Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor

FMBGN-BIZ-Best Western Plus Beach Resort-Beachfront Resilience

• "Cabo" Jim Schaller • Season 5 • Episode 50

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Sun on the water, coffee on a balcony, and a quiet stretch of sand just steps away—this conversation with Tim Malbon of the Best Western Plus Beach Resort reveals what it really takes to protect a slice of paradise. We talk candidly about the day Hurricane Ian put feet of water on the second floor, the months of hard choices that followed, and the culture that kept longtime staff and loyal guests coming back when the doors reopened.

Tim shares the resort’s DNA: every room faces the Gulf, each one with a full kitchen, and the mood stays peaceful by design. You can stroll to shops and restaurants, book a day with Holiday Water Sports, and still feel removed from the noise. He also opens up about building resilience into operations—navigating a new property management system, retraining the team, and turning a Facebook community into a lifeline of early bookings. The result is a hospitality comeback powered by trust, clarity, and the simple promise of an effortless beach day.

We also highlight the property’s local roots and community giving, including years hosting Surfers for Autism and a guest-made tagline that says it all: close enough to everything, far away from the crowds. You’ll meet Coco, the 30-plus-year Yellownape Amazon parrot who greets early risers from his tiki hut, and you’ll get practical tips for first-time visitors who want to slow down, find their pace, and let the Gulf reset their mood.

Ready to plan your calm escape? Book through Best Western Plus Beach Resort online or call the property directly, then share this episode with a friend who needs a quiet beach day. If the story resonated, tap follow, leave a review, and tell us your favorite Fort Myers Beach memory.

Best Western Plus Beach Resort
Tim Malbon
684 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL
239-373-4160
Info@bwbeachresort.com
bwbeachresort.com

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Intro/Close:

Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor Podcast. No shade, just unside, drama-free, positive vibes only. Each episode we bring you closer to the neighbors, local legends and businesses that support the local community. Make Fort Myers Beach the slice of paradise we all love. We want us to note some island love distinction USA. They are the good neighbors and businesses that allow us to share the soul of our community with every listener. From local stories to the positive vibe of island life. Here's to celebrating all that makes Fort Myers Beach the slice of paradise. We all love. Here's your host, Cabo Jim Schaller.

Cabo Jim:

Good morning, uh Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbors. Today we have Tim Malbon from the Best Western Plus Beach Resort right here in Fort Myers Beach, right? Yes. It's kind of a cloudy day, but hey, any day at the beach is a good day, right? Yeah, that's right. So that we are here to learn a little bit more about what you do here.

Tim Malbon:

Uh the Best Western Plus Beach Resort, we have 74 rooms. All of our rooms have fully equipped kitchens, balconies uh overlooking the Gulf. Um, we do have breakfast in the morning, and we know walking distance to restaurants and shops.

Cabo Jim:

And you got a nice walk out to the beach right here, nice steps away from the the Gulf, so we cannot complain about that.

Tim Malbon:

Got that right. Yeah, we're like I said, all of our rooms face the beach, and we do have uh holiday water sports as our opera, our beach vendor.

Cabo Jim:

Very nice, very nice. So, how long have you been involved with the best restaurant here?

Tim Malbon:

I've had ownership in the property since 1985, and we took over day-to-day operations in '92. So I kind of grew up with the uh grew up in the uh brand and you know learned it from the ground up.

Cabo Jim:

You've probably seen a lot of changes, I'm sure, too, right? Sure have. What was it like back in 1985?

Tim Malbon:

I moved on in 89, so it's pretty close, but well, in 85, it was uh this the property was uh for the at that time it was still a it's still a nice property, but geez the uh they had louvered uh front doors. Oh boy. I mean it was uh little aged. Yeah, it was it was very aged. So yeah, we we did a uh complete renovation in 2008 and then uh one forced upon us after Ian.

Cabo Jim:

I bet, yeah. Speaking of which, I mean it sounds like a dream job, you know, running a hotel at the beach, beautiful view every day, but uh we all encounter storms, you know, whether personally or professionally. We've had a couple big ones, you know, professionally down here. Uh let's talk a little bit about how you've gone through that and and grown and got tested.

Tim Malbon:

Well uh you know that we went through Hurricane Charlie. That one was we thought that was bad, but in I don't think there wasn't anybody that was prepared for Ian. We had uh we had three foot of water in our in our second floor uh rooms. Wow, so I'm estimating anywhere somewhere, you know, probably 15 to 18 foot storm surge where we were sitting here as a tiki hut. Um, and it everything in this area was gone and just blown through. Wow. So figuring out how to put the puzzle back together and get back operational after I think it took us about two and a half years to get to get fully recovered.

Cabo Jim:

And now we're back, people are starting to come back to the beach, so it's uh you know it's it's a good thing, right? We're getting there. So being involved with Fort Mars Beach as long as you have, are there certain things that you do to maybe give back to the community, help the community? I mean, it's it's changed a lot, but and we need a lot of help here.

Tim Malbon:

But yeah, in the last three years, not as much as we as we've uh we'd like to, but in years past, I was uh I was one of the first I was the one to get surfers for autism to come to the area and started that and we um we hosted that probably for seven years and and just rented out the complete property to families with special needs so they felt more inclusive and we had a beach barbecue and and um it all went it all went really well. We enjoyed doing that, but you know, it's it's uh something maybe in the future we'd get back to get back into.

