Defining Hospitality

DH - Richard Kessler
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Speaker: [00:00:00] What I do is inconsequential. Why I do what I do is I get to shorten people's journeys every day. What I love about our hospitality industry is that it's our mission to make people feel cared for while on their journeys. Together, we'll explore what hospitality means in the built environment, in business, and in our daily lives.

I'm Dan Ryan, and this is Defining Hospitality.

This podcast is sponsored by Berman Falk Hospitality Group, a design driven furniture manufacturer who specializes in custom case goods and seating for hotel guest rooms.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Today's guest is someone with a passion for art and who strives to bring global art into his hotels. He has over 50 years of experience in hotel development and management and has spent the past four decades building his own hospitality company. He's one of the original hotel. Co founders of Days In. One of his latest projects, Plant Riverside in Savannah, Georgia, which used to be a coal fired power plant, won the [00:01:00] North American ULI Award. It also won the World Award for ULI as Best Development. Additionally, uh, in the Congress for New World Urbanism, it also won the North American Best Development Award. And the World Award. He is the Chairman and CEO of the Kessler Collection. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Richard Kessler. Welcome, Mr. Kessler.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Well, thank you. Good morning.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: so I'm fascinated by you and the companies and the other charitable organizations that you've built over your career. Um, many of the people that we speak to on here, um, are in the independent and boutique space. And I, what I find very striking about your career path is you came from and founded Days Inn. You sold that and then very early on, maybe even before boutique hotels were called boutique hotels,

You started doing and developing boutique hotels. Um, so I I would like to spend some [00:02:00] time talking about that and your other achievements over your career and how you're giving back and leaving a lasting impact, uh, leaving a lasting impact and legacy.

But before we get into all of that, Mr. Kessler, how do you define hospitality?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: I think it's uh, it's an exciting field because you're working with people and you have the opportunity to serve people and have an opportunity of respecting people where they are. Give them comfort when they're traveling and when they need help, you're there to help them as they travel. So, it's uh, and in addition to that, it's really the entertainment business also.

So, it's a process of caring for people and entertaining people all at the same time. Some people need more care, some people need more entertainment, but we are in the process of doing both, uh, Kessler Collection.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Now, when you were a young man, maybe before college, did you envision yourself [00:03:00] founding days in or being in the hotel space at all?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Now, uh, when I was in high school, I really thought about my future, and this was probably 10th and 11th grade, and I had three things I was interested in doing. Um, one was, uh, I was real active in the Lutheran church and I thought about, well, should I be a pastor, Lutheran pastor? And, um, the second thing that I really thought about was, uh, real estate development and, um, because what excited me about real estate development is that if you, uh, saw the potential in people and things, it is a way that you could really earn money.

And you take that money and do other things that you would like to do for people, for the benefits of people, like New Ebenezer, like the orphanage that we've started over the years. So after some [00:04:00] thought, I finally concluded, well, I should go into real estate development. And that's how I came to that conclusion.

And, uh, so when I went to Georgia Tech, uh, I really had no idea, uh, where I was going to go at first, and, uh, I asked my advisor, where, what would you recommend? What is the most difficult school in the state of Georgia? He said, Georgia Tech. I said, okay, that's where I want to go. And had not, it really didn't have anything to do with being an engineer.

I just wanted to go to test myself and to experience a difficult situation. I came from a rural, very rural area and a rural high school. I was the top math student in that school, but that doesn't mean a lot when you get to Georgia Tech because at Georgia Tech, many very smart guys that have accomplished more than I had at that point in time.

So, uh, Georgia Tech really helped me [00:05:00] develop tenacity and, and, uh, you really learn how to study and it was a very grueling couple of first years after that, it became much easier and I became a good student, you might say, with good grades. But. That's how I got into this and it really taught me life lessons, which really has helped me in business.

Tenacity is one of them.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Oh, that's one of my values, tenacity. Um, I think before we dive deeper into that, um, I think you'll be sad to know my, my daughter is a, we live up in Connecticut and she is a junior in high school. And we went down to Athens, Georgia and looked at University of Georgia and she's very Intrigued by University of Georgia.

So I hope that doesn't upset the tenor of our conversation.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: No, my sister went there and we, uh, we have many calls talking about our rivalry. University of Georgia is a [00:06:00] wonderful school, obviously, and they've got stronger and stronger over the years. It's really a national, top national school today.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: it's actually a good way to kind of bring in that idea of southern Hospitality I think as well because when we were down in Athens we stayed I don't know I think we stayed at the Indigo recently and when we woke up in the morning Everyone was tailgated like they're all the people that were staying in the hotel kind of tailgating having Bloody Marys down in the hotel In the lobby and I was there with my son and my daughter and they were just the thing that struck them as we walked downstairs like within five minutes of the in the morning and even from the night before They're like gosh Everyone just looks so happy here I don't know if that's coming from the northeast where everyone's like neurotic and like freaking out about life in general But there was just such a wonderful and palpable.

Um, Joie de vivre or just getting together with old friends around football is what it happened to be. Um, [00:07:00] How do you think? that that idea of just bringing, bringing fun and building community played into that role of focusing you from just real estate development into hospitality.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Well, it was really by accident because when I met Cecil Day, he was selling his apartment business. And he said, well, he said, what are you trying to achieve? I said, I want to learn to be a real estate developer. He said, okay. And then after a second meeting, he says, I would like you to come to work for me.

