In 2014, Ben Weprin decided to take people’s best college memories and spin them into a new business: Graduate Hotels. Each of the chain’s properties was decorated to reflect the character of the college town in which it was based, with photos of famous alums or life-sized sports mascots in the lobby. After 13 years in commercial real estate, Ben got the idea for Graduate after renovating a dilapidated Days Inn in Chicago, and realizing that a hotel can tell a story as well as—maybe even better than—a box of cereal or a pair of shoes. Although the Covid lockdowns threatened to bankrupt Graduate, Ben was able to secure the chain’s future by selling it to Hilton, and today the 35 (+) chain is expected to add dozens more properties. This episode was produced by Devan Schwartz with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research assistance from Katherine Sypher. Our engineers were Robert Rodriguez and James Willetts. You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Ah, and here we have travelers in their natural habitat enjoying guaranteed 04:00 p.m.
checkout at fine hotels and resorts booked through Amex travel.
And they don't even see what's coming at them.
We're in.
We got the table.
Yep.
With resi priority notify they're alerted when hard to get reservations open up reservation for two.
Mmm.
Save the best for last thanks to.
Amex Platinum, the last day vacation brings yet another experience that's the powerful backing of American Express.
Terms apply learn more@americanexpress.com withamex this episode is sponsored in part by Autotrader.
There's a good chance you're driving right now.
Look around safely.
What do you see?
Cars.
Lots of cars.
And guess what?
They're probably on Autotrader, whether youre into timeless classics or the latest trends.