Teague Talks with Grey Raines, Raines Company

Speaker A: This brand company had essentially just created an entire story that a guest would never respond to. The guest isn't going to care about. But they did it because they were mandated to do it. And I think that that's the important part. Sometimes the guest just wants a really cool place to stay. They want a great food and beverage, they want a great room. I mean, there are still core fundamentals of hospitality that we need to execute on. When there is a story to tell, we need to tell that story in a fantastic way. But we don't need to create and manufacture stories and characters. And the guest doesn't respond to that. They see right through that. It's not authentic. It's not curated to the guest. It's something that's created by a brand that someone has said you need to have or you have to have.

Speaker B: Welcome to TikToks. Today we're sitting down with Gray Rains, CEO and managing partner of the Reins company. Gray, thanks for sitting down with us.

Speaker A: Excited to have you here.

Speaker B: Uh, you and I've been friends a long time, so I'm excited to do this long time. Uh, I'm going to pair with a bunch of questions. Mostly, uh, what we're going to get into is a lot of the family business aspect of what you're doing, because we're in it. There's a lot of that going around in our industry. So we know how you got into it. I want your thoughts on. You've done a bunch of partnerships as well, which are kind of complicated. So I want to get into that. Uh, I want to talk a little about development and, uh, about how you see the future. Does that sound good?

Speaker A: Let's do it.

Speaker B: All right, so I'm, I'm second generation. I dubbed you as second generation. But I'm curious, do you think you're second generation or third generation, considering your grandfather Rock Reigns was a legend.

Speaker A: Throw you a curveball right out the gate. I'm fourth generation.

Speaker B: Fourth generation.

Speaker A: So, uh, yeah.

Speaker B: Things I should have known.

Speaker A: My, uh, my great grandmother actually started our business in 1954.

Speaker B: Oh, I love that.

Speaker A: Roadside truck stop. Roadside. Yeah. Roadside truck stop in Hartsville, South Carolina. We had three acres behind a Texaco gas station. And, uh, actually called Marriott up and said, I love what you guys are doing. Uh, I would love to build one of your hotels. And they said, well, that's great. Tell us about all your hospitality experience. And they said, uh, he's like, I've never, never built a hotel before or motel at that time. And, uh, they kind of Laughed at it. Yeah, they did. They said, go get some experience and call us back. And, uh, so he built the nicest Super 8 all brick. Uh, still standing as a Super 8 today. We no longer own it, but we still, uh, standing. And, uh, that. That launched us into this world of hospitality.

Speaker B: Intro to hospitality.

Speaker A: Absolutely. And then we just kind of ran the brand spectrum through there and ended up getting our first Marriott franchise in the mid-90s.

Speaker B: Which was what, Courtyard?

Speaker A: Yeah. Decade later, Courtyard by Marriott.

Speaker B: Is that where you got your first job?

Speaker A: That was my first job. Short order cook. Sling it. Slinging burgers, chicken tenders, you know, playing golf. Growing up, I had a lot of older friends and. Yeah, so they came there night to E. And, you know, we were dipping cheeseburgers and buffalo sauce and all kinds of crazy stuff.

Speaker B: Name all your other jobs that you had.

Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. I worked in housekeeping, laundry, front desk. Spent a lot of time front desk, uh, agm, general manager. Really an operational path for my first six years in the company out of college.

Speaker B: How important do you think that is?

Speaker A: It's incredibly important. You gotta have appreciation for what you're doing. I think that that's the one thing we pride ourselves on, is at the end of the day, we. We have a lot of functions in our company, but we are operators at our core. We can get down and operate a hotel as well as anyone.

Speaker B: Do you think that's why. I mean, again, that's sort of in your blood and you grew up with it. Do you think that's just the path? I mean, we call it a passion call whatever you want. Is that just the direction you headed?