Now we're going to start some new businesses. And one day you will run all of them. We'll be partners and you'll be the president and chairman of them. I was 23 years old, straight out of Georgia.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: okay, so did you know Mr. Day from

previous or you had just met them?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: I met him years before because he also went to Georgia Tech. And so the reason, the connection was, is that I wanted to, we wanted to talk to, I [00:08:00] wanted to talk to someone that had gone to Georgia Tech and knew something about the school and the real life at Georgia Tech, et cetera. And, uh, my family had known him also before that.

So the family goes way back as far as knowing each other. But it was never, um, uh, never a continuous conversation. It was as, as needed almost. When I needed to talk to somebody about tech, I would call, call Cecil and talk to him and he, and then he would offer me some suggestions and when it came time to, I was looking for what I wanted to do, I, I went and interviewed a number of companies, I interviewed many.

Probably 11, 12. And out of those 11 to 12 companies, they were all big companies. There were banks, there were big institutions, and I had offers from every one, but one, and, um, so I had plenty of opportunity, but it was, I wanted to learn the real estate development business and everything else took me a longer route, I thought, to get there.

So when I talked to Cecil. [00:09:00] And he gave me three names to talk to and, uh, and visit with in Atlanta. And I did, and he asked me, uh, what happened? And I said, well, two of the three offered me a job and things that are interesting and are similar to real estate are supportive of real estate, but it's not directly in real estate development.

He said, well, why don't you go to work with me? And you'll, we'll be partners one day and you'll run the business and you'll be the president and you'll be the chairman one day. And I said,

okay,

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: for for Cecil Day, for Mr. Day to look at, you were 23

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: 23. I

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: For someone like that to, to look at you and talk, and obviously you knew him over the years, but to have that kind of vision to say, to see your future if you will, that's very, that's a very unique power. Have you seen that anywhere else in your career or life?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: no, not really. No. And, [00:10:00] uh, we were walking on Savannah beach when all that happened. And, uh, I said, all right. I said, sure, that's exactly what I'd like. And, uh, and then he said, well, I can pay you 9, 000 a year. Well, I just received my master's in engineering and, uh, operation research. And I, these banks and other people interviewed me and offered 12, 000 a year.

I said, I don't really care what you pay me, as long as I can pay my rent and have enough food to eat. I just wanted to learn real estate development. So he said, well, that's fine. Let's go. And so that sealed the deal with Cecil. And then from then he took off on a vacation right after I went to, showed up and went to work.

Uh, he took out on a vacation with the family to California and he found something called Motel 6. And so Motel 6 inspired him with the idea of doing something like that on the East coast, because at the time there was no particular chain. On the East Coast, except Holiday [00:11:00] Inn, Howard Johnson, but no, you might say Budget Hotel as Motel 6 was.

As Days Inn evolved, it turned out it didn't evolve like a Motel 6. It more ended up like a Holiday Inn. And there's a long story behind that. We'll talk about that another time. But anyway, um, so he took out on a trip. He came back a month later. And I was there, I was left to go through the plan room and look at all these apartment plans, et cetera.

He came back and I went to my office one Monday morning and he was back and he put two handwritten pages on my desk and it said Days into America on top. So I read it and he came by the office later and he says, uh, well, let's sit down and talk about what I left on your desk. I said, sure. So he said, you read it?

And I said, Oh, sure. And he said, what do you think? Can we do it? I said, sure. I think we can do that. And so sure enough, that's what they, he said, well, why don't you pull in the rest of the guys in the company here that's been in the apartment [00:12:00] business with me, let's all talk about it. So I pulled about four or five guys in and we all sat down and talked around a round table about.

This idea of Dade's Ends America. And one thing led to the other and finally everybody voted and all, but funny enough, his brother never voted for it, but he didn't vote against it, but he didn't vote for it. But everyone else said, sure. Yeah. Okay. We'll help. So then I was left then, uh, with Cecil and I was in charge of all the development program, construction and development, because I grew up in construction with my father.

So, and I had an engineering background, so I ran all the development of all the day's ends and for about two and a half years, and in traveling, I ended up in Orlando and seeing Orlando blossom in 1972. Came back and told Cecil, I said, look, if we're going to be in a real estate development business, somebody has got to go to Orlando and take advantage of that boom that's going to happen.

[00:13:00] And he said, looked at me, he said, when would you like to go? I said, with Cecil, I've got 17 projects under construction right now and, uh, up and down these coasts. But he said, well, half of them in Florida, aren't they? I said, yes. He said, well, you can still take care of those and start this company for us.

And, uh, I said, all right, why not? So he said, you've trained these other guys working for you. And then you could, if they need help, they'll call you. And then they, all of them are well underway and, uh, you can take care of the ones in Florida. I said, you got a deal. He said, well, let's capitalize it with a thousand dollars, a new company.

I said, 1, 000. I said, well, uh, he said, you, you have 30 percent of it. So you put up 300 and I'll put up 700. And that's how we're going to start this company. And you'll have to figure out the rest. And I said, okay, I can do that. And he said, there was one other thing I'll do to help. He says, uh, I own one side at Altamont Springs, north of Orlando.

And then why don't you go ahead and develop that [00:14:00] through our company? And, uh, I'll pay you 30, 000 to the company. Uh, for developing that for me personally, everything else, you have to figure out how you're going to get the funds and what are you going to do? I said, okay, no problem. So then I took, took him up on the deal.

