“I run my hotel company as an extension of my family,” said Richard Widman, president of Charming Inns, Charleston, South Carolina.
In fact, Widman’s biological family seems to merge with his professional family. His wife, Linn Lesesne – who came to work for him in 1993 and married the boss – is vice president of sales and public relations. His daughter, Michelle Woodhull, is vice president of marketing and revenue management.
The innkeeper of one of the Charming properties, Noreen Marchant, moved over from a competitor in 2010 and, she said, as part of the Charming Inns family there is mutual support that makes this more than a job.
Charming Inns is a collection of four hotels, all in Charleston. Widman owns the brand and management company, and he has equity in all of the properties. He actually stumbled into hospitality by default.
Even as a small boy in Detroit he was always creative, thinking what he could do with something. “During high school I earned pocket money by bussing in a local restaurant; in college I waited tables in my spare time; in the U.S. Army I looked after generals,” he recollected.
Earning an MBA from Michigan State University specializing in hotel and restaurant management, he decided, finally, that hotels would be his career and although he had offers from Marriott and Westin he chose Holiday Inn as he thought that was the quickest way to work his way up to become a GM.
“And then in 1979 there I was, GM of the Holiday Inn, Mills House in Charleston, which had been reflagged from Hyatt,” he said. “And you know what, I decided I wanted my own hotel – my father, CEO of a global Fortune 500 company, could not believe the risks I was taking. I had US$15,000 of savings, got financial support from friends and family and was able to buy a run-down building.”
Widman chose a local designer, Pam Plowden, whom he still uses, and opened the 41-key Kings Courtyard Inn in 1983. ??Next he bought the dilapidated neighboring building that was to become the 45-key Fulton Lane Inn and two blocks away he restored the 19-key John Rutledge House Inn, once home of that signatory of the U.S. Constitution.
No restaurant was part of his business plan, until he bought Wentworth Mansion, which had been built in 1886 for the Rogers family, who had 12 children. “I wanted this one, with 21 bedrooms, to be the finest hotel in Charleston and it needed a great dining venue, which led to our opening Circa 1886, now a Forbes Four Star restaurant – and we soon added a spa” he continued. “I admit that when we opened Wentworth Mansion in 1998 I was directly targeting Charleston Place (now Belmond Charleston Place). To help increase awareness we signed up with Small Luxury Hotels of the World in 2001,” he recalled.
Charleston is the DNA of all his hotels. “We are its cobblestone streets, its secret gardens. We stress a blend of history and hospitality, culture and cuisine, art and architecture, warmth and grace,” Widman explained.
The hospitality comes out in his dislike of nickel-and-dime: all hotels come with complimentary breakfast and, depending on the property, daily afternoon tea, hors d’oeuvres and wine, nightly wine and cheese, brandy, port and sherry and wireless internet access.
Rates for a typical Saturday night, November 11, 2017, ranged from US$300 for Kings Courtyard Inn to US$525 for Wentworth Mansion. Occupancy for 2017 will be disrupted by hurricane Irma but he expects to close at 70% with average stay of 2.5 nights. Fully, 90% of business is domestic with the remainder led by Canada, then U.K. and Germany.Linn Lesesne chairs the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, lobbying to attract more international flights. “Everyone in the company is closely integrated with the community,” Widman said. “We are a total team of 130, including head office. All hotels have individual Innkeepers – no, not managers – but many functions are shared. Nothing is outsourced: Wentworth Mansion does laundry for its siblings.”
Many colleagues are long-stay (the manager of Wentworth Mansion’s Circa 1886 restaurant, Mark Severs, started as a bellman in 1998 and his wife, who joined the company two years later, is now special events coordinator).
All this fascinating content is detailed in the company website, which shows Charming Inns as a well-oiled machine with massive personality.? ?And the future? “No more hotels, my family will not let me,” Widman said with a smile. “And I am never going to sell. I have created every one of these hotels. The only thing that might make life even better is if we could find more youngsters to join us, and stay.”