Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / From Incarcerated to Hotel of the Year: Danny Owen's Remarkable Journey at Country Inn and Suites

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From Incarcerated to Hotel of the Year: Danny Owen's Remarkable Journey at Country Inn and Suites · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:12
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. As you listen today, let one
0:18
idea shape what you do next. My name is Anthony Kotos Bodi
0:21
and today's guest is Danny Owen, General Manager of the Country
0:25
Inn and Suites by Radisson in Abingdon, VA.
0:29
A cozy 79 room property operated by OMA Management, Country Inn
0:34
and Suites is an upper mid scale hotel brand that believes every
0:38
traveler deserves a home away from home.
0:41
Guests start each day with a complimentary hot breakfast,
0:45
make your own waffles while you enjoy the free Wi-Fi and relax
0:48
and welcoming shared spaces designed to feel like a living
0:52
room on the road across the Americas, more than 450 Country
0:57
Inn and Suites locations follow the simple rule.
1:00
Treat people like family. Under Danny's leadership, the
1:04
hotel has earned guest satisfaction, scores and repeat
1:07
business. Danny was named 2019 Ambassador
1:11
of the Year by Coakley and Williams and was a finalist for
1:14
Country Inn and Suites General Manager of the Year in 2020
1:18
before stepping into the GM role.
1:19
He spent over a decade rising through sales, revenue and front
1:23
office positions, giving him a 360° view of hotel success.
1:29
Now before we get into all that good stuff, today's episode is
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2:18
All right, back to our guest today, the GM of Country Inn and
2:21
Suites by Radisson. Danny Owen, thanks for making
2:24
the time to Share your story today.
2:26
Thanks for inviting me. And a happy birthday to you as
2:30
we record today on February 16th.
2:33
Happy birthday to you. Thank you.
2:36
So honored to share this special day with you.
2:38
Let's jump in. What was your first experience
2:40
in the hotel industry? Your first job experience.
2:44
My first job experience was actually right here and I
2:49
started out my journey with this hotel as house person, which is
2:58
someone that takes the trash out, sweeps and mops the floors,
3:07
helps guests if they need help with their luggage, those sort
3:10
of things. And that's that's where I began.
3:14
That was about 17 years ago. OK.
3:18
What kind of work had you been doing up until that point?
3:22
Up until that point, I was working for myself, was doing
3:27
some general contracting Lane ceramic tile.
3:32
I was a big part of it, would do some roofing, but I got tired of
3:39
that and my body got tired of it.
3:42
So another profession was in store.
3:48
I'll tell you more about that later.
3:50
OK. All right.
3:51
We'll come back to that. So you started at this hotel 17
3:56
years ago as a house person and have you been at this hotel ever
4:01
since working your way up or did you leave and come back?
4:04
No, I've been here ever since I have.
4:09
The general manager at that time was a big inspiration to me.
4:14
So I had when he hired me, I told him I said you'll not
4:19
regret it, just give me an opportunity.
4:22
And he did. And every time another area came
4:27
open, I would ask if I could cross train in it.
4:32
And he said I think it's a great idea.
4:34
So I begin cross training in housekeeping.
4:38
I cleaned rooms, cross trained in maintenance, actually done
4:45
the breakfast bar for seven months by myself.
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So I did that. And then a position on the front
4:55
desk came open and I asked him if it would be possible for me
5:00
to learn that that I felt like that that would be an area that
5:04
I would like to to be in. And he said absolutely.
5:08
And I guess the rest is, as you would say, history.
5:12
So. So have you always had this
5:15
curious part of your personality, always a desire to
5:19
learn more? Because not everybody is like
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that, right? Not everybody would step up and
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say some people would just get comfortable in what they're
5:25
doing and the routine of it. But you seem to be wired a
5:28
little differently. Well, I think probably am wired
5:33
a little differently because I not, I'm not going to say I'm
5:37
not ever satisfied with status quo, but I like to.
5:43
If there's an opportunity for me to improve myself or my standing
5:48
or my position, that's I think that's something that everyone
5:54
should be interested in doing. I think far too many times
5:59
people are just content, have a job, go to work, go home and
6:05
really give no thought to what else could I do to benefit my
6:12
company? What else can I do to benefit
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myself? And I think if if more people
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would would, would think in that mindset, they would see
6:22
themselves in their career expand and improve.
6:29
So you got a chance to learn each of the different components
6:33
of how a hot hotel operates. You, you know, actually took on
6:37
these roles. How many years ago was it that
6:39
the GM position became available to you?
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That would have been about 7 years ago.
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I was the assistant General manager before that and the GM
6:58
that hired me, his name was George.
7:01
Fantastic guy, very knowledgeable, taught me a lot.
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He had decided to retire and previous to that I was being
7:16
sent around a lot of locations around the country, Carson City,
7:21
NV, Boone, NC, Mount Pleasant, SC, different areas for the
7:28
management company assisting other properties that were
7:33
either struggling or were without AGM.
7:36
And I would go in and be the interim GM until they got
7:40
somebody hired and put in there. So I that was a lot of it.
7:45
And then that would have been about 7 years ago when I had
7:52
stopped doing that for a while. My wife hated I was gone all the
7:56
time and it kind of put a damp wrong, you know, your family
8:02
life being traveling a lot like that.