I moved to Orlando, Florida and set up a company and hired a couple of guys. And that one was a Georgia Tech, good friend of mine. And, uh, another one was, uh, a young man I met, uh, name was Tom Prince. Very, very nice guy. He grew up in the hotel business with his father. And he grew up cleaning his swimming pools and that kind of thing, but he was a

stockbroker, so one thing led to the other. I then built the company, started building, I borrowed the money, uh, started building some very big projects for us. And, uh, I built, uh, something like 4, 000 rooms in Orlando during that time, over

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: What year was that

that you, that you started that

company?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: that was, uh, 1972, [00:15:00] 73,

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Wow.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: then so, it continued to expand and, and, uh, the oil embargo hit, and when it hit, uh, days in, the management company had trouble paying the rent. to our company. And so that became a problem. And, uh, so we all had a big meeting and, long story short, uh, they signed over the leases to me and I took over all the operations in also.

of these properties because they couldn't pay the rent. I said, look, if you can't pay the rent, I have to hand me the keys. And so I was in about 26, 27 years old, took over something like, I think we had about 4, 000 rooms. I was operating along with restaurants and gift shops and gasoline operations overnight.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Wow. so so basically you went from development into full on operations

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: [00:16:00] overnight, literally overnight, and it was a very tough time. It was an oil embargo time and, uh, it was tough, but we, we struggled through it. We never missed any, never missed any bank, uh, debt payments, and, uh, we kept building it and banks then got in trouble with, uh, owning hotels. And they would call me up and say, Richard, would you like to have another hotel?

I say, sure. Where is it? Well, we have two brand new. Holiday Inns on Daytona Beach, uh, if you'll just pick up the debt, we'll finance them 100 percent for you and you take them and operate them. I said, okay, so we, I picked up several hotels like that where banks would call us and we'd take them and operate them and made them, we made them very profitable.

We made them Inns,

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: that's, that's really interesting. On the, the bank saying, Hey, take over the debt and.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: pay us,

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: yours because, because I found, I, I've not been through as many real [00:17:00] estate cycles as you, but I find that hotels are such a complicated asset that when times get tough and people start defaulting, the banks don't want to take them over because they're so complicated to run. Is

that your experience too? So that's

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: exactly right. They did not want to run those properties.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: but if it was a multifamily or an office building, the bank might say, okay, we'll take it over and we'll, we'll figure it out.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Right, right. You're right, yes.

that really then put me right into operations and, uh, and I was able to make all those profitable and everything else we had taken over from day's ends. That we're running, we're made profitable. And then corporate days in got in trouble about that same time.

It got worse as all embargo got worse. And that's when Cecil asked me to come back to Atlanta and take over all of day's in, take over the whole company. All those companies I had started, I'd started about four companies at that time and different places developing. Uh, so I continued [00:18:00] operating those.

Then I also took over all of day's ins. Uh, nationwide

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: how many days ends were there at that point?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: you know, I don't even remember.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Okay. A lot.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: There, there are a lot, there are a lot of them and they went as far as Texas. We had One company out in, uh, based in Texas. And, uh, that was as far as West we were at that time. So long story short from that, we, uh, so when I went back to take it over, I was able to, uh, straighten out days ends and get everything running smoothly, get banks happy again, and, and then we just really started a major growth program and we turned the company around from a loss the first year we took it over, uh, to a very, we compounded earnings in 20 percent a year.

For the every year that I was there running it for 14 years. So anyway, it was, uh, it was exciting time and, um, I enjoyed it and got a lot of experience developing from East to West coast [00:19:00] with as later set up companies in Denver, Colorado, one in, um, uh, Sacramento, California. So we were using that office to develop up and down the West coast.

So, and we were doing the same thing on the East coasts. So we were really growing and earnings were growing at an exponential rate. Um, when did we sold the company and it was, it was exciting time.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Is it when we first started speaking today? Um, You said one of the things that drew you to real estate development was that you get to, I forgot if you said you get to solve or see the potential in people and places or

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Yes. That's exactly right.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: is it possible

that Mr. Day, Cecil Day, saw the potential and possibility in In people, did you get that idea from him for real estate development as far as solving seeing the potential in people in places? Or did he? But he really saw it [00:20:00] in you. He saw

something in you. Yes. No, I, I knew that back when I was in high school. That was a, a talent that I had and something that really intrigued me seeing o opportunity in people and places.

okay And then real estate is such a you know There's such a broad spectrum from multifamily to office to hotel to you know, industrial you name it um You, you went down the hotel track kind of on the earlier side of your career, but it's also one of the most difficult, correct?

And then you throw in oil embargoes and you throw in the inflation of the late seventies, early eighties, you throw in, um, the, the subprime crisis, you throw it, I mean, there's probably, there's one in the nineties, uh, the Japanese default or whatever that was. So like how many times over your career, were you standing on the edge looking out [00:21:00] and or looking down? Like how, how, and, and how many times would you say you've been standing on the edge, looking out or looking down and what was the most. Stressful, one of those standing on the edges.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: I had about five of those in 50 years, and 54 years now, I had about five of them, and it was usually they came from, they all came from some outside situation that you couldn't control. It was oil embargo. It was this huge recession we had in the 80s. It was those kinds of times that, you know, All of a sudden you had a lot going on and I always have really pushed to, you know, to grow and make things happen.

And, and when you, in the process of growing, I mean, you, you always, you're always pushing, you're always, um, looking for the potential and you working toward making it real. And then these things happen like the all embargo that nobody could [00:22:00] and nobody did predict. And then you find yourself, uh, then trying to Um, survive through those periods, but that's where it takes tenacity and focus and work, and if you do those, you can work through most things.

And so we did.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: I'm also curious if the fact that you chose the hospitality space as your development vehicle, hearing that one story of where the banks didn't want to take on hotels, I wonder if, in a way, when it got really tough like that, or I keep thinking about how Paul Volcker, Was, is lauded as like beating of inflation, but in such a leverage based business, that must've been the most horrible couple of years waiting for him to break inflation.