Speaker A: Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I think I've. I've found other loves within our industry. There's. There's things I love to develop, I love to raise money for new projects. Uh, I think that that's obviously sitting here in Columbia today. I think that that's where I spend a lot of my time. I love that. I love that hospitality offers so many different career paths that a lot of folks fall into it through operations. But whether that's accounting or revenue management, our development, or any of the paths that we can see in the industry, we're really, really fortunate to have so many diverse offerings in hospitality.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's kind of why we're. There's so much to do, so. And it's exciting. I mean, no offense to rock, but do you think if dad hadn't built a, uh, Super 8, you think you'd be in the gas station business?

Speaker A: No, no. I don't think that that would have been my path. I spent time working in the gas stations, bagging ice and stocking, uh, sodas and grilling hot dogs and stuff. That it was, uh, that was not going to be my future. That was not my path. Yeah, that was, that was a pass.

Speaker B: All right, so tell me how, uh, tell me what your first sort of not job, but now you're like getting going. So what's your first development gig? What's your first real job with that,

Speaker A: uh, in the business? So unfortunately, my father got sick young. You know, we were halfway through construction of a Spring Hill Suites when I joined the company. So that was really my first taste of construction, of development. I, um, was on the job site almost every day. I was relaying back to him at home. He was, um, he was in a hospital bed at home. But we were talking through the project. I was getting pictures developed, and he was marking up the pictures and telling me to go argue with the contractors and go fix this and fix that. And I'm 22, 23 years old, trying to tell a contractor why he's wrong with piping or electrical or whatever. So it was certainly a trial by fire. And I loved it. I love the construction side, I love the development side of what we were doing. And then late, you know, perfect timing. Uh, I started, uh, getting more in the development side in 2008. And, uh, fortunately I was able to get a residence in done. And that, that was our first outside capital that we brought in, you know, outside of the family. And so I went and raised that money. Those three guys still invest with us today. Still some of my best friends in the world. Uh, but you know, that, that first check, it was a big check. I think they, um. Each investor wrote a check for $167,000. And that was a big raise at the time. That was huge life savings. Everybody remembers raising that first dollar, whether it was 100,000 or a million.

Speaker B: Yeah. And how old are you this time? And they're believing in you.

Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. 2009. That was a long time ago, Teague. So I was probably late, uh, 20s, right? Yeah, 27, 28. I remember sitting in the room with them and telling them why this residence Inn was going to work. And, uh, yeah, it did.

Speaker B: And it did.

Speaker A: It did.

Speaker B: We still own that one.

Speaker A: We still owned that one.

Speaker B: You two can do it. You too.

Speaker A: Absolutely. Absolutely. If I could do it, anybody can do it.

Speaker B: So keep going. Does this become sort of the new business model? Is this become the new Machine. We're just going to develop.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we still work so we're

Speaker B: going to raise money, we're going to develop another one.

Speaker A: Ah, absolutely, yeah. I mean at that point we're still looking for opportunities. Two, uh, thousand eight. I mean the global financial crisis was certainly in full effect. 080910 um, I got connected with this guy, Chris Scott, who's still a partner, still a friend, probably one of my best friends in the whole world. Just a, um, he and I connected and we did this crazy historic adaptive reuse. Our first historic project which became Hotel Florence. So it was our first soft brand. We started working on it in 2011 and uh, so you know, we had slowed down enough because of the financial crisis that it enabled me to work on something that was completely outside of the box. I mean at that point we had only done hard branded product, really, uh, interstate locations. And to be able to step in and do a historic adaptive reuse, soft branded hotel, big F and B operation to wrap all that up. And so Chris Scott, Tim Norwood, uh, who owns Victor's Restaurant, is a partner of ours. Um, yeah, we did Hotel Florence and completely revitalized our downtown. Completely revitalized. I mean the energy it brought into Florence was unbelievable. And to be part of that, you know, now what I consider a young age is pretty, uh, remarkable.

