Casago has launched Casago Belize, a locally owned franchise that takes over the vacation rentals formerly managed by Vacasa in the country.
On its own, the move is small. Belize is a minor market compared to the US, where Casago has spent the past year absorbing Vacasa's operations. What makes it worth noting is the direction. The same conversion playbook Casago has run across American markets since its $130 million Vacasa acquisition is now crossing borders.
A Local Handoff
Casago Belize will be run by Sheldon Arnold as president and CEO and Rolando Guzman as chief commercial officer. Both spent years with Vacasa in Belize, and Arnold has held senior roles there since 2017. Across US markets, Casago has generally recruited its own local franchisees to take over former Vacasa territory. In Belize, the team that already ran the market bought it and stayed on.
The franchise will manage homes across the country, from coastal and island rentals to mainland properties, and it keeps existing homeowner and guest relationships in place under local ownership. Casago's model lets operators own their own P&L while running on the Casago booking and support systems, a different structure than Vacasa's centralized approach. Casago frames the local-ownership model as bringing faster decisions and closer oversight to homeowners. The company is marking the launch with an event in Belize, and founder and CEO Steve Schwab is scheduled to attend.
The Conversion Goes International
Belize is one of the first markets outside the US that Casago has handed to a local franchise, and the company has described it as part of a growing international network spanning North America, the Caribbean, and Central America. Casago has said it plans to move more former Vacasa markets to local ownership over time. For anyone tracking the Vacasa transition, Belize is a sign that it won't stay confined to the US.
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