Cabo Jim:

And then a way our listeners can give back is by coming to the beach and spending their time down here and enjoying what we have down here. Speaking of which, do you notice things trending or changing since you've reopened?

Tim Malbon:

Since we've reopened, it's been um we had to reopen with a new property management system. Um Best Western had made uh quite a few changes, so we opened with a new property management system. So we had to learn that, and I would say uh we got the probably half of our uh half of our staff came back to work for us. Wow so I've got I've got some that have been here for over 20 years, and then and they all came back. And you know, the the repeat guest business that we have has just been incredible. Before we opened with Best Western, I just went on Facebook and opened up reservations to our Facebook fans, and uh they the amount of reservations they booked in in two days was just you know made me a firm believer in social media, that's for sure.

Cabo Jim:

Well, that's a testament to to what you're doing that people are willing to come back or want to come back, and you've got employees that are staying long term. So uh kudos to you for doing that as well, too. So 1985, are you originally from Southwest Florida?

Tim Malbon:

No, no, originally uh originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and um grew up there, so you know we've always been sea level.

Cabo Jim:

Smart, right? Yes. What brought you down to uh Southwest Florida?

Tim Malbon:

Um pretty much to take over. Uh we had we had uh took over controlling interests of the hotel, so we came came down to take uh take over.

Cabo Jim:

Very nice, very nice. So I know running a business can be very demanding your time, and late later has been a lot of things to do, but when you get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Tim Malbon:

Uh really my passions are pretty much from not as much as uh in years past, but from surfing to spear fishing, fishing, and uh hunting, pretty much.

Cabo Jim:

Okay, any anything in particular?

Tim Malbon:

Um I tell you this the spear fishing uh out here is really really very good. Really? Yeah, okay. I used to do quite a bit of that, so I'm ready to get back into that now. I'm gonna be getting some free time.

Cabo Jim:

There we go. Well deserved, too, I'm sure. Absolutely. So what is one thing, as maybe a first-time visitor coming down here, what is one thing they need to do on Fort Mario's Beach, or that you recommend?

Tim Malbon:

I would say, you know, first and foremost, get out on the beach, relax, take the take the day and relax and and slow, slow yourself down, get in vacation mode, and then from there, there's you know, there's a lot, there's still a lot to do on the island.

Cabo Jim:

Well, and every day something new is opening back up and coming back. So exactly. Yeah, there are things to do, places to see, get out on the boat, get out on the water. Absolutely. So, how would our listeners go about reaching out if they wanted to, you know, stay down here or book a reservation?

Tim Malbon:

Or um pretty much you can uh we're you can find us online at best western plus uh beach resort. Um, we have a Facebook page uh through Best Western International, booking through them, um, or just call the property 239-373-4160.

Cabo Jim:

Very nice, very nice. Any last words for our listeners? Anything else you want to share with them?

Tim Malbon:

Really, I will uh I'll say what pretty much our guests kind of have come up with um a saying for us that we didn't even think about. And I keep seeing it in uh medalli surveys or comments uh uh that the guests report on, and they say it's close enough, but far away, close enough to all the attractions, restaurants, and shops, but far away from the noise and the crowds. Exactly.

Cabo Jim:

Out on the beach, it is very peaceful out here, except for the construction in the background right now. But that's that'll be done soon, anyways. But I mean, sitting at the beach looking at the golf. Yeah, it can't be a bad day.

Tim Malbon:

Yeah, we're yeah, like so we're we're pretty much 98% leisure. Um, our demographics are we've got a lot of seniors, families, and really a lot of people that aren't really looking for the uh food and beverage bars, right?

Cabo Jim:

So more of a laid-back atmosphere, and that's one of the reasons a lot of people come down to Southwest Florida is for that relaxation, for that getaway to be able just to you know shut things down for a while and relax and forget about whatever up north is happening, right? Right. I'm from Wisconsin, so I'm like, I don't know what to think about snow. I've been down here long enough. So well, I appreciate your time today. Anything else you would like to share with our listeners?

Tim Malbon:

No, that's about it. But if you're uh you're on Fort Myers Beach, come down and check us out. Oh, we do have a uh we've got a mascot. Uh is a Yellownape Amazon parrot named Coco. And I sometimes sometimes our guests will come down in the morning and speak to him before they speak to the front desk uh staff. So he's well known, and uh he's been at the property since about 86. We think he's 55 to 60, and uh right just right over here. We built a uh a tiki hut for him with rope swings in it, and so he gets out of his cage every day, gets some fresh air, and gets a hangout. Yeah, he sure is.

Cabo Jim:

Yeah, very good, very good. Well, I appreciate uh your time today. And as we speak, the sun starts coming out, so it's gonna be a great day down here. But uh thank you for being such a good neighbor, and we'll see you out here at the beach here soon. All right, thanks so much. Thanks, Tim. Thank you. And I just played a clothes and edit that later, and then we're good to go. See, not so bad, right?

Intro/Close:

If you loved what you've heard, share it with a friend and keep the good vibes going. Until next time, remember to cable and do wobble and keep being a good neighbor. Also, dominate your favorite neighbors, local legends, heroes, or local businesses to be on the show. Go to fmbgoodneighbor.com, that's fmbgoodneighbor.com, or call 239-274100. We want to send up to the island love to make sure in the USA. It'll have to all of our community everywhere. Local stories by the violent light. Here's celebrating all the big four fires we displaced the character.