EDITOR’S NOTE

I find progress and nostalgia equally interesting. As an optimistic forward-thinker, what’s new, what’s coming and what’s trending always piques my curiosity. As a sentimental, history-rooted individual, the past and its influence on the present strengthens my foundation and deepens my perspectives.

So while this issue’s cover story focuses on the transformative impact of technology, and how investing in it is investing in the future, my editor’s note is going to take a step back to focus on just one person who helped shape our hotel industry and where we are today: Bruce White. 

I remember starting my job here a number of years ago and interviewing this leader and visionary for a cover story—his name was larger than life to this new editor at Hotel Business, but his demeanor humble. The industry icon, and founder and chairman of White Lodging, passed away in 2023 at age 70 after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. He had founded the company in 1985 with a single hotel, ultimately growing the business into one of the industry’s largest privately held development, ownership and management companies.

Mike Banas, White Lodging’s senior director of  communications and corporate affairs, reached out to us recently to share a copy of a new memoir showcasing Bruce’s life and legacy. The book’s foreword is written by hospitality legend J.W. (Bill) Marriott Jr., who says of his longtime friend, “You couldn’t be a Marriott franchisee without knowing and benefiting from the knowledge, insights and friendship of Bruce White. He wanted us all to win: Marriott, White Lodging and hundreds of his franchisee peers. If that meant rattling our cages or pushing us to reconsider our policies, so be it. His heart was in the right place, and his integrity was unquestioned.”

Hospitalitarian: Bruce White’s Legacy tells the story of how Bruce was a hard-working, relentless perfectionist who was never satisfied with the status quo. He built a successful and well-respected company from his start in Northwest Indiana; from roadside hotels to experiential urban hotels in the U.S., Bruce ultimately developed 200-plus hotels and 60 independently branded restaurants across the country. He was an inspiration to hospitality entrepreneurs and introduced innovative concepts like the first dual- and tri-branded hotels—something that we often see in many portfolios today. The book shares stories of how he challenged conventional thinking in his “quest to be the best,” something that has become a part of his legacy and has inspired countless hoteliers.

The memoir is a story of the American Dream, that entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit that influenced the generations before him, as well as his parents, who moved to Shelby, IN, where his father took a fledgling sign company his father started and transformed it into a booming business. As the story goes—a story often shared by so many executives in this industry—Bruce fell in love with the hospitality industry as a teenager when he helped his dad open the Holiday Inn in Merrillville, IN. He recruited his friends to help load furniture, bus tables and clean dishes. And while he skipped his plan to go to graduate school to help his dad, it was a chance meeting with a Marriott executive that was the impetus to a lifelong passion and entrepreneurial success. And, in fact, a Marriott exec, Liam Brown, group president, U.S. & Canada, adds his perspective to the book.

The release of Hospitalitarian coincides with White Lodging’s 40th anniversary. Written by Kathi Ann Brown, it is available for purchase on Amazon. In addition to the memoir, a documentary version of the book will be available later this summer. 

So, while we’re all geared up to look for what’s next in our industry, it’s always good to take a moment to revisit what was—and how we got here, and who helped pave that way. 


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