The COM has selected a candidate to build a naturist hotel at Orient bay
Last year, the Collectivité received an unsolicited proposal from a company, SAS Griselle, to build and operate a hotel on two parcels of land it owns, AW 244 and 809 in Baie Orientale (southern section). As required by law, the COM issued a call for unsolicited expressions of interest to determine whether other parties were considering a similar project on these same two plots. This is how the company Club Orient Hôtel also entered the fray.
Both candidates share the same ambition: “to build a luxury hotel with top-tier amenities” for a clientele interested in naturism. Since the property is located on public land, it is up to the COM to select the company to which it will issue the temporary occupancy permit (AOT). To this end, its departments analyzed the proposals and prepared a comparison.
This report was presented to the executive council at its meeting on April 16. Upon reviewing it, the elected officials noted that “Griselle met the majority of the criteria” (four to two, with five in common), so they approved this bid and authorized the signing of a sixty-year administrative long-term lease with the company.
Although the Club Orient Hôtel estimated it would create 180 permanent jobs and 400 indirect jobs (compared to 150 permanent and 300 indirect jobs in the other project) and projected annual revenue of 15 million euros (compared to 8 to 9 million in the other project), it was not selected. Elected officials were more convinced by the €41 million investment announced by Griselle (compared to €16–20 million for Club Orient Hôtel), a commitment to occupy the property for “at least 35 years” by Griselle (compared to a 10-year partnership agreement), and a timeline for opening within 36 months (compared to 48 to 52 months).
However, the COM noted in both cases a “perfect” knowledge of the site; in the Griselle project, the partners are “former owners of the Club Orient and the Orient Beach Club,” while in the other project, they are partners of the “Club Orient Hotel and co-owners of the SDC Baie Orientale.”
Once the hotel opens, the operator will be required to pay the Collectivité an annual fee of 36,000 euros, the amount set by the COM and non-negotiable. However, the amount of the fee to be paid prior to the site’s opening was negotiable; SAS Griselle proposed 35,000 euros per year and Club Orient Hôtel 30,000 euros per year, a criterion that also appealed to elected officials.
Finally, the operator will also be required to pay a royalty based on revenue generated: 6% if revenue exceeds 12 million euros per year, 7% if it is between 10 and 12 million, 8% if it is between 5 and 10 million, and 10% if it is less than 5 million euros. Based on the announced estimated revenue figures, Griselle would pay a royalty ranging from 640,000 to 720,000 euros per year, while the other candidate would pay a royalty of 900,000 euros.
The COM believes that “the tax revenue and royalties generated by the investments will benefit” Saint Martin. The date for signing the lease agreement has not yet been announced.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
