On any given sunny day at one of the 12 Nikki Beach clubs around the world, there are rows of day beds overflowing with models and a steady stream of rosé, and lots of chic resort wear, which is not coincidentally for sale at the gift shop. Oh, and dancing on tables is not only encouraged, the management endorses it.

“You go to Nikki's and you go there at two o'clock for lunch,” says Lucia Penrod, the cofounder, owner and CEO of Nikki Beach Hospitality Group. “You might stay till seven, eight o'clock. You drink. You dance on the tables. But then you go home and you have enough time to rest, recover and be ready the next day.”

Penrod’s recipe for success at Nikki Beach has changed little in the past three decades: Serve up overpriced food and drinks—with an emphasis on bottle service—and a sprinkle of celebrity in glamorous destinations along the global party belt, stretching from Ibiza to St. Barth. Penrod has run the $150 million (estimated annual revenue) beach club business for the past 8 years, after founding it with her late husband, Jack, in 1998. The Penrods built the original Café Nikki on South Beach as a tribute to his 18-year-old daughter, Nicole, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1997. They wanted the garden spot to inspire customers to “celebrate life every day because we don't know when we're not going to be here.”

The following year, the expanded the café to the beach, renamed it, and the first Nikki Beach was born.

“You never know when you're going to be called. Nobody comes out of this life alive,” says Penrod. “With all that pain, we decided that instead of mourning Nicole's life, we were going to celebrate her life. It wasn't born in a boardroom.”

Forbes estimates that Nikki Beach Hospitality Group pulls in net profits that are more than double most fine dining restaurants—nearly 25% compared to 5% to 10%. Penrod currently owns two Nikki Beach clubs outright—Saint-Tropez and Saint Barth. The rest are management agreements with local partners, but they all follow the general rule: the longer a guest stays, the more they are likely to spend.

Penrod owns 100% of the business, and Forbes values........

© Forbes