Because I don't know what, I don't know where he got the federal rate up to, but he's lauded as a hero in that pain. But is it possible that the banks were like, okay, you have these hotels. You [00:23:00] just, we'll work it out with you. We'll, we'll add on to the end. Or whatever, like, was that one of the hardest times ever for you?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: No, no, not when they came to me with their problems because, uh, I had days in by that time, real strong and real growing and a strong brand. And so all I had to do is, is put the brand. And these were basically new properties of newer properties. I put the brand on it, and we're in business. And we made them profitable immediately.

That was a opportunity time. It was other times where, with the oil embargo, where you could not get gasoline and, you know, we were heavily interstate, uh, developed properties at that time. And so, that was really the tough, real tough times. And there's a couple other times, like in the 80s, it was when we went through that bad economy.

It lasted four or five years. I thought it'd never get over. Where, I mean, it was really difficult [00:24:00] during those times. But anyway, those things happen. And if you're going to be in this business, you got to be prepared for it. And, uh, and say, look, you know, I signed up for this, so, okay, let's do it. And thank goodness, in none of those cases, did we ever default on loans or make people disappointed, you might say.

We, we, we worked hard and made it work.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: when I was a kid, I don't really remember this, but, um, after the oil embargo, my dad bought a diesel car and he, there was no trunk because basically he, He built out a gas tank in the trunk of the car so that, I don't know, the car could go like a thousand or 1500

miles and it would just, but if you think about how that, especially now where the United States is pretty energy independent, I

think it is, or

it kind of, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, but it can be. But it's, um,

it's amazing how [00:25:00] energy yields such progress, right? There's all these other problems associated with it from pollution to climate change to whatever, whatever, but energy equals progress,

right? And,

and it.

also just affects all of our behaviors so much. Um,

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Yes.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: anyway, that's just my little story.

Uh, but if you, so then you went and you had, you, you exited. Um,

days In In 1984.

So that was inflation is broken. You've, you're, you've been compounding your earnings up until that point. The, the markets are roaring. Um, the market probably went wild. That was a great exit. How long did you take off after that exit

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: 30 days.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: okay.

30 days. Great. And then what pushed you from being more on the select service size side of the business to, Hmm. I want to go into this. Boutique independent world. Before it was a boutique [00:26:00] independent hotel, luxury lifestyle brand. Like what was the thought process in those 28 days or whatever that

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Well, I had, before that, I had traveled Europe, uh, quite a bit, and I saw all these independent hotels in Europe. And pretty much at that time, uh, not many chains were in, uh, Europe at all. And so I saw these profitable, beautiful little boutique hotels that people stayed in and said, you know, I don't see that in America.

And so when, even while it was the day's end in 1979, 78, 79, uh, I wanted to start, I started a separate division of boutique hotels and I did the first one in Savannah, here in Savannah. It was called the Mulberry Inn. And within the first six months, it was profitable. And I realized I'd hit on something.

It was truly a need for that kind of product. And what I liked about it, it was, uh, obviously it was something I [00:27:00] could try out the things that I enjoyed, art and music. And so it was filled with art and music, had a big grand piano in it, piano. And in the, in the lobby, we had a lot of music and it really became a special place.

Right across from the Pirate's House on East Broad Street in Savannah. And, uh, in six months we were profitable, and I really knew we had hit on something good. And so I did a second one immediately down in Orlando. And then right after that, the company sold and all that sold. So this was my chance when we sold the other to go back to something I was enjoying and I knew would work.

And so in 1984, right after that, uh, at first I, I didn't go back into hotel business right away. I, I bought a, I bought a a property and renovated it and, and that was it. But it was a Holiday Inn something. I was just as an investment, no more than that. But then what I did is I, I got into, uh, big scale [00:28:00] development because I, I said one day, maybe I wanna build a city.

And so, I had studied, uh, what, how up in D. C. some of the big new towns were being developed. That was a new idea at the time that really interested me. And I said, okay, I'm going to do some big scale development. So, I built a thousand acre international industrial park north of Atlanta. I bought 500 acres and developed a, uh, uh, a big housing development.

Uh, gated community with retail and banks and whatever up front in the commercial area. Uh, and I was doing that in order to get experience in building big scale projects. And so I didn't know where that was going to lead, but I said, if I ever have an opportunity to get involved with building a new town.

I want to be prepared. And so that was my preparation. And so I did, and I enjoyed it and sold it, sold it all over time, and it was a [00:29:00] profitable. I also got in banking that time and I did not like banking. I did that for about five years, end up, uh, developing a chain of boutique banks. Uh, we had 10, 11 of them at the time when we sold all of them.

And I didn't like banking. It was too restrictive and too many people involved in it and boards of directors and the government and so forth. And so, uh, I knew I didn't want that. And, uh, but sold out of that. And that's really when I turned my attention to this boutique hotel business. Which was probably in about, uh, end of the eighties, end of the eighties, uh, you know, about end of the eighties.

So that's, that's how all that evolved.

Hey everybody. We've been doing this podcast for over three years now. And one of the themes that consistently comes up is sustainability. And I'm just really proud to announce that our sponsor Berman Falk Hospitality Group is the first within our [00:30:00] hospitality industry to switch to sustainable and recyclable packaging, eliminating the use of styrofoam.

Please check out their impact page in the show notes for more info.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: ahead.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: I'm sorry, Mr. Kessler, as you were speaking, and so you exited Days Inn, then you tried a bunch of things, and I'm hearing, I heard you say the words, Profitable and enjoyment. And all of them were, all the endeavors that you did were profitable, but I feel like you were almost searching for the enjoyment part, right?

