

• They are buying to spend more time in the BVI with their families and friends.

• They have a 10 to 20 year plan for the home, not a 2 to 5 year plan and understand the BVI is a relatively small and illiquid market.

• Their expectation is modest annual appreciation in line with inflation, not large losses or gains.

• They will be keen boaters and will likely own or purchase a sailboat or powerboat or both.

• They will spend two to four months per year in their BVI home.

• They would like to be able to offset most of the costs of ownership with rental income when they are not in residence.

• They are not buying as a rental investment.

(“If you want a cash on cash property investment, buy a warehouse in the Bronx!” – A.N.Other CB BVI Seller)

3. Strategy for marketing and selling “Sandcastle”

If we consider who our typical buyers are, it’s those who have visited the BVI on several occasions already and eventually fall in love with the islands. It’s only then that they decide that they want to build or buy a home to spend more time in the BVI.

The low hanging fruit therefore are Little Dix Bay guests or villa renters on Virgin Gorda, particularly Mahoe Bay Villas and the Villas that we manage and market for vacation rental on Virgin Gorda under our BVIVILLARENTAL brand.

The second area of focus would be those who have sailed in the BVI for several years, either chartering or on their own yachts. That’s why our primary office is at Nanny Cay Marina, Tortola’s largest working marina and boatyard. Nanny Cay is currently undergoing a major expansion, adding many new docks to accommodate larger catamarans and megayachts along with more higher end retail, restaurants, etc, etc.

The third area of focus would be targeting high net worth individuals from overseas who may not yet have discovered the BVI. It is very unusual for someone to purchase property on their first visit to the BVI so our marketing in this regard tends to be more focused on getting people to visit the BVI in the first place. For this purposes, we market and manage a collection of luxury villas throughout the BVI. People who rent villas who keep coming back are most likely to eventually become buyers.

www.bvivillarental.com

4. Little Dix Sales Desk

We are the Exclusive Real Estate Agents for Rosewood Little Dix Bay and have a sales desk on property. Most of the larger vacation homes on Virgin Gorda were built or purchased by people who have stayed at Little Dix for many years. Eventually they decide that they would like to spend more time on Virgin Gorda and buy a home of their own. Little Dix is an excellent source of potential buyers.

We just booked the outside back cover of the next edition of the Rosewood Little Dix Bay In Room Guest Experience Book aslong with a double page spread ad on the inside. This is the only publication that is actually put in every hotel room at Little Dix.

5. Collateral and digital marketing

professional photgraphy, drone videos and 3D virtual tour

For our exclusive listings, we always recommend professional photography, drone videos and a 3D Virtual tour. We will arrange a photoshoot of “Sandcastle”. For non exclusive listings, we ask the seller to contribute to the cost.

brochures and postcards

We will produce a professional brochure and postcards. As well as mailshots etc, we use the vacation villas that we manage as the ‘shop window’ for our sales listings. Our brochures and postcards are displayed in our offices and villas.

brochures and postcards

We will produce a professional brochure and postcards. As well as mailshots etc, we use the vacation villas that we manage as the ‘shop window’ for our sales listings. Our brochures and postcards are displayed in our offices and villas.

Caribbean Wind

Name

Email

Phone

I am interested. Please contact me...

• www.coldwellbankerbvi.com

• www.coldwellbankerislands.com

• www.coldwellbankerinternational.com

• www.coldwllbankerluxury.com

• www.jamesedition.com

• www.wsj.com

• www.nytimes.com

• + over 70 additional syndicated websites globally

The listing for “Sandcastle” will appear on all of the above websites.

We employ a specialist Social Media firm for this purpose. We intend to leverage this expertise and combine it with the power of the Coldwell Banker brand globally.

Emailshots

We maintain a large database of potential purchasers. We strategically use emailshots as a way of informing our clients about new listings, price reductions, etc, etc. The goal is not to bombarb them with information but be selectivive in how often and when we send out our emailshots.

