Starry Retreats

He may be more famous for directing "The Godfather" film trilogy, but Francis Ford Coppola has another trio of esteemed creations to his name: three boutique hotels hidden in the Central American jungle. He found Blancaneaux Lodge in Belize while searching for the same kind of jungle paradise he fell in love with when filming "Apocalypse Now."

"The area was very remote, wild, with a beautiful river and waterfall, and I thought, 'I could write here'," says Coppola. For years, he used the rain-forest lodge as a creative retreat, as well as an escape for family and friends.

Then he opened it up to customers. He got so much praise—and made such a handy profit—that eventually he launched two more hotels: Turtle Inn, on a beach in Belize, and Guatemala's La Lancha, on a lake near the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal. Both opened after extensive renovations; Turtle Inn needed to be entirely rebuilt after a major hurricane. "I didn't mind because it allowed me to create an entire theme for the property," says Coppola. "So much of what is offered in the hotel world is cookie-cutter—you could be in Morocco or Minnesota. My films all have themes, [as] do my hotels." The newest property will be a hotel in Buenos Aires, where Coppola is now working on a film project.

As the growing ranks of celebrity inn-keepers are learning, personality sells rooms a lot better than any plasma TV or Thai spa treatment ever could. At Turtle Inn, the Francis Ford Coppola Family Pavilion—which features pieces from his personal art and antiques collection—starts at $2,000 a night in peak season, triple the price of comparable villas. It's never been more popular. Other well-known personalities, including Giorgio Armani, Clint Eastwood, and Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, have also lent their names to high-end hotel projects. Bill Gates recently bought a major stake in the luxury Four Seasons hotel chain. U2's Bono and the Edge saved Dublin's old Clarence Hotel from demolition in 1992, and in the process turned it and the whole neighborhood around. Indeed, in today's celebrity-obsessed culture, there seems to be no shortage of well-heeled travelers willing to pay a premium to stay at Robert Redford's place in Utah or the Versace palazzo in Australia.

For the high-profile owners, it's easy to see the appeal: hotels have become a richly profitable investment, as well as an exercise in vanity. According to Smith Travel Research, global hotel occupancy for 2006 hit 65 percent, which is considered good in the industry. PricewaterhouseCoopers says that in the United States, occupancy was the highest it's been since 1997, and that the lodging industry made an aggregate profit of $25.3 billion, up almost 12 percent from 2005. This year hotels and resorts stand to profit on average by more than $6,000 for each available room. "It's very hard today for a hotel project not to be successful and make money," says industry analyst Bjorn Hanson. "Hotels certainly benefit from the influence of a personality." Adam Weissenberg, another analyst, says celebrity hoteliers are an extension of the celebrity-owned-restaurant trend that peaked a few years ago.

Coppola's properties, says Jay Shoemaker, the CEO of Coppola Cos., are worth "well into eight figures." "Rather than stay in a hotel for a year while he works on a movie," Shoemaker says Coppola figures, "Why not buy a hotel?" When the movie's over, Coppola gives the hotel to his company, which also includes wine estates and cafés in northern California and a food company that produces pasta, sauces and vinaigrettes. Shoemaker says Coppola views himself as a "venture capitalist" for his little empire of holdings, making a range of investments. And no one should think Coppola is hands-off. Shoemaker says he gets 20 e-mails a day from the boss, "seven days a week."