8:05
And the position came open and he recommended me for the
8:10
position that I had a a regional manager for the company that we
8:19
were with at that time. And he had been with me at one
8:25
of the locations, I think it was in Mount Pleasant.
8:29
And he said there's nobody that we would prefer to have there
8:34
than you, you know, the property, you've been there, you
8:38
know what it takes. So we would like to have you
8:42
take the management position. You know, what's interesting to
8:45
me is even before you became the GM there, they were having you
8:49
travel around the country to be an interim GM at properties that
8:54
were missing somebody or maybe just struggling.
8:57
So clearly they saw a ton of value in your skills and your
9:01
leadership ability even before you had taken on that GM role
9:05
because they sent you in as a fixer.
9:08
Well, I don't like the toot bone horn, but I, I do agree that,
9:13
you know, they, I think they, they saw something in me, the,
9:18
the drive that I have that I had that I still have to, to make
9:24
things better to I'm always looking for ways to improve.
9:28
How can I improve my guest satisfaction scores?
9:32
How can I improve the property overall?
9:36
What, what is there that I can reach and and do and put into
9:43
place to make things better? And I think, I think they did
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see that was part of my part of my drive.
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I was also Rookie of the Year sales director too, by the way.
9:59
What year was that? That was in 2016.
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Well, and one accolade that we didn't mention in the intro that
10:14
just came to my attention, this is back in 2021 when you were
10:18
part of Coakley, a group of maybe 350 hotels.
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You guys out of all 350 were named Hotel of the year.
10:28
We were. How did that happen?
10:34
By the grace of God and a lot of hard work, determination, we had
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exceeded our, our goals on our budget and things just, I don't
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know, just one of those years when everything just seemed to
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fall into place. Just an amazing time that we
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were able to to XLS a hotel and, you know, had a great team.
11:06
And that's one thing that, you know, when they asked me to
11:09
speak, it was over over 500 people present.
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And so, you know, we'd like for you to tell your story.
11:16
I said, OK, sure I will. And and was able to, you know,
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tell them, you know, it's not, it's not me.
11:28
It wasn't ever me, it was the team that I have in place, the,
11:33
the people that look out, that take that take care of me.
11:38
I'll put it like that. They take care of not only the
11:40
guests, but they look after me. They, they know what I expect
11:46
And as crazy as it may seem, they, they like to go above and
11:51
beyond and show me what they can do And, and I like that.
11:56
I appreciate that and that led us.
12:01
Like I said, all of our goals were met and exceeded.
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Our satisfaction scores were through the roof and we were
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just honored to to be actually our first year with the Hotel
12:17
Equities management company that our first year to win that title
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and we were just beside ourselves.
12:26
I mean so delighted. That's awesome.
12:29
Now I understand, you know, you've also gone through some
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challenging transitions, right? Like you guys have changed
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flags, which is just industry lingo that says you went from 1
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brand to another, which happens and you've changed hands in
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terms of management companies. Having kind of been through
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those transitions, what are some things, first of all that were
12:52
challenges to get through them? And then how did you deal with
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them? What were some of your coping
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mechanisms? Well, as far as the branding and
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changing the flag, that was probably, I'm going to say that
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was the most difficult part, having to learn a complete new
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system. As far as the computer, you
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know, before we were using a system called Opera and I, I had
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been in that system for years and years and I could navigate
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and do basically anything that anybody else could do.
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And we, we didn't even have to call for support.
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They would just call me and say, hey, I'm not able to fix this.
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Can you? And I'll you.
13:43
Were the support. I was the support changing over
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to another platform. That was probably the most
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challenging part. Having to learn, you know,
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teaching an old dog new tricks, so to speak.
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Having to learn that that system, be prepared on it,
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learning their new, you know, everybody has their brand
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standards, every hotel, every brand having to learn and adhere
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to their brand standards, which were similar in a lot of ways,
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but in some ways that they were different.
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So having to make changes in that changes in ordering who we
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order from and the the things that we were our supplies that
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we get in making those changes. You know, that's, that's all
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challenging within itself when you, you know, been used to, to
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doing something the same way for years and years and then being
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thrown into something that's was totally out of my wheelhouse at
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that point. I've never been with the the
14:58
choice brand. I didn't know a lot about it,
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but it was a, a, a difficult transition.
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And honestly, we're, we're still working, working some kinks out
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of that. You know, we, I'm not going to
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say choice made us feel like the redheaded stepchild, but in some
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ways they did. We went to a conference and, and
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we weren't really mentioned a whole lot that the new brand the
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first year. So I, I was kind of let down by
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that, but they have since come around and they are pushing the
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brand, pushing as far as new builds and taking on existing
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properties that are looking to change flags.
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So they're expanding, growing every year, every day, just
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expanding and doing a lot with the brand.
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And you know, I'm, I'm happy to be in the brand now.
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It was a, it was a transition of sorts that I wasn't expecting.
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You know, they, they made the announcement and it's like here
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this you don't have a choice in this.
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You're going to be a choice property now.
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So here you are. Yeah, you become really
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comfortable in the previous brand.
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I mean you, you had started from the ground up, you learned all
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the different parts of the operation and, and the sort of
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the framework, the lattice throughout all of it was, you
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know, the the prior brand And now you've got to change that.
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All the infrastructure who you're ordering from the
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software that you're using, that's a that's a lot to take
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on. Those were a lot of changes.
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And how long has it been since that transition took place?
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That would have been when what did the choice by Radisson?