Speaker B: So Hotel, um, Florence in Florence, because that's where you guys are from. So that's why it's special. Right. Which I think in the soft branded world, especially in 2011, you've got to have a passion. There's got to be some reason and that's your hometown and you knew it better than anything else, better than anyone else. And you're like, we're going to do this, we're going to do this here. And just your timing, it was 2011 and with respect, that was before soft branded or independent was cool.

Speaker A: There were only two soft brands standpoint.

Speaker B: So uh, what made you say yes, we, I, I mean again, you were an early adopter there. What made you say let's go soft brand rather than these hard branded hotels?

Speaker A: The property was so unique, it deserved something special. Um, I wanted to be able to play a role in the design of the rooms and the lobby and the guest experience. And I think that that's where as a company we started to have two paths forward. And we realized that these unique properties, these special properties that you drive that experience and the curation of them can be incredib intense. I mean we're in the middle of a couple of them right now that I feel are taking up 12 hours of every day because the details matter, the execution matters, the curation matters, but you know, they're worth it at the end. I mean, as we're here at the Lantern in Columbia, you see how important it is to, to pay attention early.

Speaker B: So I'm curious, I want to dive in. How's it different from building hard branded hotels? And do you think that's a guest driven thing or is it a developer driven?

Speaker A: So that's a fantastic question. I think that that's certainly a lesson learned the last five years. I think for us we have to be very careful as to how many of these projects we take on because, um, as my partner, David Tartt, I mean we are very involved in these projects and we're also really good at executing the hard branded product. They still work, there's still markets that need hard branded product. So for us it's really about finding the balance. And so that balance tends to be kind of three to one. So we're doing three hard brands to every one independent, unique, soft branded asset. And part of that's our team. I mean we have the most amazing team. I mean so many great folks that have built careers with us that are going to be with us for a long time that you know, that balance with the management company. We have two arms of the management company. We have uh, core brands which are Residence Inn, Courtyard, Hilton, Garden Inn, Hampton, all of the brands that you know and love. And then we have Woven by Ranch, which is our management arm that's focused on delivering on amazing curated experiences.

Speaker B: Do you think that's important? You have to have two different management companies. Ish.

Speaker A: You know, they work together. But yes, it's important. It's two very different skills.

Speaker B: We're hearing that a lot.

Speaker A: Two very different skill sets. I mean to be able to execute on a food and beverage program as well as drive all the little things that go into the guest experience. We've got a fantastic team that really executes well on both sides. You know, to properly flow through the middle of the page at a Hampton Inn and execute on an excellent basis, that requires a skill set that really is different than what our woven skill set is. So yeah, uh, we feel it's very important. I mean, it was one of the first things when David and I brought our organizations together. That was one of the first things we launched in 2020 was not dividing the management company, just creating two different arms of the management company.

Speaker B: So talk to me. You keep bringing up David we're going to bring up David Tartt, your uh, business partner. Um, why don't we just talk to me about him. But I kind of want to back up because you were in my brain. I'm going to just frame, uh, was sort of just Rain's company. You guys were just building hard branded hotels and you had your 10, 12, 15, 20ish reigns company successful, but that was it. And then you started what I'll call mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships. JVs, the like Kerry Ransom's in there as well, and then David Tartt. Why, why these?

