A new high-end real estate company is renting some of the Hamptons’ nicest homes and providing guests with five-star hotel services from private chefs to spa visits and chauffeurs.
In a new, resort-like approach to the traditionally rustic Hamptons, the company plans to offer pampered vacations to wealthy clients who are increasingly coming to the area for short stays – “super luxury in small doses,” said Brad Zackson, a real estate developer and CEO of the new company, Hampton Retreats.
The service offers an alternative to travelers who don’t want to deal with the hassle of renting a house, setting up contractors and pool cleaners, and grocery shopping. The company plans to open its doors for the first time during the July 4th weekend.
“Our focus is to provide our clientele with the best of everything while they are staying in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” said Kathryn Dalli, president of the company.
The company has lined up homes in Southampton, Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Sag Harbor that are valued from $1 to $6 million, and hopes to have between 25 and 35 rentals in place this season for clients to use.
Zackson, who is also President of the Dynamic Group, a consortium of real estate companies, also has the ambitious goal of purchasing 50 homes in the area over the next two years as part of a broader strategy.
The hotel-type service will also have a virtual “lobby”, a building being completed in Southampton that will have a concierge on duty 24 hours a day. Guests check in and call whenever they want deliveries, their refrigerator restocked, to arrange child-care, or to make dinner reservations. The building, as well as a line of linens, towels and other items in each house, is being designed by Carleton Varney of Dorothy Draper & Co, the oldest design firm in the country, whose credits include The White House and The Waldorf Astoria.
The service, which will be offered year-round, doesn’t come cheap, however-a minimum $7,000 a week in-season and $4,000 a week off-season, though Zackson says there has been plenty of demand. The company plans to target out-of-towners from Los Angeles and Europe, and celebrities seeking “privacy,” he said.
Hampton Retreats will also be a boon to homeowners who are letting the company rent out their homes, Zackson said. “Since we operate year-round, we can provide a predictable rental income for houses that usually sit vacant 38 weeks of the year.” The company will do things like make small repairs and open up houses for the season. “Homes will sign on for a year at a time, but when they see the services we provide, we hope they’ll sign on forever.”
Ultimately, however, the current resort concept is part of a larger vision for Zackson, who has spent nearly 20 years in real estate development. Early in his career, Zackson was the Exclusive Broker and Manager for Fred Trump of the original Trump Organization. In 1995, he was featured in Crain’s New York Business as one of the “40 under 40” most successful business entrepreneurs in New York.
“Our goal is to build assets,” he said, adding that the Hamptons is an ideal place to invest, on par with areas like Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. “Real estate in the Hamptons never declines, though sometimes it stagnates, like now. While it stagnates, it might be a good time to invest.”
Zackson, a homeowner in the Hamptons for the last ten years, also notes that there are no large management or real estate companies in the Hamptons currently.
“There is not a management company or real estate company that controls more than 5 or 10 houses out here,” he said. “We’re extremely excited about our business.”