6. Print advertising

A smaller proportion of our marketing spend these days is allocated to print advertising with more being allocated to digital. However, people still like to have something printed in their hands to read and there are a couple of publications we regularly advertise in.

We currently have a double page spread running in the ‘VI Property, Yachts and Life’ Magazine which is...

• Widely distributed throughout the BVI and read by anyone considering buying property in the BVI.

• The only quality BVI magazine focused on property advertising.

• Now distributed on the AA flight from Miami to Tortola and in first class lounges

.

Our “Homes for Mere Mortals” series of ads has been well received. In the next issue, the intention is to dispoay multiple properties at a various price points to keep things interesting and not allow it to go stale. (Note that the magazine has very long lead 6 month copy deadlines which can be tricky to navigate!).

Next season, as we have done in the past, we will be printing our own high quality Listing book featuring all our Exclusive Listings, to be distributed via our offices and vacation villas.

We love to leverage the strength of the Coldwell Banker brand to tkae advantage to any press and PR opportunities. ®

For example, last year we successfuly placed an article in the Robb Report. This was actually faciliated by our friends at Hamptons in the UK who provide additional UK representation for us.

‘BVI Villa Rental’ is the vacation villa management and marketing arm of Coldwell Banker Real Estate BVI. Our approach to managing and marketing BVI Vacation Villas is a little different from that of most of our competitors. We have been developing this brand over the past 10 years. Why? Certainly not because we hope to get rich and retire from property management income!

We have every incentive to make sure our homes are well maintained and that our guests have a great time! If the house looks shabby or they have one bad day, they are unlikely to become a buyer.

We are not chasing each and every Villa for our Program. Over the past five years we have taken our time and slowly built a collection of Villas that not only rent well but are owned by people with whom we can have a good working relationship.

We need luxury accommodation for affluent people who may become buyers

9. relationships and referrals

As well as referral from Coldwell Banker agents throughout the US, the Caribbean, and globally, we also have good relationships with the major law firms and banks in the BVI with whom we deal on a daily basis. They have been a good source of referrals and their clients tend to be at the higher end so this can be very effective.

Because it can take nine months to a year on average to close a real estate deal in the BVI, choice of lawyer, and bank if necessary, for our buyers is absolutely critical and again form part of our marketing strategy. We have excellent relationships with Harneys, GHP and O’Neal Webster who tend to be on one side of almost every deal we do.

We also have very good working relationships with VP Bank, Republic Bank and CIBC. Because the sales process is so long, it is imperative that our partners in any deal understand the need for great customer service at every stage so that we get to closing as efficiently as possible. To that end we also maintain good relationships with the various Government departments who just occasionally need a friendly prod to help the process along!

We have specific links to various brokers with whom we have a good relationship...

1. Hamptons

We recently joined the Hamptons Private Client group. This is an association of Brokers globally...Monaco, Dubia, California, St. Barths, major ski resorts, etc, etc ... It enables us to share off market, no publicity listings and quietly get them in front of a HNW audience

2. Tim Elmes

We we recently introduced to Tim who is a very aggressive broker in Florida. He is familiar with the BVI from sailing here. He is very keen to particpate in helping us to sell high end homes in the BVI. Tim has a mailing list of the all the top hedge fund guys in the US.

10. Guerrilla marketing

At Coldwell Banker, we love a bit of Guerrilla Marketing and love trying new and different approaches. As an example, pre Hurricane Irma, we installed a “Bat Phone “ at Hog Heaven, one of Virgin Gorda’s most visited island bars because of its stunning views of North Sound.

Dial ‘1’ for a real estate agent!

“AlexA... call Coldwell Banker”

A few years later, we upgraded the idea and installed an Alexa at Scrub Island. This meant in the hours when there was no sales agent manning the sales desk, potential buyers could still easily reach us.

coming soon!

We have just invested in a new boat so that we can respond quickly in the event we get a last minute call from a client wanting to look at property before they leave the BVI. We are also hiring a Captain who is also an experienced BVI Real Estate Agent so we can charter the “Black Mamba” to our villa rental guests and do property tours by water!