Speaker A: So, so partnerships, uh, as with everything with our partners, I mean we're, we're pretty diligent on who we partner with. And I think that's another important learning lesson. I mean it's a marriage and it's something that, you know, you need to spend time. And I was incredibly fortunate to spend time with David. David was my best friend before he was my partner. And, and nothing ruins a friendship like a business relationship. And so that, all of that was incredibly important to us. We were introduced, oh man, 12, 15 years ago, Jim Tierney, uh, Hyatt Hotels Jim, uh, introduced. He's like, you two guys need to know each other. And I had uh, a love of the game of golf and the industry and just really shared a lot of information. David was, I mean I still consider David the best developer that I've ever spent time with. I think I'm pretty good at it. But he is, he's the best. And uh, his eye, attention to detail, it's incredible. So, you know, learning from him, like I said, I always learned a lot from him spending time with him. So we started a strategic partnership, we started co developing jv, uh, we were operating, kind of built a management company to operate his assets just where he wasn't necessarily getting all he needed out of purely a third party relationship. And in 2020 when that little Covid thing happened and our industry really got rocked, you're looking at it like, okay, we've learned a lot over the years, but what's the next 20, 25 years look like? And David and I determined those, those look better together. And so we brought our organizations together and we were off to the races. I mean we had a pipeline full of development deals and management opportunities. And uh, just as we were starting to get everything rocket and rolling and you know, normalized and teams brought together, uh, we decided uh, to partner up with Carrie Ranson and acquire HP Hotels. And uh, again guy that I had known in the industry for 20 years had a lot of respect for. Um, he's, you know, both these guys are much older than me. They're veterans. So, you know, guys that I had learned from over the years. Yeah, absolutely. You know, David. David. I'm sure David will bring that up at some point. So, you know, industry veterans I had learned a lot from. So really just in passing at a Hunter conference, 30 seconds, Carrie and I, you know, hey, where are you going? What you doing? And, um, it was 30 seconds. It created an opportunity. And, um, so we were fortunate. Nine months later, we acquired HP Hotels. Carrie joined us as a partner, president of the management company. And, um, it's been a great thing. It's been incredibly busy. Uh, we just added AC Little Rock to the portfolio a couple weeks ago.

Speaker B: Congratulations.

Speaker A: Courtyard and Banner Elk. So management, uh, pieces. Very busy. A lot of looking at a lot of projects, um, saying no more than we say. Yes, that is one thing that we pride ourselves on.

Speaker B: So how many hotels we have to now?

Speaker A: Just, uh, just over 60. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: I mean, listen, I'm convinced, um, there needs to be more sort of this mergers and acquisitions, JVs, whatever, partnerships, whatever you want to call them, because a bunch of smaller guys and we should come together and be stronger together, us included, you guys, there's a bunch of that going on out there. So, um, it'll be interesting to see how those come together. But I think personality is the main. There's business, I get it, and math, but it's also really the personality. So I'd love to hear you talk about that. How you divvying up roles. How did you decide? Yes, we can work together. We're not just going to butt heads the entire time. We can respect each other and actually accomplish some things.

Speaker A: No. And that's actually killed other acquisitions. I, uh, mean, we've been in talks with other groups over the last couple of years. And for us, the HP acquisition was not just an acquisition of contracts. That's never really fueled what we were doing. I mean, it was a talent acquisition. I mean, the ability to not only have Kerry join us as a partner, but also the ability to absorb a team and bring a team on board that had a lot of knowledge in the third party world at that point, we were still very much owner operated.

Speaker B: Correct.

Speaker A: And those are different disciplines as well. And being able to bring those together. Well, I mean, I think that the third party, there's a lot of buying and selling and in and out and, you know, opportunities come and opportunities go. And it's also an extremely Cutthroat arm of the hospitality business. And we realized really quickly that we bring value through being an owner operator. We bring value of seeing ourselves truly as a partner, not as a vendor. And I think that if you talk to our folks that we have relationships on the third party side, they know we go to battle with them every day, that it's not, uh, I think it's gotten a little too easy to exit relationships. And I mean, the calls that we are taking from groups, exiting third party relationships, it's too much turnover with general managers and directors of sales and regionals. And so those are all things we work very hard to stay consistent. We don't move GMs in and out of properties, we don't change directors of sales. Our regionals have been with us a long time. They've grown up in the company. They're staying with us. They see opportunity with our growth. So we think that those are all, that is all value we bring on the third parties.

Speaker B: What's one of the attributes you look for when hiring people?

