Theme song: Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party”

It’s one thing to build a spectacular over-the-water resort; it’s another to convince guests to stay there. We are now taking reservations for a soft opening of Bocas del Toro Luxury Water Villas in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, scheduled for July 1, 2020. This is only two and a half months away, and the phone hasn’t exactly been ringing off the hook.

Since we don’t have any guests yet, I made one up. It seems like Tiffany is a good name for a luxury traveler, so let’s go with that.

Tiffany and Noah

Tiffany is engaged to marry Noah, her high school sweetheart, at the end of August 2020. In addition to the wedding costs, her parents have generously offered to pay $6,000 toward a honeymoon. Tiffany and Noah are madly in love and have good jobs, but the couple is cash poor, strapped with college debt. Since Tiffany was a little girl, she’s dreamed of a honeymoon at a magical over-the-water resort like the ones she’s seen on TV and in travel magazines. Her goal is to make her dream come true but stay within a $6,000 budget and seven-day window.

She googles “over the water bungalows” finding Fiji, Bora Bora, and the Maldives. Tiffany discovers that there are only 200 over-the-water resorts in the world — a surprisingly low number. Tiffany lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so she used Kayak.com to search for flights from Grand Rapids to the Maldives for September 12–19. Kayak shows that the “best” and “cheapest” flight is $7,403 per ticket. To get there and back takes about 32 hours each way. After picking herself up from the floor, she moves onto Tahiti where Kayak’s “best” is almost 20 hours each way and $1,685 per ticket. This is much better but not workable given the cost and time constraints.

Tiffany is in the dumps for the next few days and Noah is feeling the brunt of it. One night, as they’re having dinner on the couch watching The Bachelor, a Sandals commercial appears for overwater bungalows in Jamaica. Tiffany perks up and quick searches for flights to Jamaica on her phone. Kayak’s “best” is only $727 per person and you can get to Jamaica in about six hours! Then, she checks the over-the-water room price for two at the Sandals Royal Caribbean on her dates—$16,196! In complete despair, Tiffany drops the pizza box on Noah’s lap and weeps.

All is not lost. A day later a friend tells her about a local blog, WhyIBoughtAnIsland.com, featuring some crazy guy building an over-the-water luxury resort in Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Tiffany prepares herself for disappointment but decides to visit the new website at www.BocasBali.com.

She goes directly to Pricing & Packages, discovering a seven-night sample package, “The Ultimate Panama.” It includes two nights in Bocas Town, four nights at Bocas del Toro in the overwater bungalows, and one night in Panama City’s Casco Viejo all for $3,650 per two people. Keeping her fingers and toes crossed, Tiffany discovers that flight costs are less than $1,000 per person roundtrip!

This all seemed too good to be true, so Tiffany contacted the resort as the Bocas del Toro website directed. The listed price of $3,650 was exactly as quoted. Even after adding airfare the price was within their budget.

Tiffany and Noah reserved their honeymoon at Bocas del Toro and will certainly live happily ever after.

How to get the word out

Please send your friends and family links to https://whyiboughtanisland.com/ and www.bocasbali.com. We would love to have you as guests—just not all at once!

A line in Luke Bryan’s song may explain it best: “If you wanna call me, call me, call me you don’t have to worry ’bout it, baby.”

Deeply Discounted Bocas del Toro Voucher Sale (Taxes Included)

Vouchers are valid for 3 years

We understand the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus and want to offer you an exotic vacation, honeymoon, or anniversary to look forward to at a heavily discounted price.

The Ultimate Panama Bocas del Toro Vacation Package for Two (Best Deal)

• 7 nights – 4 Bocas del Toro, 2 Bocas Town, and 1 Casco Viejo for $3,250 including tax (Normally $4,000)

Bocas del Toro Only All Inclusive for Two

• 3 all-inclusive nights at Bocas del Toro for $2,040 including tax (Normally $3,113)
• 5 all-inclusive nights at Bocas del Toro for $3,400 including tax (Normally $5,189)
• 7 all-inclusive nights at Bocas del Toro for $4,760 including tax (Normally $7,265)

Voucher Rules

• 50% of the voucher cost is due at purchase. The remainder is due at check in.
• The vouchers are valid for three years from September 2020 through September 2023
• All nights at Bocas del Toro are all-inclusive
• All taxes are included.
• With the Bocas del Toro only vouchers, only the transportation from Bocas Town to and from our island is included.
• With the multiple location package, the nights in Bocas Town and Casco Viejo include breakfast only.
• All ground transportation included in with the multiple location package
• Your air transportation internationally and regionally is not included.
• The vouchers are nonrefundable
• The vouchers are transferrable

Bocas del Toro will assist all guests with no-charge premium planning services by phone and email. To purchase your voucher contact Dan Behm in the U.S. at 616-443-1219 or [email protected].

Do you have a creative idea to motivate guests to come to Bocas del Toro?