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Maybe three years ago, Four years ago.
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I'm going to say OK. And like I said, it's, you know,
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it's still a work in progress for us, you know, having to, to,
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to change a lot of the things were similar, but a lot were
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different that we've had to adjust to.
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And, and that's fine. I, I understand that, you know,
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every, every brand has its own, has its own thing going.
17:28
And, but we're, we're, we were settled into it.
17:33
Now we're working it and it's working for us and we we do like
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the brand. We've got AI think we have an
17:42
excellent product here for. Tell us about that product and
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what is it that sets Country and Sweets apart?
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Well, I can't really say about the country and the suites.
17:54
I could tell you about our hotel.
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What sets? To that yeah, right there in
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Abington. Virginia.
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Here's Abington, Virginia, You know, a little town in southwest
18:03
Virginia that hosts the Creeper Trail, that host the State
18:09
Theatre for the state of Virginia.
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Tourism is a big, big, huge part of our traffic that we get
18:19
through here. And then of course, we're right
18:21
on Interstate 81, so we have a lot of transient coming off the
18:26
Interstate getting a room. I think what separates us from
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the pack has always been our customer service.
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And I'm a, I'm a big, big, big on customer service.
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I've found, you know, through the years working my way through
18:51
every department. And I think, I think every
18:54
general, every general manager should do that.
18:56
I think they should get hands on, get in there and see what
19:00
what your housekeepers having to deal with, what your maintenance
19:05
is going through, what the breakfast folks are having to
19:08
deal with. I think if if, if they would do
19:11
that, that they and then you'll have a better understanding of
19:15
your hotel for one. And then you have a better
19:19
understanding of your guest. I have also, I have found that
19:24
guest when they stay at a hotel, their first impression when they
19:30
come in that front, when they come in that front door is the
19:34
most the important. And then the second most
19:38
important is as they leave. People like to be acknowledged.
19:43
People like to be talked to and sing.
19:47
Of course, you you'll get that occasional one that doesn't want
19:50
to say anything and and here just give me my key.
19:52
I want to go to the room, but for the most part, a guest that
19:59
has felt comfortable coming in, has felt at home, has been
20:06
greeted with a smile and the smell of warm, fresh baked
20:12
cookies, which goes to the hotel every afternoon.
20:19
That guest will overlook a small thing that might have been.
20:27
Not exactly right in the room. You guys really go out of your
20:33
way to create this home away from home experience.
20:36
You have to, I mean, if you want, otherwise you're, you're
20:40
just, you're just a hotel. And I, I mean, and we are just a
20:44
hotel, but we want to be more than a hotel as we understand
20:48
that, you know, people are traveling and you know, they've
20:52
been on, they may have been on the road for 810 hours and
20:57
they're not, they want, they want that comfort feeling when
21:00
they come in. And that's what we provide here.
21:03
We, we, we go out of our way. We will do whatever is
21:07
necessary. Bad weather.
21:11
We, we were without power for several hours.
21:15
So myself, other members of my team came in.
21:21
We made sure that people had flashlights where they could
21:25
see, made sure that everything that we could possibly do even
21:30
without power, that that we could provide for them was
21:34
provided to let them know, hey, we're here for you.
21:37
We care. We understand that this is not a
21:40
good not a good situation, but we're going to make the best out
21:44
of it and we want you to make the best out of it and be able
21:47
to even going as far as feeding them.
21:52
People couldn't get out in their vehicle.
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So I'll go out to we have a Walmart not far from us.
21:57
Go to Walmart, get, get sandwich meats and bread and bring it
22:02
back and let everybody pick sandwiches and and chips and
22:06
things drinks, you know, with no power, you can't get a drink out
22:10
of the machine. So, you know, we, we, we try to,
22:13
we try to be that hotel that steps above what anybody else
22:17
will offer to do. And that's, that's what sets us
22:22
apart. That's that's why our scores
22:24
have always been great scores. You know, we're, I think one of
22:33
the mottos is great hotel guests love.
22:35
That's us. We have so much repeat business.
22:40
You know, we, I've got people that are here that came in and,
22:45
and met me 12 years ago, 15 years ago.
22:51
And when they come back, they'll say, is Danny still here?
22:54
They remember. You they remember.
22:56
You left an impression. And that's, that's the thing
22:58
that that is most important to me is leaving that lasting and
23:03
that good impression. You can leave a good one or you
23:06
can leave a bad one. So we want.
23:09
What are you going to choose to leave?
23:11
Which one? What I love about this story is
23:13
that, you know, I'm hearing you guys step up in these crises
23:17
situations to do whatever you can to make the best out of a
23:21
bad situation. But on a regular, like daily
23:23
basis, I'm hearing, you know, these aren't cookies in a, you
23:27
know, prepackaged plastic bag. These are you're making them
23:31
fresh on the spot. Yeah, fresh bag.
23:33
I mean, we do it behind the desk, I mean, and you can minute
23:36
you walk in the door from check in time 3:00 we we start
23:43
preparing the cookies. So I guess walk in the door,
23:45
they smell that fresh cookies and then they're they're like,
23:49
oh man, that smells so good. Well, that's that's that's who
23:53
we are. We had a the hurricane affected
23:58
a lot of the area here of the last one that came through and
24:02
it one of the little small towns called Damascus, Virginia was
24:10
almost just washed away. It was it was horrible the
24:15
things that we we were watching and seeing and just a little
24:22
quick story. I had a bus that came through.
