Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘accidental hotelier’ venture and local retail partnerships

When you think of Francis Ford Coppola, you probably think of The Godfather, but the filmmaker wears many hats. A short four-hour flight from NYC will get you to the little Central American country of Belize, home to a rich history rooted in traditions of a multitude of ancient cultures such as the Mayans.

But did you know that beyond the lush forests and the beautiful beaches, Belize is also home to two quaint luxury hotels owned by Coppola?

The Turtle Inn, for instance, which Coppola and his late wife Eleanor acquired in 2001, sits as a “beachside hideaway” at “the fishing village of Placencia,” according to its website, featuring multiple dining options and artistic shops. The same goes for Blancaneaux Lodge, the first property acquired by the director in the 1980s to be part of the “Family Coppola Hideaway.” Today, the Hideaways portfolio has six hotels across Belize, Guatemala, Argentina, and Italy, but one common theme links them all.

“Unlike major brand hotels that I’ve worked for in the past…that might take a more corporate way to look at a partnership…everything that the Coppolas endeavor in the art of what they do is 1,000% more important than the commerce of what they do,” Christine Gaudenzi, director of marketing and business development at the The Family Coppola Hideaways, told Retail Brew, adding that the attitude also is reflected across its multiple retail partnerships carefully selected by members of the Coppola family.

Take for instance, its recent partnership with LA-based artist Geoff McFetridge, who created 17 eccentric colored-pencil illustrations including one that features a jaguar—native to Belize—sitting in a director’s chair that says “Coppola.” The sketches tell the origin story of Francis purchasing Blancaneaux Lodge first, some of the signature amenities the family brought in, how they opened the place, and then the filmmaker acquired Turtle Inn. Gaudenzi calls it the story of how he became an “accidental hotelier.”

A daughter he can’t refuse: On the advice of daughter and filmmaker Sofia Coppola, the sketches were then adapted into merchandise that are sold through the on-site gift shop. “Every hotel gift shop has a baseball hat or a T-shirt with their logo on it, right?” Gaudenzi said. “But how much more original is it that we’re going to have a T-shirt in our gift shop soon that is going to be done by this artist, Geoff McFetridge, that is going to be celebrating the origin story of Francis ending up in the hotel business and you can only get them in our gift shops?”

Meanwhile, the Hideaways’s partnership with the Luna Zorro Studio in Guatemala employs local women to create handloom textiles and other handcrafted items like woven bags. Under the collaboration, visitors and guests at the hotel can shop some of the bathrobes created locally and on display at the gift shop at Blancaneaux Lodge and the Coppolas’ La Lancha lodge in Guatemala.

The gift shops also feature other Guatemalan art and items like wooden bowls and vintage textiles, each carefully selected.

“So many celebrities slap their name on something, and it’s more of a license agreement; they’re not necessarily totally involved in the concept of elements in the actual product. That is not the case here,” Gaudenzi explained, adding that the Coppolas are “so hands on.”

She added that Sofia “handpicks” all the women’s fashion for the gift shops based on her tastes and brands that resonate with her. Eleanor was deeply involved in selecting the decor and the art for sale.

Glossed in translation: And while the Coppolas are big on apparel and local art, beauty is also a big component of their retail strategy.

The Turtle Inn hotel in Placencia features a variety of local skin care products, including sunscreen, shampoo, and conditioner but, per Gaudenzi, Sofia wants to take it a step further by elevating “our ability to do facials” and could be announcing a partnership with a San Francisco-based skin care line for spa treatments.

Regardless of partnerships in the future, Gaudenzi believes highlighting local craftsmanship and uplifting local artists will remain a core of the brand’s overall retail strategy.

“[The guests] need the $500 Toto Toilet; they need a super plush robe, the Friday sheets. This is what denotes luxury,” she said. “But none of those things are all important and none of that reflects if you’re in a foreign country, the local culture. So the way we embrace luxury is to make sure we’re finding the finest crafts locally to showcase in our gift shops or to touch your skin as a robe as you’re staying in our dwellings.”