So if you were to, if you were to Venn diagram, profit and enjoyment, what was it? Because I guess there's an excitement about building and scaling days in and then exiting that, and then you're trying all these other things. Tell us more about what it was pulled your heart towards boutique hotels. Aside from the music, you shared the music and the art, but like, as you really, if you were to drill down a [00:31:00] couple more levels, what was it about it?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: creating beauty. When I look back at my career and things that I've liked from a childhood and motivated me. It was all beauty and it, it was all about creating beauty and excitement and entertainment. That's, that's the thing that, and it just happened to be with hotels. That was a good venue for doing all those things.

And if you look at properties today, what's interesting is when you interview people about properties, when they in the lobby and they leaving or coming, and And I'll, without them even knowing me, I'll ask them, did you have a good time here? Oh yeah, I had a great time. And I said, well, if you'd describe this experience here, how would you describe it, uh, this place?

They said, first of all, it's beautiful. And that's the word that they will always use. The first word is they're beautiful. And then they talk about the people, how friendly they are and [00:32:00] how much they enjoyed that. And then, then I'll introduce myself. And they said, Oh my goodness. Oh, we have a great time. I stayed in several of your properties and we love all of them.

And they go on and on and on. They're exuberant guests. It's so interesting. Sometimes, uh, I've had a situation, particularly at Plant Riverside. I'll never forget I was talking to this lady. She had her child there. And they were playing, playing there. And, uh, and I introduced myself. And, uh, and she, I says, well, what, what, how do you feel about this place?

And she, she says, I'm so excited about it. And she went on and on. And as she was telling me, she starts crying. She was so enthused and emotionally, she starts crying. And that's happened several times, uh, talking to people, particularly women about the experience and their feeling about the places. They so excited about it.

They literally start crying as they're talking to me. Which is, that's what you want to do. That's what you want to [00:33:00] create. That kind of emotional feeling for people.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: It's also interesting to hear you say the beauty as well, because Plant Riverside was a coal, like a coal plant, right? Which is probably, you could argue, is probably one of the ugliest smoke belching creations that humanity has ever built. But again, it draws, it serves power, it allows all these other things to happen. How, for someone who's so driven by beauty, what attracted you? Besides ROI Plant Riverside,

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Uh, well, the building itself, believe it or not, when it was built in 1916, uh, that was kind of the introduction of power to enter the Savannah area. It, there was a, a, a. Power plant before that much smaller down the street from this location, but the power is a new thing. And so these architects that [00:34:00] were MIT graduates actually stone and Webster, the company stone and Webster designed it well, back when that was happening.

Electricity was a new idea. It was a new thing. It was not tangible. And so, there was no model for what a power plant should look like. So they designed this beautiful, it's really a beautiful brick building with big, huge arches that are 30 feet tall and so forth. With ornate brickwork. I mean, people don't build industrial buildings like that today, as you know.

They build them with concrete stand up slabs and whatever. But here it was ornate brickwork. Ornate brickwork. And, um, so it was a building that had some beauty to it, even though it was an industrial building. And so it enabled us to make something out of it. For example, when you go in this big building, it's huge.

It's about 200, 000 square feet. It's a big building, and [00:35:00] it's like 65 feet tall inside, and it's 55 feet wide. And it's, uh, about 400 feet long inside. So you have this huge, uh, cathedral feeling when you go into, in the space. And so the challenge was then, the opportunity was, is how do you take such a space, an opportunity to take such a space, the largest space in Savannah, in any building.

And do something special with it. And so that's when, uh, that's where the creativity starts. And, and the more I thought about it, I said, well, it's a coal fired powered plant, it's a fossil fuel, fossil fuel, okay, that's the catch. And so, so why don't we, why don't we make this into a, uh, a, basically a museum, a natural science museum.

And so I said, well, a natural science museum should have a dinosaur. Uh, and it has many other fossils and whatever, because I was a fossil collector all my life, [00:36:00] and, uh, and a stone rock collector all my life. And so this gave me the opportunity to do one of my passions, and that is Collect big rocks. And so we have, uh, amethyst crystals in there that are eight feet tall and five feet wide.

And, and, uh, we have Russian ice age bears and we have a 135 foot dinosaur in the lobby. And we have, uh, a Mastodon tusk. We just bought a Mastodon skull with 10 and a half foot long tusk. Uh, so I mean, you know, this, this kinda stuff belongs in the Smithsonian Museum. And so we developed a whole lobby now into a natural science museum.

Well, you should have seen, Marriott's face when I told them I was going to build, put a dinosaur in the lobby of a JW hotel. They said, what? I said, yeah, we're doing it. And they said, oh my Lord. So, uh, okay, Richard. So do what you're going to do. So we did. And [00:37:00] now it's the most popular place.

It's the most popular museum in Savannah. There's museums that have been here for over 100 years, and we have more people going through our museum in the lobby of that hotel that are not staying there just to see this natural science museum and all the collections we have. And it's, uh, it's quite a place.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: How long did that plant sit there idle? How long were you looking at it trying to figure out what your vision for it was? Could be, might be, or when did that spark happen for you?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Well, what happened is that, uh, first of all, I built the Bohemian Hotel. which is only about 300 yards away from it on the river. At the same time, I had the mansion on Forsyth Park, which I developed here in Savannah, and the mansion of Forsyth Park was a beautiful hotel, etc., full services, but the River Bohemian actually had a higher rate, a 50 higher rate, and simply because on the river.

So it just reminded me how [00:38:00] powerful and attractive the river was and what that would do for the economics of the deal. And then I knew one day they had closed the power plant and it stayed closed for about seven years while they did their cleanup, you might say. And, uh, I knew it'd come on the market one day and sure enough, I was riding by and there was a for sale sign on it.