24:26
We do a lot of group bus groups and they've been coming with us
24:31
for years, ever since I had started in the hotel as far as
24:36
on the front desk and I I knew the owners, they knew me.
24:41
They had came through and when they stopped on their first stop
24:44
in all my team was here preparing a big dinner in the
24:51
kitchen, bringing food in. So the victim the of the
24:56
hurricane that that didn't have power didn't have had lost a lot
25:01
of them lost everything they had.
25:03
We were feeding them. We had a big meal prepared for
25:06
them and the people on the bus came in and I'll throw it out
25:11
here friendly tours, an awesome bunch of folks.
25:16
They, they saw what we were doing and when they left, they,
25:24
they went to Nashville. I think they had to stop us for
25:28
what they were doing. And then they stopped with us
25:30
coming back. So when they came back, they
25:35
Vicki got off the bus and she ran inside.
25:37
Just smile and just so happy. She said you're not going to
25:41
believe this. And I said, what's that?
25:42
She said we took up a note donation on the bus that the
25:46
folks wanted to give to help because they saw what you were
25:50
doing for the people. They took up a donation, she
25:54
said. And we were going to match it,
25:58
but we don't have enough cash to match it.
25:59
So we're going to have to write you a check.
26:02
So they had, they had taken up and when everything was said and
26:06
done, it was they presented a check.
26:09
I had the the mayor of Damascus, the mayor of Abington met here
26:15
with the the tour bus group and had pictures made with them.
26:20
They presented the the town of Damascus with $3000 to help and
26:28
it's all started because they saw what we were willing to do
26:31
to help others. I had one room set out of put
26:36
out order and offered it free showers to families that had no
26:43
water, had no word at, but just needed some place to shower.
26:47
And man, that thing was used. Oh my God, I don't know how many
26:51
times. And I had one person that stayed
26:54
to clean behind them. Families three and three, three
26:58
to five people in their family, families coming in, taking
27:02
advantage of it. And then they're like, we can't
27:04
believe you're doing this for us.
27:05
And I'm like, this is who we are.
27:08
This is definitely who we are. We help, we want to help.
27:12
We want to be that hotel that you remember that did something
27:17
no other, no other hotel did. You know, a lot of hotels not
27:23
missing any names, Jack their rates up because you know,
27:29
availability is going down people and without places just
27:32
we never did. You kept your rates the same
27:36
supply demand that. I went, I went just a little bit
27:39
lower than what our normal rates were.
27:43
If you come in and tell me that you were here because you lost
27:46
your home, you were here because you had no power, we gave them a
27:53
discount on top of of of the regular rate because to me, I'm
28:00
an ordained minister as well. By the way, to me, you never go
28:04
wrong by doing something right. And I felt like that was the
28:11
thing to do. And, and my my owners then was
28:16
Copley Williams. They were, they were so honored
28:19
and so proud of, of what my team did.
28:23
And a lot of they did without even telling me they were going
28:26
to do it. That's just, it's a different
28:29
mindset and culture in Southwest Virginia than it is and a lot of
28:33
other places, you know, like New York, DC, your big areas.
28:39
We're, we're country. I mean, we're just a country.
28:44
It's going to be. And we're not ashamed and we're
28:47
not ashamed of it. I mean, there's nothing wrong
28:49
with being country. Danny, you're a you're a Santa
28:53
Claus. You're a Santa Claus in crisis
28:55
situations. We were country when country
28:57
wasn't cool. I love that story on so many
29:02
levels. That's great.
29:04
You, you know, you were the living example for this is what
29:07
you do. And then other people see that
29:11
and then they want to turn around and give back into the
29:14
$3000 or stick around to clean, help clean those showers that
29:18
people were using like that. That's amazing.
29:20
And let's talk around the employees did and they, they
29:23
weren't on the clock, they just did it on their own.
29:26
And they, they've always amazed me at how above and beyond that
29:31
they would go for our guest. And, and I'm just so happy and
29:37
so pleased with them. And I'm happy to be a a part of
29:41
of what we do here. Tell us a little bit more about
29:45
Abington because you're saying that tourism is a huge part of,
29:50
you know, the community and what drives, you know, guests to your
29:53
hotel. You mentioned I think it's the
29:54
creeper trail. What is that?
29:56
What else is there to do around there?
29:58
The Creeper Trail is a 34 mile hiking biking trail from the
30:04
second highest peak in Virginia down into the town of Abington.
30:11
It's beautiful. People come from all over the
30:16
country to, to, to hike and bike that trail.
30:19
And it is, it's absolutely breathtaking.
30:22
The views, the, the hurricane did a lot of damage.
30:26
We've got crews in there now that are still here trying to
30:30
repair the damage that, that it did.
30:34
It's still not back 100%. They're still working on it.
30:38
But it's a beautiful hiking, biking trail.
30:43
The the State Theatre for of Virginia, the Barter Theatre is
30:48
also here in town. And it's, it's a big draw.
30:54
You know the, as I was saying earlier, the you know, some of
30:58
the big name individuals performed at the bar theater
31:03
here in town and some of them got their start.
31:06
Ernest Borg 9, Gregory Peck. You know, some, some big names
31:12
that have have been here. We have the some of the best
31:17
food. You know, this admin has been
31:20
chosen best small food has been in the top.