Speaker A: We spend more time making sure they work with the entire team than ever before. We have made mistakes in hiring incredibly talented people that come in and just become an absolute friction point. Uh, and they're divisive. And as much as they may be some of the smartest people you've ever been around, we have too many people that have been with us too long, that are committed for a long time. We are loyal to the people that have been with us. And anyone that's joining us now will complement the entire team, no matter the skill set.

Speaker B: That's really funny. We're the same way. And I always go back to that. I think it's that Koch model. Koch. And it's, uh, the graph, right. You probably know it. It's talent, loyalty, and. Right, yes, we all want high talent, high loyalty. But the question is sort of which ones more important? And loyalty is the answer.

Speaker A: Absolutely. All the time. Every time.

Speaker B: All right, so help me, how do you divvy up responsibilities for you guys? And my brain is. Carrie's in charge of operations, David's in charge of, uh, development, and you're in the head coach and in charge of fundraising.

Speaker A: You know, I do a lot on our fundraising side. I like our investor side. Um, I still, I'm as much a deal junkie as anybody. So, um, you know, I'm probably involved in more things than I need to be, but, uh, I still love every aspect of it. But no, carries. Carries in the weeds on the operations side, day in and day out.

Speaker B: Um, president of management company.

Speaker A: He is Carrie.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker A: Carrie's partner and president of the management company. And Tart is Tart's uh, chief development officer. So, um, he is doing exactly what he wants to do and where he's happy and he's building stuff. So it's uh, we've got a very busy development pipeline and man, it's just, uh, I mean we, we spend a lot of time together. We, we chat a lot. And we were on the phone two hours this morning on the, on the way over here to Columbia. And uh, we still, we still like talking a lot and building things.

Speaker B: Great. That leads me into what's next.

Speaker A: So, um, you know, as you'll learn more about Lantern today, we see a lot.

Speaker B: Ah, very impressed. This is cool place.

Speaker A: A lot of opportunities with Lantern. Uh, we have the second Lantern under construction in Rock Hill. Hopefully announcing a third and a fourth here pretty soon. Uh, we've got a true engagement.

Speaker B: Give us 30 seconds on what Lantern is.

Speaker A: So Lantern is a mission driven hospitality platform that enables us to curate an amazing experience and deliver that experience through some special talented folks. So to be able to work with the Carolina Life program, students with intellectual, uh, disabilities, uh, it really allows magic to happen to Mary. Uh, school of hospitality with the Life program in the building that is Lantern Hotels, uh, is pure magic.

Speaker B: I can tell already it's fantastic. So is this the future? We're doing these, but we're also. You said it true.

Speaker A: Yeah, we love Tru. Uh, we've got a Hampton Inn that opens here shortly in York, South Carolina. Uh, we're taking on a new project in, uh, Aiken, South Carolina. Um, it's the old Rose Hill, the Phelps family estate. Uh, it's going to be really the most amazing hotel in the Aiken Augusta area. And uh, got some great food beverage partners there, actually. Guys that we've teamed up with globally across the portfolio. Chef Chris hall and Ryan Turner. And working, uh, on several projects with those guys, that's a lot of fun. Another area where we're pretty decent, pretty good at the food and beverage side of the world. They're some of the best in the world. And to be able to, to work hand in hand with them and drive an even better food and beverage experience is spectacular.

Speaker B: So dive into that because we're hearing more and more of this Chris hall, land of guy, uh, Warhorse Local 3. The like, um, he's a chef, he's a restaurant guy.

Speaker A: Oh, he's, he's one of the guys.

Speaker B: 100%. Very one of the guys. Well, I'll keep using your word. Very impressive. My point is now is that where hospitality is headed, it needs to.

Speaker A: Yeah, it needs to. Instead of, uh, you know, there's times that we think we've got it all figured out. And I am much better at, uh, figuring out what I don't know and what I'm not good at and going and finding the right partners to go excel.

