BlueStar Resort & Golf knows its niche

BlueStar Resort & Golf may have started out as a golf-only management company when it was founded in 2005, but it soon recognized its niche was in resort amenity management and developer collaboration.

“We started to realize that not only did developers need golf course management, they need resort amenity management —g olf, spa and fitness, accounting services, et cetera,” said Kirk Kokoska, vice president of Bluestar Resort & Golf. “So we evolved into the resort piece as well.”

Kokoska said additional services were a phased approach with the addition of resort amenity management in 2006. Then it began landscape maintenance management in 2008, and finally landscape construction in 2011.

In the company’s short existence, it has grown its portfolio to include more than 30 facilities where it manages amenities such as golf courses, restaurants and spas. It also has more than a dozen communities under landscape management.

“I think we diversified one piece of our business,” Kokoska said. “About five years ago golf management was a little dicey, unlike today where it is pretty strong. We’re getting a lot of calls about golf fees and consulting.”

Prior to Bluestar, Kokoska was the vice president of operations for Intrawest Golf.

Kokoska emphasized the importance of knowing the demographic of the club and surrounding community.

“You’ve got to understand the demographics of the club you look after and do the best you can at finding the things the people are interested in and differentiate yourself that way,” he said.

He said it isn’t just about running a golf course, it’s about how to sell a home. This understanding is one of the reasons the company has been successful.

BlueStar works with the community and the developers to create a product that everyone is happy with.

“We found our niche, which is working with developers,” Kokoska said. “The number one promoter of home sales is people in the community telling their friends, so if we’re making sure people in the community are having fun and they see value in their dollars spent, they are going to tell their friends. It’s a referral business.”