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Back in December 2023, I wrote about Allegiant Travel Company, the owner of Allegiant Air, opening the Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor, Florida. This extension into hotels was supposed to be the first step in the company being thought of as an integrated travel company and not just an airline. It looks like running this resort has not gone according to plan and Allegiant is now looking for a buyer.
The resort has 785 guest rooms and 22 waterfront acres for guests to enjoy. It also offers 20 dining establishments including the 25,000-square-foot Harbor Yards Food Hall, multiple pools, a spa, shopping, a fitness center, a golf course, and 60,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Allegiant CEO, Greg Anderson, revealed during a February 4th conference call that Allegiant expects to sell the resort to a “high-quality” hotel or resort brand by early summer.
The land was purchased by Allegiant in 2019 for $30 million. The resort was originally slated to open in 2020, but the project was plagued by three years of delays and going over budget by $225 million. The total cost was more than $700 million and setbacks included the pandemic and Hurricane Ian. During the storm, cranes crashed into the structure and caused $35 million in damage. Construction stalled again in February 2023 due to a fire.
While the resort opened in December 2023, it was closed in September and October of last year when Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton wreaked another $5.7 million in damage on the property. No firm date or buyer has been set for the sale of the Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor.
Allegiant has been selling hotel rooms on behalf of third parties for more than 18 years. The concept here was for guests to book into a hotel that the company owns. Allegiant’s loyalty program, ALLWAYS Rewards, offers members loyalty points by flying Allegiant, staying at Sunseeker, renting a car through Allegiant.com, and more. These points can then be redeemed for flights, stays, and more. Controlling the entire ecosystem seemed like a smart idea, but the realities of running a resort can be daunting.
Allegiant first announced plans for the resort in 2017. It has flown over 18 million passengers into Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), which is located only a few moments from the resort. This has not been enough to make it something that the company wants to keep or plan further expansion with more hotels in other cities. The airline flew to its first Florida destination in 2005 and now serves 10 cities in the state and more than 200 routes, overall. The low-cost carrier flies nearly eight million leisure travelers in and out of Florida every year.
Anthony’s Take: It’s interesting to see an airline own a hotel, but I can’t say I’m surprised that this is going to be sold. It’s also hardly the first time that this has been done. Air France launched the Le Méridien brand as far back as 1972. American Airlines also opened a $250 Million, 600-room hotel for its staff in Dallas this year. The resort looks upscale and we’ll have to see who is secured as a buyer and what brand flag flies here in the future.
(Image Credits: Allegiant Travel Company.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