Speaker B: We're finding it more and more. Maybe it's passion projects, but more and more of these Teague talks and walks that we do that sometimes it feels like it's a hotel. Rooms built on top of restaurant and that and the restaurant guys, like, restaurants are a lot harder to operate than a hotel. So we'll do this. We'll make everybody come to this restaurant then. Oh, by the way, we have some hotel rooms.

Speaker A: I think the most amazing thing is when you get both of them right and you create an ecosystem that is such an amazing experience that it keeps people coming back. I mean, the days of, you know, when I grew up, food and beverage was just an amenity. It was something you did because a brand told you you had to do it, right? A, we don't have that luxury anymore in our world, and B, the guests expect more and we need to give them more. And I think that that's where we found phenomenal partnerships. Here at Lantern in Columbia, we partnered with Kevin G. Johnson, one of the most amazing human beings in the world, out of Charleston, South Carolina has the grocery and Lola Rose. Uh, Kevin helped Curate here at Ladder 13. And you just see that execution through the entire team, that consistency, uh, and then also just the ability to drive an amazing experience.

Speaker B: Why? Ah, you hit on it. So I'm going to go there. Why? Independent. This was fully independent.

Speaker A: Fully independent.

Speaker B: Talk to me before that, you know, historically that was crazy. No one would go fully independent. But now more and more people are going fully independent.

Speaker A: Well, I mean, you know, we love our brand partners, but, you know, we're paying more and getting less than we ever have. And, you know, we challenge them every day. We love those guys. We're building a lot with both Hilton and Marriott. But, you know, there's some times where a property is so unique and the story is so unique that it needs to all be ours. We don't need someone from Global Design telling us exactly how that chair, that table needs to be. We need to curate and touch every piece of it.

Speaker B: Pick on that. You guys were early adopters to this sort of boutique, independent Lifestyle stuff. Where do you see the industry 10 years from now?

Speaker A: It's only going to drive further to that direction. I think the guests want a local experience. They want something curated, not something that. And this is where we're at. We're at a really important inflection point in that it's becoming too commercialized. Of just hire this brand company and just hire this architecture firm and they'll spit out a name and they'll spit out what your experience is going to be. And that's where I think we've got to be really cautious with and why we're continuing to look at independence is to be able to drive that story, not just manufacturer story, because someone tells you to manufacture something. I mean, we looked at a project recently in another market and this brand company had essentially just created an entire story that a guest would never respond to. The guest isn't going to care about. But they did it because they were mandated to do it. And I think that that's the important part. Sometimes the guest just wants a really cool place to stay. They want a great food and beverage, they want a great room. I mean, uh, there are still core fundamentals of hospitality that we need to execute on. When there is a story to tell, we need to tell that story in a fantastic way. But we don't need to create and manufacture stories and characters. And the guest doesn't respond to that. They see right through that. It's not authentic, it's not curated to the, to the guest. It's something that's created by a brand that someone has said you need to have or you have to have.

Speaker B: And I'm going to bring this full circle. I think the reason why we love our industry and why you are into our industry, we are true. You're a true hotelier right here. You are involved. You were invested. You are, uh, eating, sleeping, breathing it all day, every day. And so you're taking your experience and your knowledge and saying, this is what we think the guest wants and this is what the market wants and we're going to meet that need. You're really creating something special.

Speaker A: I think we believe we are as well. And, uh, we believe we're taking the time, we're assembling the right teams and uh, we're allowing either a historic building or a mission to drive the product. Not, oh, uh, well, everything else is in the market. We may as well do a soft brand. That, that, that's not the direction we're going. There are times we just want to deliver neat hotels and Then there's a time to tell a story.

Speaker B: All right, uh, give me some of your. I'm curious. Let's kind of do some theoretical. On your leadership style and skills. And, you know, part of me is like, what legacy do you want to leave? But I just know who you are, are, and the person you are. What advice would you give? The younger gray or the new? There's tons of new people, whether it's second generation or third generation or just starting out, that are trying to figure out their way. What advice would you give?

