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Business partnerships can be hit or miss, but some, like Royal Shell Real Estate, have developed a winning formula.
The company opened in 2007 on Sanibel and Captiva islands and has expanded into key markets through partnerships with affiliated companies. It continues to grow at a fast pace in a recovering economy, while many companies are just beginning to thaw out of safety mode.
The Roberts family, based in Wilmington, Ohio, own Royal Shell Real Estate, but the full-service brokerage firm is one cog in a family of companies they own that work together and complement each other, said Don DeLuca, managing broker of Royal Shell and vice president of R.L.R. Investments LLC.
For example, the company promotes cross-over with its rentals and sales by placing vacation rental employees from Royal Shell Vacations in the same offices as Realtors, who work as independent contractors under Royal Shell Real Estate.
“That really is the crux of the business model of Royal Shell and a lot of companies don’t do that,” he said. “… If you can cultivate a relationship with that visitor and then service them through the rental up until the point when they become a buyer, then you’re creating a pipeline internally that feeds your brokerage.”
It also has partnerships with affiliated companies such as Royal Port Sanibel Marina. The company offers special discounts to Royal Shell Vacations guests for boat or wave runner rentals, and other amenities as an added incentive to book their vacation with the company, he said.
It’s a partnership – a vertical integration – that’s worked well for the company.
The company nearly tripled its gross sales year-over-year. In 2011, the company’s gross sales reached $187,090,644, compared to $67,768,860 in 2010 – a growth of 176 percent.
Expansion has been a big part of the company’s success. In September 2007, the company purchased the stock of Royal Shell Vacations, the largest vacation rental company serving the islands. Last June, the company also acquired Waterstone Vacation Rentals, a company with rental properties on Sanibel, Captiva and in Bonita Springs.