By Sam Smith, Guardian Staff Reporter

sam@nasguard.com

Exuma's 365 islands and cays, together with their expanse of shallow turquoise waters, have long been marketed as the yachting capital of the world. Travel magazines and international newspapers pour over the archipelago's pristine shores in breathy phrases such as "undiscovered beauty" or "best kept secret."

Where a smattering of unassuming hotels with folksy names such as The Peace and Plenty and Chat and Chill once ruled Exuma's tourism landscape, the recent developments at February Point and Emerald Bay now offer travelers and second-home owners a full-service alternative.

Times have changed, and the marketing environment is rolling with them. The developments' immaculate pied-a-terres, which are supported by luxury spas, state-of-the-art gyms, gourmet restaurants and marinas equipped to accommodate the world's largest yachts, contrast against the as-yet undeveloped backdrop of Great Exuma.

One a clear evening, the developments seem as if they could be seen from space. Developers certainly go out of their way to be seen from cyber-space: Virtual tours, photo walkthroughs and online reservation tools keep vacation shoppers interested from their cloistered cubicles thousands of miles away.

A new iteration has occurred in Exuma's rapidly evolving tourism landscape: high-end private villas that offer high-net-worth individuals – a pointed description for people with more than $1 million in assets – corporate hobnobs and well-to-do families an opportunity to experience the serenity of the Family Islands with Hollywood Hills services.

The plan is simple: Find a private estate on a beautiful beach, and staff it with polished, professional individuals who are prepared to offer anything clients could possibly imagine.

Chefs, butlers, chauffeurs and individual vacation planners are among the individualized amenities that can accompany reservations on the private spaces. "Simply choose the services you need and the lifestyle you desire," reads one company's sales pitch.

The Guardian was able to identify four estate-rental companies that offer concierge services to their guests, for an estimated 25 such establishments nationwide. Capricorne Villas, a private investor enterprise, appears to enjoy the lion's share of the market on Exuma.

"Exuma is by far the most interesting island when it comes to investment property and villa rentals" in The Bahamas, said Capricorne Villas president, Marcus Haglid. "Before visiting Exuma, I spent one week in Eleuthera and one week in Nassau. Compared to Nassau and Lyford Cay ... Grand Isle Villas and February Point are much better suited for luxury villa rentals."

When asked why, the affable Swede explained, "Exuma is a very exotic place, not too far from metropolitan areas in the United States, and it has that turquoise water that ... American high-net-worth investors are looking for, and the beaches are pretty calm compared to Eleuthera, and ... the probability for hurricanes affecting the island is less big (on Exuma) than it is on Eleuthera." Currently, Capricorne Villas owns none of the estates offered under their branding, choosing instead to operate contractually with owners of the multi-million-dollar properties.

Haglid and his partners might be putting their money elsewhere. Capricorne Villas is currently exploring the possibility of purchasing property for the first time. "I think in 10 years, we will see the same development on Exuma as we do on Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) and other high-end places around the world where you see a lot of American investors," Haglid said.

The concept of rental villas is not a new one in The Bahamas. Paradise Island is replete with them: Sunrise Beach Villas and Harborside Atlantis combine to offer 540 villa units.

The Ministry of Tourism does not singularly track how many villa rental agencies have been established. In the annals of the MOT's statistical digests, a five-bedroom villa falls under the same classification as the Atlantis.

The model of cooperating with owners would seem to be a forehead-slappingly self-evident business model in a country where a large percentage of residential properties are foreign-owned second homes, but the young and lean company appears to be among only a handful in The Bahamas that cater to the penchant of the exceedingly wealthy for both high luxury and high privacy.

Haglid said Capricorne's "initial plan, which we are still following, was to start to cooperate with owners of luxury estate homes, not only with the purpose of renting their homes, but also, and more importantly, to learn about the different markets and to build an infrastructure of good people."

Haglid said that through sticking to the original plan and the company's "smart on-line marketing" Capricorne Villas has managed to turn a profit within a matter of two years. He declined to say how profitable or offer evidence of the claim.

One online community on which Capricorne Villas has focused is the invitation-only social networking site, aSmallWorld. Tiger Woods, Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton are said to be members of the website, indicative of Capricorne's target market.

Emblematic of how times are changing on Exuma, an "unofficial study" conducted by the Ministry of Tourism in 2005 for potential investors identified five luxury resorts in the Exumas, only one of which offers concierge services.

Sources in the Ministry of Tourism stated that while property management companies, such as Capricorne Villas, often slip through the information gathering cracks, going uncounted and unregulated, changes are in the works to develop more sophisticated tracking and cataloging technologies.