31:25
I think we won it one year and second one year.
31:27
We've been in the top 4/5 every year as long as I can remember.
31:33
We have the Crooked Roads music Festival.
31:40
Yeah, that goes on. We, you know, there's so many
31:42
different activities and things that that happen in and around
31:47
within a 15 minute drive of, of Abington.
31:51
It's, you know, we are 2025 minutes from the Bristol Motor
31:59
Speedway. So that's how far southwest we
32:03
are. We're we're right on the
32:04
Virginia line, 19 miles from the Virginia State line, Tennessee
32:08
State line, so. Yeah.
32:10
I want to go back to your team for a moment, Danny, because
32:13
you're talking about some of the things that the team did on
32:16
their own without even telling you, you know, following your
32:19
examples, certainly, And, you know, some of the employees
32:23
sticking around off the clock to, you know, help clean the
32:26
shower facilities that people were using.
32:28
What's your approach to attracting and retaining good
32:34
team members in an industry where there's traditionally
32:36
pretty high turnover? There is a, you know,
32:40
unfortunately, you know, we have, we don't have, I'm not
32:45
going to say a high turnover here.
32:48
We, we have some that have, my head housekeeper has been here
32:53
25 years and I've got some housekeepers that have been here
32:59
78910 years that stay with us. As far as how we retain them, I
33:11
think you, you just have to treat them like you would want
33:15
to be treated. And that's what we do.
33:18
The gold, the golden rule. Do unto others as you'd have
33:21
them doing to you. We, we try to be fair.
33:26
We pay a, you know, for the area.
33:30
We pay a good wage. I like to do things for my team.
33:37
I feed them usually once or twice a month, just out of my
33:43
own pocket. Just buy lunch for everybody
33:48
during housekeeping week. We'll, we'll have games and
33:52
prizes. We have a Christmas party every
33:55
year for our employees and we have giveaways that my head
34:02
housekeeper and usually a couple housekeepers go out and our
34:06
local businesses and restaurants will donate door prizes.
34:10
So, you know, it's we, we do things for them.
34:14
I feel like they're that we are a family here and we really are.
34:20
We, you know, if they have, if they have a problem or have a
34:25
concern or something, they know my door is always open.
34:29
Come and see me. You know, maybe if you just need
34:33
somebody to talk to, come and see me.
34:36
I might not be able to help you. Maybe I can, maybe I can't.
34:41
But I do have two ears that listen and I can listen twice as
34:46
much as I can talk. So that having that mindset with
34:52
your employees that, you know, doing special things for them,
34:58
making them feel important. You know, having an employee of
35:03
the month, having an employee of the year, you know, doing
35:07
different things and activities with them.
35:11
You know, we have an outdoor pool, having a pool party with
35:13
them just doing things that other hotels in the area don't
35:19
do. Some of the other hotels
35:22
probably pay a little better, some of your larger, more
35:29
upscale brands, but they can't keep the help like we do.
35:34
I I get a call from them quite often and you don't have any
35:40
applications that you could turn me on to do you, But you know,
35:47
it's just a. I'll create a pretty special
35:50
place to work. Yeah, You know, you got to have
35:52
a good work environment. You know, I don't, I don't want
35:57
anybody arguing. I don't want any.
35:59
You know, of course people are human.
36:01
You're going to have people who don't always worry on
36:03
everything. But you know, for the most part,
36:06
it's just we try to have a, a great atmosphere to work in and
36:13
we want them, you know, I want my employees to know that I
36:16
really care about. Yeah.
36:17
And it's, it's evident and everything that you're saying
36:20
and all the examples that you gave there.
36:21
And I think, you know, as you talk about the ways that you try
36:24
to support your employees, hey, come talk to me.
36:27
You know, I've got 2 ears. I can, you know, listen twice as
36:30
well as I can talk. I think you've got a lot of good
36:33
life experiences that you're probably able to draw from and,
36:36
and supporting people. And I'd be curious to hear about
36:40
particularly big challenge that you've had to overcome in your
36:44
life, Danny, and how you did that.
36:48
Well, putting it out there, just being open and being vulnerable
36:56
as, as one might say, before I started work here, I had been
37:04
working for myself, but I had made some bad choices of mine
37:10
and wound up being incarcerated, had a drug problem, wound up
37:23
spending about a year and a half behind bars during that time.
37:36
Of course, it gives you a lot of time to think and reflect when
37:40
you're when you're there. I had just to be honest, I had
37:48
changed my felt like I was changing my life.
37:52
I gave my heart over to the Lord and continued to pray while I
38:00
was in there that God would put me somewhere that He wanted to
38:05
be me to be. When I got out, I walked to my
38:11
first interview here because this was my first job after
38:16
being incarcerated. I walked to it and sat down with
38:21
the general manager and the head housekeeper and basically was in
38:30
tears. I said I, I know you know my
38:35
history. I'm not holding anything back.
38:39
I'm, I'm letting you know upfront what I've been through
38:43
and where I've been, but I'm not that person.
38:47
Now, if you would just give me an opportunity, just give me a
38:52
chance to prove myself. That's all I'm asking.
38:58
And I promise you, I won't let you down.
39:02
That was 17 years ago. The lady that hired me, the head
39:10
housekeeper for house person position now works for me and we
39:16
have a great working relationship.