So I called, called on it and we made an offer and then we couldn't get an answer from the power company about, uh, would they accept the offer or not. And we kept calling, kept calling, I wouldn't give up on it. So about the third month, I got a call when I was in my car. And it was the chairman, CEO Alabama Power Company.

Alabama Power owns Georgia Power Company. And I said, well, I thought, his name was Charlie. Charlie's calling me and I had met him before because he wanted me to come to Birmingham to build him a hotel. For all the executives that came to Alabama, Birmingham. And I did, and he was so [00:39:00] happy with it. It's a beautiful hotel, by the way.

It's the Grand Bohemian, beautiful hotel. And, uh, so I thought he was calling to thank me. Well, he called me to thank me for it. And I said, well, I said, uh, with Charlie, I said, I haven't talked to you in a year or two. I said, uh, I'm trying to buy the power plant in Savannah, but I can't get an answer on my offer.

He said, really? He said, I know it's for sale. He said, let me call the president. I'll have him call you. So the fact we hung up in five minutes, my phone rang and it was the president of Georgia power. And he said, Oh, Richard, well, we got your offer and we're going through a big process. I said, a big process.

He said, yeah, we're going through a big process of taking offers and evaluating them and we've got your offer and I've looked at it. But, you know, he said, I got to tell you, you're not the highest bidder. I'll already tell you that. I said, well, I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to buy that building.

And he said, well, we got, we've got a process to go through and we got a lot of overall offers, whatever. [00:40:00] I said, what are you doing tomorrow morning? He said, well, I'm here in Atlanta. I said, I'd like to come up and see you. So I flew up that morning at seven o'clock. I was sitting in his office waiting for him to come.

So he comes and he brings this fellow with him. It turns out this little fellow was. He was quiet as could be. It turned out he was in charge of all the properties and he was the one that collecting these offers. Long story short out of that is that, uh, uh, he said, well, Richard, he says, look, I've looked at your offer and you're not the highest offer and we have to go through this process.

I said, well, I'm here today to buy, buy the power. And I said, I said, add a million dollars to my offer. Will that do it? He said, nope. He said, Richard, we got to go through a process. I said, add 2 million to the offer. He said, Nope. I said 3 million to the offer. And does it matter if I close it in 45 days on December 31 of this year so you can get it off your books?

Will that matter? Well, he stopped [00:41:00] then. He said, you had offered me three million more than you've offered and you will close in 45 days a coal fired power plant. And by December 31, I said, yes, sir. I said, give me 30 days to do diligence on a coal fired power plant

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: my God.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: and 15 days to close this multimillion dollar purchase.

He says, uh, all right, send me the contract. I said, you'll have the contract tomorrow morning. The next day, I had it signed and I had under contract the power plant. And we went through it, and we went through it. we're down to, had two days left on the due diligence. Everything was checking out all right.

And my attorney called me and said, Richard, he said the, the guys are, really would like to drill a hole in the bottom of the basement floor to see if there's anything under the building. And he said, but, uh, this fellow in charge of the, uh, in charge of the property, uh, for Georgia Power said, you can't do [00:42:00] that, even though we had the right to do that.

He said, he said, what do you want me to do? I said, forget it. Don't worry about it. We're going to close it anyway. I said, if everything else checked out, we're fine. So,

so I'm in, I'm in California, it's at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, dark in the room. My phone rings. I think, who's calling me at 5 o'clock in the morning?

So, I answer the phone and it's this little fellow that I told you about, that's in charge of all the property. He said, Mr. Kessler, he said, I want to tell you, you're not going to do any more due diligence. You're not going to drill a hole in the bottom. of that floor in the basement. And, uh, he said, so why don't you just give up on all this anyway?

He said, I've got somebody here in Atlanta that's prepared to buy it and they will close it on December 31. Like you're going with plan to do. And he said, so just give it up and I've got somebody to buy it. I said, Let me explain something to you. By this time, I was wide awake. [00:43:00] I was mad as a hornet. So I said to him, I said, look, let me tell you one darn thing right now is that I'm going to close this building.

I'm going to own this building. And what are you up to? I have no idea. And why are you calling me? I have no idea, but I will guarantee I will be there on the 31st and you will have your money and I'm going to own the building, so I don't know why you calling me and why are you doing this? But, uh, just go away and I hung up and that was the end of that.

So on the 31st, we wired him the money and we closed it on the 31st of December. So that's how we got it.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Wow. And then, so there was a vision, there was a connection, there was a drive and a passion. Since then, you've won these incredibly prestigious awards globally, not just in North America, but globally. Um, and those are all outcomes. And I would venture to say that, [00:44:00] okay, those outcomes and accolades are nice. But I think it was really the power of that vision and that visceral connection. You just knew

that

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: What it could become. Yeah. I knew what it could become. And actually the whole development is about 665, 000 square feet. And, uh,

it has a retail, it has about 20, 000 feet of retail. It has a 500 car, uh, garage, four levels underground, four levels above ground, but all wrapped, all wrapped in hotel rooms and ballrooms.

So you don't even know it's a parking garage. Uh, we built an MLK park, uh, that seats about 200, 250 people. We did a monument to MLK at the end of MLK Drive because there was no monuments to his life. He had been to Savannah a number of times. So we built a MLK park with a big stage and fountains, and we have three fountains on the property.

Uh, we have things for kids to do. Uh, we [00:45:00] have dinosaur digs for them. we have outdoor, um, outdoor pavilions where you can sit right on the river and eat shrimp. Like if you had to go in to some of the islands to get this experience. I brought that experience in into the city. Uh, for seafood and barbecue and hamburgers and all kinds of different foods.

