Tony Vest describes how this developer overcame obstacles to create a new resort community destination—and much more.

In late 2001, the planned development of a resort community in Teton Valley, Idaho appeared to be doomed. Banks and investors wouldn’t touch the project due to the combination of a slumping real estate market, the economic impact of 9/11, and poor financial planning.

“Just one of those types of problems can derail any project,” said Tony Vest, managing partner of Teton Springs Resort. “We were faced with all three.”

Vest, a nuclear engineer who spent 15 years at General Electric before starting his own nuclear technical services company, invested in the development in 2000. When things started to go south, other investors in the project asked Vest to take the helm—and for good reason. Vest’s company, Onsite Engineering and Management, made number 30 on the list of fastest growing companies in Inc. 500 in 1990, and Vest was named the magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992 for the Georgia region.

There was just one problem. “I had no experience in real estate development,” Vest said with a laugh. “But I believed in the project, and I wanted to see it through.”

Tony Vest

And see it through he has. Today, Teton Springs, located just 20 minutes outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a thriving resort community with all but 30 of its 550 lots sold, and the organization has gone vertical with its own real estate and construction companies. “People told us we didn’t have a chance,” Vest said. “And now we’ve got a beautiful resort community that’s bucking the market trend.”

Moving inhouse
Humility. That’s the word Vest used to describe his mindset in managing the development company. With no experience in the industry, one of the first things he did when he took the reigns was to travel to some of the most successful resort communities in the country and ask the developers how they did it.

Vest, who partnered with his wife Sandy to turn Teton Springs around, said he learned three critical lessons in his travels: phase in development (with attractive amenities coming first) instead of trying to build everything at once; bring sales inhouse so your realtors are dedicated to your properties; and focus marketing efforts so potential buyers are driven to a great Web site.

The organization followed the best-practice advice to a T: development was phased in, and construction of the golf course helped to attract early buyers; Teton Springs created its own realty company; and marketing budgets were slashed when the strategy changed to focus on driving people to the Web site.

“We made a number of changes at Teton Springs based on the information from the developers we spoke with,” Vest said. “They were changes that allowed us to work efficiently and effectively. Because financing was so difficult early on, those types of changes were critical.”

To ensure the new realty company, now known as All Seasons Resort Realty, was staffed with the best people, Vest hired a consultant who specializes in resort community selling. The consultant assisted in screening the members of the new sales team and trained them in the relationship selling technique. Realtors were taught to listen to buyers, learn their wants and needs, and show them the amenities at Teton Springs that matched their interests.

“The first question we ask our potential buyers is to describe the perfect place for their second home, and what it would include,” Vest said. “If we don’t have what they’re looking for, we don’t waste their time. If we do have what they’re looking for, we let them experience Teton Springs for themselves.”

The relationship selling strategy has been a huge success, with All Seasons Resort Realty boasting a closing rate of roughly 20% compared to 5% industry wide. And now, the agency is picking up resort listings outside of Teton Springs.

Construction, too
The organization not only brought sales inhouse, it also took on building when it created Teton Springs Construction. Vest formed the company in 2002 after being frustrated by outside contractors that continually came in over quotes for construction projects.

With construction being handled inhouse, the organization got a better handle on costs and began bringing in projects on time and on budget. The timing couldn’t have been better; the real estate market rebounded in 2003, and by 2005, it was in the midst of a boom. The newly vertical Teton Springs organization welcomed the surge, and today, the resort community is 90% sold out.

With success came opportunity, and in 2006, a group of key employees bought out investors, making All Seasons Resort Realty and Teton Springs Construction employee-owned companies. With other resort communities popping up “on the other side of the mountain” in Teton Valley, Vest said the experienced All Seasons realtors and Teton Springs Construction builders are in hot demand.

“We’ve come a long way,” Vest said. “It was a rocky start, but everyone came together to make this thing work. We not only created a beautiful resort community when no one else thought we could, we established three successful companies.”