Speaker A: Wow. I was actually at dinner with my mom last night, and as things always, uh, trend towards a business direction, I am still incredibly fortunate to have my mom and my uncle involved in the business. Uh, very much so. My mom knows where every dollar is located across every property, where it is in the company. And, you know, I think the biggest lessons learned over the last few years are it's okay to slow down a little bit. I, uh, mean, as much as we've grown, we've also made some mistakes and growing with the wrong partners or taking on the project that we thought we wanted to do, but it really wasn't the project that we were passionate about. And I think that. And that's a big piece of it. The other word of advice is just build that network. Go to the Hunter conference. Go meet people. I mean, I went to my first Hunter conference at 22 years old. I knew people through my father, but I didn't know anyone. And to be able to go and ask questions and have folks take me under their wings was an absolute. One of the coolest things that's ever happened to me. And, uh, those guys are still some of my best friends in the world.

Speaker B: How important do you think it was for your growth? Growth specifically? I mean, you got thrust into it. You said earlier, dad got sick. There was no choice. So all of a sudden, you're thrust into it.

Speaker A: Yeah, you know, I. I don't know that. That was never really part of my. My path. I mean, I, um. I'd do anything to have my dad back right now. Yeah, that and, um. So I. I don't know. I think that. That that's another thing that it's easy for everyone to look back on when you're younger, when you're like, man, I knew everything. You know, get out of the way and let me go. Let me go do what I do. And now it's like, man, I didn't know anything. Uh, 22, 23, I didn't know anything. And I think that that's it. Never quit learning.

Speaker B: So what advice would you give the

Speaker A: 22, 23 year old, especially with your fathers, with your parents? Be patient. Be patient. They know more than, uh, you think they know and they've learned a lot more than you think they've learned. And, uh, yeah, take that time and just enjoy every second with it. If you are fortunate enough to work with your family, the good outweighs the bad all the time. It really does. Don't let business get in the way of family relationships. That is, that's something that's incredibly important. I see that across our industry with our friends, and it's like, man, just enjoy every second of it. It's a blessing to be able to work with family.

Speaker B: What's the best advice dad gave you?

Speaker A: You know, the easy answer is families first. Right? I mean, I think that that's one, that's a core fundamental of, you know, being able to work with my mom and my uncle but have other partners, uh, is so important. But, you know, my dad was a numbers guy. I mean, when he got sick, he had to learn to walk, talk, read, write, everything again. I mean, he spent over a year working through all those, but he never lost his numbers. And he was a numbers guy and I mean, he always went back to fundamentals. And I think that that's as simple as that can be. It is also the most important piece. The numbers have to work, the location has to be important and not to get caught up with trying to deliver a product in a market because you want to be in that market. I think it's about delivering the right asset at the right time and if it doesn't work, move on to something else.

Speaker B: Are you a numbers guy?

Speaker A: No, no, no. I am thankful to be surrounded by numbers folks. And I think that that is one leadership quality that I do have, is that I have really great people around me and I'm able to have folks that really dive into it. I like to, I like digging through them, but nah, the numbers guys are. I've got phenomenal numbers.

Speaker B: I think you're a people's guy.

Speaker A: I am a people's person. That is, uh, one of my skills that, uh, and you attract people. Uh, I love the people side of what we do and the people that are in it.

Speaker B: You're really good at it.

Speaker A: Thank you.

Speaker B: I, um, mean, you're an amazing person. That's part of why we're doing this. But I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your voice right now. But I think that's what makes you a great partner, a great, uh, leader, a great hotelier.