Uh, we have, uh, we have 13 food and beverage operations at that Plant Riverside. So it's heavy into food and our company is very heavy into food. Uh, we believe that food drives businesses is critical to four star operations. So we, half of our revenue in our company is food and beverage and half in Plant Riverside.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: One thing that I want to share with everyone, we've been, you know, Mr. Kessler has been sharing some highlights over his nearly 50 year journey, career journey. Um, but throughout all of that, I've also got this [00:46:00] impression and not just an impression, but you've told me about how, You want to help impact those who are less fortunate or maybe don't have the access to everything else that. You may have had, or all of us may have had who were listening. Um, and that could be from orphanages to just various other philanthropies.

And I know that you've shared all of these stories of growth and entrepreneurial and staring over the edge and living your dream. How have you over the course of those 50 years given back to those who were less fortunate and, and left an impact with them as well?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: it was actually in 19, uh, 74, I had a vision to start, uh, a ecumenical family retreat center because I felt like, uh, given all the divorces that were happening in America. Disruption in [00:47:00] families, uh, is something that was, I was called to do. So, um, I did, I started, um, I went to the historic church that was, uh, founded by Salzburgers in 1733.

Uh, on the Savannah River, and I'm a descendant of those Salzburgers. Uh, these are, these are people that left, uh, left, uh, Europe, left Salzburg area, and, uh, because of their religious belief, they were Lutherans, they were not Catholics, and, and, uh, they came over to America. Anyway, I went back to that and rebuilt the town as it was.

Uh, there on the Savannah River and that was built in 1734 and so, um, it's ecumenical. When I started it, uh, I was, I was probably only making 11, a year when I started it. So I didn't have any real source of money particularly, but, [00:48:00] um, I went to the church and got them to agree to let me develop it. If I wouldn't put any debt on the land and to rebuild their town.

And it's today, uh, uh, it, we have some like, uh, oh, several thousand people every year go through the Retreat Center. It's ecumenical. Uh, we started a program called Ebenezer Alive for young kids, and they come from a four state area. And we have 30, about 30 different programs they can choose from to go through.

Ecology, manners, ethics, history, athletics of different types, dance, you name it. About 30 different programs. So the school can choose what programs they want, and we then, uh, put together those programs for them. It's a two and a half day program. We have about 2, 000 young people every year [00:49:00] go through that program and, uh, which is really a, a great, super great program.

It's been written up in different places. Uh, then the orphanage thing, I'd always, uh, felt really, um, strongly about people that could not help themselves and, Orphans get caught in very precarious situations. None of their, most of the time, none of their doings has had to do with the parents. And so these orphans end up in the, uh, in the direction of the state.

And so the state has their custody. And so then where do they go? Where do the state put them? What do they do with them? Sometimes they go to families and that can be good, but it is often, it's not good because, um, they, they take it in maybe for the wrong reason, more for the income for their family.

Uh, but there are many families I'm sure do a beautiful job with, uh, these orphans. But anyway, I [00:50:00] felt called to do the orphanage and the orphanage was originally there at Ebenezer. Uh, and built in 1734, 35. And, uh, first governor actually grew up in that orphanage. And, uh, he was, and he was quite a young man.

Anyway, we rebuilt the orphanage. Uh, I called a friend of mine that went to Tech and that he was, uh, three or four years older than I, and our fathers were good friends. I said, let's, uh, let's put up the money and I'll build, I'll build the orphanage for us, you put up half the money, I'll do the other and I'll get it built and we'll name it after our fathers.

And he said, okay, Richard. And so he sent me the check and I went to work and I put my money in it and uh, built the orphanage and it's what, 20, 20 some years old now. And we really, I think we do an excellent job of taking care of these young boys. Just unbelievable backgrounds that stuff they've had to deal with and, uh, and take [00:51:00] care of them.

We had one situation where, uh, had a couple of situations where they were really touching. There's so many touching stories that come out of it. One of them, the young man is an African American young man, and he came in. He had every kind of problem in school. He was failing all of his classes. He was dabbling in drugs.

It was in the wrong crowds. It was just, it was a problem. And, uh, he ended up, uh, had, went, uh, he was taken over by the state, and the state put him at New Ebenezer, at our, at our place, at the orphanage, Trutland House. And, uh, within a year, we totally turned around that young man's life. He, uh, and how it really happened then, um, his father, who had separated from his mother on the other side of the state, had requested to the courts to let, uh, let him have his son back.

Long story short of that was, uh, He got it. They went, uh, [00:52:00] director of the center and the young man went to the court on the other side of the state and the judge calls him up and says, young man, what would you like to do? Your father wants you to go back home and, uh, and you, uh, you, you staying at the retreat, you staying at, uh, at the orphanage, what would you like to do?

And he says, judge, I want to stay at the orphanage. And the reason I want to is because now I have good grades. I'm making good grades. I'm on the football team. I've made great friends and he's really excelled. It's unbelievable what a turnaround it was. And he said, so judge, please let me go back to, uh, the Troutland house.

