We recently connected with Casey Arnold and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Casey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I am in the Events and Marketing sector of the hospitality industry. When we were shutdown for Covid I took a long road trip and visited my home state of Kentucky where I saw a MONOPOLY edition featuring the University of Kentucky. Living in a popular tourist destination of Key West, Florida I saw the unique customization of the board game featuring tons of history and beautiful imagery of the school and city. I immediately pondered if the City of Key West had a version in which we did not. So, I reached out to Hasbro Gaming and secured a licensing deal to bring MONOPOLY: City of Key West to life!

Casey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always worked in the Food and Beverage industry all through college. I graduated from Morehead State University and moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and worked as a staff accountant for a large golf and hotel company. Not dealing well with colder seasons I moved to Key West, Florida and started working as a server at Conch Republic Seafood Company. Here, I climbed the ladder and became a bartender, a manager and now I am their Events and Marketing Director. While growing in to this position, I started a small business known as Key West Team Building and purchased the Southernmost Scavenger Hunt. We customize special experiences for corporate travel groups, birthday celebrations, bachelor/ette parties and wedding events. Our adventure is a unique experience designed to incorporate Key West and your group in an interactive memorable time.

My role as the Director of Events and Marketing along with owning the Southernmost Scavenger Hunt allows us to offer a really fun day with an adventure around Key West complete with a waterfront seafood lunch or dinner.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This is how MONOPOLY: City of Key West was born. Restaurants in Florida were closed for nearly 100 days and all corporate group travel immediately stopped as well. All of my business is based on travel and hospitality so my business and income was immediately stopped. I was unsure of what to do so I kept thinking of ways to still earn income while everyone was locked down at home. Board games and home activities saw an incredible increase in popularity and once I saw a customized version of MONOPOLY I knew I was on to something.

There are more than 40 different businesses represented in this game and most of my sales pitches were done via Zoom and email. I would drop a sample of a customized board game off at someone’s office with gloves and hand sanitizer then would go back and zoom with the potential client if they were uninterested in meeting in person at that time. Each business was required to submit photos, images, biographies, indemnification forms, contracts and completed artwork forms so this was a lot of work that may not have ever been completed if I didn’t have the time of the Covid shutdown to dream and execute it.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses

Yes, I acquired the Southernmost Scavenger Hunt in 2018 which turned out to be an amazing experience. I was able to finance the business loan through the seller of the business. When I first purchased the business there were many immediate changes and updates I was happy to make. For example, the email address was still using a very popular service from the 90’s so I felt it needed to be more representative of the business. I also implemented newer booking platforms on the website and streamlined ticketing options. Overall, the process was very smooth and the previous owner is always a phone call away and a great friend.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KeyWestMonopoly.com
• Instagram: keywesthunt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeyWestHunt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-arnold-aa0bb218/

Image Credits
Mandy Miles