39:20
I have I'm there is a or there was a program where convicted
39:30
felons that were out on basically a work release type
39:35
program and I signed us up and we use Sam.
39:42
I said, you know, everybody deserves a second chance.
39:47
I don't care who you are, I don't care where you've been or
39:50
what you've done. You deserve a second chance.
39:54
And so many and some of them or some of them are still here
39:59
today that that we hired. Because I, I understand where
40:05
they've been, that they might have been incarcerated or they
40:08
were incarcerated. I understand where they've been.
40:10
I understand the struggles of trying to find a job with a
40:14
felony on your record. It's, it's, it's not easy.
40:21
So being able to understand them and their struggles and share
40:27
with them where I had been and what I came through and how I
40:33
made a determination to put my mind to it and, and take where I
40:40
felt like God had placed me and use that to grow myself because
40:48
I needed growth. I needed, I needed the
40:51
experience. I needed the, the people, a
40:55
support system around me. And I did, and I had that.
41:00
My wife and I've been married 34 years.
41:05
So we've been through, we've been through a lot.
41:07
Thick and. Thin through good and bad.
41:12
I always tell her I said I would never have blamed you had you
41:14
left me but she said no. She said I would never leave you
41:19
and you know, we're still together.
41:23
August the 13th will be 35 years.
41:26
So we're you know, where I came from and what I the adversities
41:32
that I faced coming out from from being incarcerated,
41:40
somebody giving me that first initial opportunity and you
41:47
know, when I started at his house person.
41:49
I never drained that it would be a career for me.
41:51
It, it was I've got to have a job.
41:54
I need to, I've got to get back into society.
41:57
I want to I want to be a, a, a working member of society that
42:06
that people will see where I've been and know where I came from
42:10
and know where I'm know the path that I'm on now.
42:17
I have a Facebook page and I had posted on there the Washington
42:25
County, our Chamber of Commerce had asked me to do the
42:32
invocation and opening for the chamber and I have a chamber
42:36
breakfast every once a month and asked me to do the invocation
42:42
and, and opening prayer and all for the chamber breakfast.
42:47
And I made a post, I said, you know, 1718 years ago my biggest
42:55
contribution to Washington County was being an inmate.
43:00
And today I had the honor and privilege of opening the Chamber
43:04
of Commerce breakfast with an invocation in the prayer.
43:10
So, you know, it's been an amazing journey for me.
43:14
It's been very eye opening, this industry.
43:19
I'll absolutely love it. I don't know.
43:22
It's it was like I said, I had asked God to place me somewhere
43:27
and I always felt like he did and I felt like this was the
43:31
place he wanted me and I'm still here.
43:35
So Danny, what do you feel was the catalyst for your turn
43:39
around? Was it the moment of
43:40
incarceration? Was it kicking the drug problem?
43:44
Was it finding religion or was it something else?
43:51
I think it was a little bit of both, but primarily my faith,
43:58
the faith that I haven't got being able to know that, you
44:04
know, he was somebody that I could count on.
44:07
And you know, I cried like a baby when I was in there one
44:13
night. And when when I asked him to
44:15
come into my heart and I had struggle with how could
44:23
somebody, how could a God love somebody like me that had done
44:31
all these terrible things and had this addiction.
44:35
I struggled with how how he could do that.
44:37
And it's just like I could hear him speak to him and he said,
44:40
you know, I loved y'all alone. You were just on the wrong path.
44:45
And so, you know, my, my spiritual life is a big, huge
44:52
part of who I am right now. And it's, it's a huge part of,
44:58
of my being a general manager. I, I don't force my religion on
45:03
anybody and none of my employees, but they all know who
45:06
I am and what I am and where I've been.
45:10
And I had their I think I have all of their love and respect
45:15
and that that means a lot to me. How did you get connected with
45:20
Faith in Prison? Was there somebody there that
45:23
helped you? There was, I had a gentleman
45:29
that came in and I guess what you said gave his testimony one
45:35
night. And as he was talking and, and
45:38
going through everything that he was saying that he had done and
45:42
been, it was like looking or listening to my own life story,
45:50
look, looking in the mirror. And it's like, wow, this guy has
45:54
done everything I've done, been everywhere I've been and look at
45:58
him now. And it was just an amazing
46:04
opportunity for me to turn things around.
46:07
And just like I told my wife, I said, I, I just took it and ran
46:13
with it more or less. I mean, that's, that's, that's
46:17
all I can say. I mean, I, I, I, I felt his, his
46:24
story just was so much like where I had been and was he had
46:28
been incarcerated as well. Now he owned his own trucking
46:32
company, was a great member of society doing giving back to
46:42
others. And so that's, that's, that's
46:44
who I wanted to be. I wanted to be somebody like him
46:47
that hopefully would be an inspiration to others that they
46:53
could see that even though you've made a bad mistake, it
46:57
you don't have to continue that path.
47:00
There's always an option. If you just seek it, you'll find
47:05
it. The main thing I've, I've always
47:08
said if you change nothing, nothing changes.
47:13
So that was, that was where I, when I came out, that was my
47:17
main thought you change nothing, nothing changes.
47:20
So I'm, I've had to change everything had to change.
47:23
Friends had to change places I went, had to, you know, make a
47:27
lot of changes in my life, my lifestyle, the whole 9 yards.
47:33
And I guess might say just the rest is history.
47:37
So say more, Danny, about the challenges that formerly
47:42
incarcerated folks have coming out of prison.