Speaker A: Thank you. I mean, it's something we really work hard on. I mean, we. I am fortunate to have some of the best mentors in the business, and I've been fortunate to spend time with a lot of folks in the business. And I've learned as much of who I don't want to be as who I want to be. And I think that's part of what hospitality allows us to do, is to go and be successful and still be friends with our competitors. Still. Still want to beat them. You know, uh, I was. I was on the phone with a good friend of ours yesterday, and we were talking about a project. I still want to beat them, but. But I want nothing but the best for.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think we have learned there's enough room for everybody.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: I mean, when. When we were coming up. No, there was only one. I had to have this. If I don't get this courtyard in this market, I'm done for.

Speaker A: I'm done.

Speaker B: And after doing it long enough, you're like, ah, uh, there's another one, there's another one. There's another person, there's another. We'll get the next one.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: Yeah. So slow down a little bit. Is that what I'm hearing from you?

Speaker A: That's where I'm at my point. At this point in my life, I'm a little bit.

Speaker B: So give me. Let's go to fifth generation. That reigns. Your kids coming in the business. What's happening there?

Speaker A: I hope so.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: I hope so. I mean, I think that there are elements of our business that they are interested in, but I think there are also times that they've seen that I've been going a lot, that I'm traveling, I'm doing. Um, I'm thinking about our business. I mean, having a business that is 24 7, that is on all of the time, it can give you freedom, but it also can get in the way of things. So I think they'll be a part of things. I want them to be in some way, shape or form. I hope they do. I hope some version of the family business continues on, whether it's what we have right now or some variation down the road, or they find a path to create a new avenue of what we do. I think that that's the other great part of our business is there's always something else coming on that, whether it's new technology or new accounting system or any way that can still be tied back to hospitality. I hope in some way or some way, shape or form, there I find a way to work with my kids.

Speaker B: So you, uh, always. I mean, my question is, why don't they go to multifamily or office? They may find their way. You never know. But you've experienced, experimented with all of that.

Speaker A: Absolutely.

Speaker B: And yet you keep coming back to hospitality. Why is that?

Speaker A: I love the people. I love the experience. That's who you are. I mean, the fact that, again, you realize that there's enough to go around, and hospitality knows that. And I remember, I took, uh, a partner of ours. I remember taking him to a conference, Hunter Conference in Atlanta. And he's like, everybody's so nice. He's like, we don't talk about this at these conferences. He's like, we never talk about what we're doing or where we're going. Or he's like, these guys are nice. And, uh, it's like, it's just a different industry and it still can be cutthroat. We're still competitive and we want to win. But. But I. I do feel as a whole, I mean, there's a lot of days I'm picking up the phone, calling what people would deem a competitor and. And discussing problems and how to solve them together.

Speaker B: Yeah, I'll.

Speaker A: I'll, um.

Speaker B: Again, shameless plug for the Hunter conference. But, um, my father Bob was the same way, and everybody asked him from the beginning. And we've do it now 37 years or something, the conference. But, um, why do you let other brokers in? We don't understand. We're like, this isn't a Hunter. This is an industry thing. We are doing this for the industry. And especially when it started, it was Mr. Whomever, owner, operator who needed the information and we needed to come together to share. Hey, here's what I'm seeing. What are you seeing? And it was never more evident than back in Covet, when everyone. This is new. What do we do?

Speaker A: How do we. How do we.

Speaker B: How do we survive this? I'm about to have to lay off 10,000 employees. Are you laying off 10,000 employees? You know what. What do we do here?

Speaker A: Yeah. How do. How do we survive? How do we come back? How do we rebound?

Speaker B: Are we ever going to be the same? Are we ever going to come back from this? I'm about. Am I about to lose everything I've ever worked for?

Speaker A: Those conversations were certainly had in April and May of 2020.

Speaker B: They were tough. Uh, great. This is fantastic. Thank you for sitting down with me. I'M excited to talk to David. I'm excited to go walk this property. I'm excited to meet some students. Um, and I'm really impressed with everything that you're doing, so thank you. Thank you.

Speaker A: Always love spending time with you, my friend.

Speaker B: Thank you, brother. You're the man.

Speaker A: Awesome. Thank you.