Business View Magazine | June 2020

65 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2020 of is during the financial meltdown of 2008, we didn’t have a single hotel that had a foreclosure problem,” says Cargen. “All our hotels funded their replacement reserve accounts, which in the hotel business is what you keep on your balance sheets so you can periodically renovate your hotel every five to seven years. We funded all of those and every single investment group got some return on their investment – 2009 was considered the worst since 1933 and we didn’t have a single failure. Part of that is because I’m pretty restrictive on what we take on.” Hospitality America investigates about 25 potential new opportunities each year, of which two might be converted to contracts. According to Cargen, “We’re very careful in our litmus test and which projects we decide to engage with. From our expertise and ability to read financials and feasibility studies and look at the market, we as a company can project that to an owner to help them forecast what their profitability would be.” The company’s 850 employees span the active hotels operated by Hospitality America, plus two licensed Starbucks locations – one in Kansas City, Missouri in the Hampton Inn & Suites, and one in the Courtyard by Marriott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A notable highlight, the Kansas City location is the first fully-licensed Starbucks store in any Hampton Inn in the U.S. Windsor Aughtry, a leading commercial real estate developer and brokerage firm headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, has developed 25 to 30 hotels in the last 25 years, many of which Hospitality America manage on their behalf. Paul C. (Bo) Aughtry, III, Windsor Aughtry Chairman and CEO, formed a business relationship with Christopher Cargen 25 years ago. Today, Bo is responsible for all commercial development and investment within Windsor Aughtry and is also a partner of Hospitality America and an award-winning developer of Hilton properties. That strong bond between Cargen and Aughtry continues to enhance and benefit the success of both the men and their companies. HOSP I TAL I TY AMER I CA