47:45
As you mentioned, one of the big ones that I think a lot of
47:48
people aren't aware of is when you've got a felony on your
47:51
record that disqualifies you from so many jobs.
47:55
Yeah. I think if you went out and
47:56
asked most people like a general poll, do you think, you know,
47:59
everybody deserves a second chance?
48:01
Oh, sure, sure. You know.
48:03
But then, you know, ask those same people, would you be
48:05
willing to hire a felon? Oh.
48:07
Yeah. So what are some of the other,
48:09
you know, like unseen challenges that folks run into?
48:13
Well, that being the of course, the biggest, you know, and
48:18
unfortunately a lot of us speaking for myself, I came out,
48:23
I came out with nothing but the clothes on my back.
48:27
Literally everything else I had my wife had had been either
48:34
stolen or given away or taken. So we came out, we had we had
48:39
nothing. That is a a a big challenge
48:46
renting a place. People do a background check on,
48:51
on you when they, when you apply or, or fill out an application
48:56
for rental, they they would do that background check.
49:00
And unfortunately a lot of, a lot of places will not hire you
49:04
or or will not rent to you if you have a felony on your record
49:09
as well. I said, I'm a I'm not only a
49:15
believer in the second chances, I'm one that gives second
49:18
chances. And matter of fact, I just hired
49:23
a young lady this morning. She came in and she told me
49:27
everything about herself and where she'd been and and how she
49:31
was changed, had changed her life and she wanted that
49:34
opportunity. And I could see a little of me
49:36
and her. And I sent her back to my head
49:39
housekeeper. She talked to her and she came
49:43
back. She said, well, I hired her.
49:44
She starts in the morning. I said great, great.
49:48
So not only do I believe in it, I practice it too.
49:52
What's your superpower, Danny? Oh my superpower.
50:04
Put the humility aside. I don't.
50:11
I've never really give it much thought as to having a
50:14
superpower. It's there, it's there.
50:24
I, I guess if I were to say, to say anything, my, my superpower
50:30
would probably be my ability to be understanding, to be that
50:44
listener, be that person that, that not only listens, but will
50:54
offer you advice. We'll try to help others.
51:01
You know, I, I, the hotel, we do a lot of churches.
51:12
They have pastors that come in and, and they, they need a place
51:16
for them to stay, you know, for revival this and that.
51:22
All the churches in this area, they use me.
51:25
They use this hotel because they know who I am, what I stand for
51:29
and how we treat our guests and how I treat my employees.
51:35
So they're, they're always willing and always use only us.
51:41
And that, that makes me feel good.
51:43
They call and say, oh, we won't use nobody but you, you know,
51:47
and some of them will spend thousands of thousands of
51:51
dollars at a time just putting their guests and their their
51:55
people up here. Always makes me feel good when
51:59
somebody says we came back because of so and so.
52:04
Not because the it's it's a great hotel, but because of an
52:09
individual that made an impression because your
52:13
breakfast lady was so wonderful, because your housekeepers, they
52:19
clean the room so good because your front desk person went out
52:24
of their way to make me feel at home.
52:27
When I came in, I'd been on the road all day and and it was just
52:32
amazing how they made me feel about toot my own horn, but kind
52:38
of on TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor, which it still is
52:46
huge, but used to be a really big thing for travelers and it
52:52
still is for a lot of them. But a TripAdvisor you can enter
52:58
a search word in and it will show you all the reviews that
53:03
have that particular word in it. So my, my GM at that time put my
53:11
name in, put Danny in it and hit search.
53:15
And he said, come here, I want to show you this.
53:18
And I'm like, Oh my God, I didn't realize there's that
53:22
many. And it was like so many 100 of
53:26
reviews that mentioned me in particular when I was working
53:30
the desk. And I was like, wow.
53:32
He said, yeah, that's the reason that you're here and that's the
53:37
reason that you're going to continue excelling in this
53:39
profession. So.
53:42
I love that, you know, for folks who are listening that they're
53:45
looking for ways to better themselves.
53:47
Danny, what, what would you recommend?
53:50
Traditionally, I asked folks for like a podcast or a book
53:54
recommendation. And maybe that's what you want
53:56
to give here too. But I want to make it a broader
53:59
question for you since you've you've been through the roller
54:03
coaster of life, but what advice do you have for folks looking to
54:07
improve themselves? Don't be afraid to take chances.
54:18
I took a chance on this profession and it turned out to
54:24
be something that I absolutely loved.
54:26
I didn't know I'd love it at the time, but I took a chance on it
54:31
and there's a book called Winning, Winning the the Winning
54:43
the World War of the Mind. I can't remember the the
54:49
author's name, but excellent book.
54:56
It it has a lot of spiritual ties to it.
55:01
I would say look within yourself, find that faith, find
55:06
find that inner person and and look for ways to improve that
55:14
person. I'm not perfect by any means.
55:19
You could ask my wife, she'll tell you that I'm always looking
55:25
to try to find a way to not only better myself, but to better my
55:29
family, to better my hotel, to better my, my church, my
55:34
spiritual life. I'm, I don't know, I'm just not
55:40
ever satisfied with status quo. I, I think there's always room
55:45
for improvement. I don't matter who you are or
55:47
where you're at and why, there's always room for improvement.
55:52
We just have to take a look at ourselves and learn what we need
55:59
to change within ourselves, what we need to do better within
56:03
herself and how we need to treat others.