So it's those kinds of stories that just really makes the work worthwhile.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: It's um, it's a much different type of hospitality. You talk about helping people see their potential or feel cared for or finding comfort. Um, I actually recently [00:53:00] interviewed a new friend of mine. We went down to Guatemala to build a house, uh, for a family in a rural spot. And I interviewed him. I was, the reason why I interviewed him, he's the director of this thing, it's called Houses to Homes. I was just struck when he was sharing his story. He said, you know, he was kind of out on the streets when he was a young boy. And he, he said, he found this orphanage, this orphanage took him, took him in. And that was the best memories of his childhood was being in an orphanage. And I was like, I cannot imagine how. What a place you must have come from to have being in an orphanage, be this release and this, um, this grounding and this feeling of warmth. Cause

most of the stories you hear about orphanages are not that. And I just, I commend you on that. And the, and I also, I didn't realize that you started, um, the Salzburger. What did, what is the retreat center called again?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: New, the new Ebenezer retreat center, family retreat

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: I'm sorry. The new Ebenezer family retreat center. You started [00:54:00] that. And this is another thing for our listeners. Um, you know, I'm sure we're, um, We're all charitable in our own ways, but you don't have to be, you don't have to have arrived in your career to be involved in, in charities or things that you're passionate about.

You can lift when you're, when you stand, you can lift where you stand when you're standing there, because to hear you starting that when you were making 10, a year, that was probably three or four years into your career. Um, I think that that could be a real sense of inspiration for everyone else. You don't have to wait till you've gotten to where you want to be.

You

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: that's

exactly right. It was unbelievable how that unfolded. It was one miracle after the next that enabled it. Just one after the next. It was unbelievable. And I've written the story. It's, uh, because people have asked me to do that because it has some very unusual things that happen along the way. And, uh, [00:55:00] it's, but it's been, it's been great, wonderful.

You know, I look back on my own life. A lot of people ask me what, what's Yeah, I'm 79 years, 78 years old now. And, uh, they asked me. Of all the things you've done, what are you most pleased about? What are you most proud of? I said, well, actually, um, it would be New Ebenezer and the orphanage of all the things I've done.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: and that's probably because if you come back to seeing the potential in things, like that was your drive to real estate and people and places. I would say that the impact that both of those organizations have had on, I mean, I'm sure you have hundreds or thousands of stories. The impact that that helps shorten those people's journeys or put them on a different path is just probably so much more rewarding than all of these other great. [00:56:00] Projects and buildings and companies that you've built over your career.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Yeah. Well, that's true. That's very true. And the thing about it, if you think about it from a, the idea and the concept of, uh, looking for potential in people and things, and when you can, when one can do something like that, when you really don't have the money. You're making 11, 000 a year, or whatever it was, 12, 000 a year at that time.

And, uh, but you have the vision and you have the, you feel like you have the calling to do it, where you're really stepping out on faith. And it was literally one miracle after the next that made all these things come about. And you think about that, you didn't have a lot of advantages per se, but you had a vision for it and you felt called to it and just stepping out and saying, I see the potential in this and I've got to do this.

And, and it [00:57:00] works out.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: well, thank you. That's really inspirational. And I hope it will impact some of our listeners in a way that, Hey, lift where you stand guys. It's, you don't have to wait. There's no perfect time to start something. Um,

as you look to the future, I know you say you're 78, you're 79, like, as you look to the future, and look, we just did this journey back, looking over your life and career, some of the highlights, um, what's exciting you most as you look to the future?

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: My three grandsons. I have three grandsons, twins that are 14. The young one's 13. He's bigger than the twins, and I'm really proud of them. They, uh, they're really fine young men. They're smart. They've got a great future ahead, and I'm just really excited to see how they grow and what they're going to do because they, they have some of the same interest I had when I was their age, and, [00:58:00] uh.

And, uh, they're great kids, and we love them a lot.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: as a grandfather, what are some of your favorite activities to do with them? Oh,

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: them fishing. Oh, and, uh, one taught me how to fish, really catch some fish in our lake the other day. He said, he said, Papi, he said, uh, weirder. It's kind of cold and they weren't biting very well. He said, here's something that I learned that might help. And so he showed me what he's doing. I said, all right, we'll try it.

We did. And the next thing I know, I caught a 12 pound bass. And, uh, so anyway, that was a, that was a victory. And, uh, I think those kinds of things, I take them fishing. Uh, we, we do some bird hunting, we do some hunting together. Uh, we have a place up on the Savannah River where we, we do that. Uh, I built a place there for the whole family to go up and use and enjoy.

Uh, I did that years ago. We've had it for [00:59:00] 35, 40, about 40 years now. And, uh, so this is a place I love to go with them. They like to go and we have, uh, electric goat cart, carts. And we go around the property. We have 2000 acres, 2200 acres on the river. And, uh, it's a pine plantation for pine trees. So that's the place.

It's quiet, it's away from the cities. And you, you can just do things they want to do and you like to do too. And so I really enjoy that.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: that's wonderful.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: gives me joy.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: this has been just a wonderful and inspirational conversation, Mr. Kessler. If people wanted to learn more about Kessler Collection, or you, or even hear about that story that you had published, what are some good ways for them to do that? And we can keep it all in the show notes, so you don't have to spell anything out.

Just give us the highlights.

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Okay. I think, uh, just go online and look up Kessler Collection and the Kessler Enterprise, and from that, [01:00:00] they can find the, uh, find out about my personal story and they'll find out about our company and our properties.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: Wonderful. And then we'll be sure also to put in the new Ebenezer information, and also the

Trutland House as

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Trutland

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: correctly? Trutland House. Um

Yeah, this has been just so wonderful. I just I know how busy you are and balancing family and work and and and Philanthropy and I'm just honored to be able to get to spend this time with you.

Mr. Kessler So I just want to say thank you for putting yourself out there and sharing your experience

richard-kessler_1_01-17-2025_091232: Well, thank you. Thank you.

dan-ryan_45_01-17-2025_091232: and I I also want to thank all of our listeners if this changed the way you think about hospitality or How you can make a difference in your business in your personal life in your community. Please pass it along.

We grow by word of mouth. We grow every week and we just thank you for listening. And thanks for being here.

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