56:08
Because if you can't, if you don't know how to treat yourself
56:12
and you don't know how to better yourself, sometimes it's hard
56:16
for you to know how to treat others.
56:18
So you, you've got to, you know, it's kind of a, a, a, a mixed
56:24
thing there. You, you've got to do a little
56:26
bit of both. You have to have that self
56:28
reflection, looking at where you've been, where do you want
56:32
to go? You got to have a goal.
56:38
I, I guess I want to, I don't want to say I've reached, I've
56:42
reached my goal. I didn't really have a goal when
56:46
I started here, but it wasn't long till I realized, hey, I
56:50
like this. I love hospitality.
56:53
I want to, I want to be in the big man's office.
56:58
I want, I want that office one day.
57:01
And on my, my team when, when I took over as general manager,
57:06
they made me stay away from the hotel for a week.
57:10
They took everything out of my office, repainted the walls,
57:14
bought me a new bookshelf, put all my pictures and stuff back
57:18
up on the walls, put new carpet down for me.
57:21
Done, done everything. The team did it and they paid
57:26
for all of it themselves. Yeah, and, and, and did all
57:32
this. And then I came back and they
57:33
said here's the key to your office.
57:36
And so I went in and open the door and I'm looking around.
57:39
I mean, it's not a huge office, but it's my office and it, and
57:44
it had all my family pictures and my son's memorial.
57:50
I had a son that passed away a couple of years ago that had
57:54
his, his pictures and, and all up.
57:57
And they had gone out of their way to do all of this for me.
58:02
And I meant I'm, I just, I broke down.
58:04
I was lust and tears. I mean, I was just literally
58:07
boohoo. And I was like, wow, this is,
58:10
this is what, what my team has done for me.
58:16
I don't deserve this. And they're like, yeah, you do.
58:20
You really do. And so I had a new office,
58:24
hadn't had had new everything in here.
58:27
It's just amazing when you have the right team, you have that
58:31
right support behind you as AGM, there's nothing you can't
58:35
accomplish. But you got to have that team.
58:38
It's it's not one person by themselves.
58:43
Yeah, you're exactly right. You know, when folks are
58:46
struggling or, you know, just kind of in a normal place in
58:49
life, like you can't do it all on your own.
58:52
But often times asking for help can be the most difficult step
58:58
to take. What do you want to say about
59:00
the importance of reaching out, raising your hand?
59:06
I think that is. That is probably the one thing I
59:11
learned, especially coming out immediately from car
59:15
incarcerated, was I had to have help.
59:20
And I knew that. I realized that when I came out.
59:24
It's like, OK, I can't do this right now by myself.
59:29
I've got to have some support. I've got to have help
59:34
accomplishing things. I had no vehicle.
59:39
One of the members of the church that I go to, he gave us a
59:42
vehicle, myself and my wife. Then another one gave us a, a
59:47
vehicle a couple years later so that we would both have one.
59:52
So, you know, you have to have you.
59:56
You need to find that support system that that help.
1:00:01
And it's out there. There are people, good people,
1:00:04
that are out there willing to help and willing to go above and
1:00:08
beyond to help someone. But they're not going to help
1:00:11
you if you're not willing to help yourself.
1:00:13
I mean, you have to be willing to put forth that effort
1:00:17
yourself to make it the change that you want to make that you
1:00:23
know, you need to make it. If if they see that you're
1:00:27
willing to do that, then people will help.
1:00:30
I I firmly believe that. I mean, that's, I think people
1:00:34
are, people are generally good and my experience, I don't know,
1:00:41
maybe it's because of the, the, the type of people that I hang
1:00:45
around. But like I said, if you change
1:00:48
nothing, nothing changes. So you, you have to be willing
1:00:52
to take that chance and make those changes and, and, and do
1:00:55
something different and ask for help.
1:01:01
Right now. We're of 63 today.
1:01:06
My wife and I have taken the responsibility of raising two
1:01:12
teenagers. Well, one teen and 1:00 that's
1:01:16
one 11113 that we hadn't planned on doing this late in my life of
1:01:22
course, but it's been a very rewarding I had planned on
1:01:28
taking an early retirement. I can't afford it now with two
1:01:31
kids, but it's been a very rewarding and we always tell the
1:01:39
kids when they're struggling. Don't be afraid to ask for help
1:01:45
in school. If you don't understand
1:01:47
something or or or you you need help, ask it.
1:01:53
Nobody's going to be mad at for you for asking and you'll find
1:01:58
that people will respond to you. Some favorably, maybe some not
1:02:03
so. But don't ever give up.
1:02:06
Seek that help and know that where and know but know where
1:02:12
you're seeking it from. Got to seek it from the right
1:02:15
top of place or individual. Some that will help, but they
1:02:22
have they want something in return.
1:02:28
I fortunately not had to deal with that, but I've seen it
1:02:30
happen a lot so. You're a good man with a good
1:02:33
heart, Danny. Just one more question for you
1:02:36
today. But before I ask it, I want to
1:02:37
do three things for the audience real quick.
1:02:40
If you want to get in touch with Danny Owen and the Country Inn
1:02:44
and Suites in Abington, Virginia, the good thing to do
1:02:48
is just to Google Country Inn and Suites Abington Virginia and
1:02:51
you'll find their page and you know how to get in touch with
1:02:54
them and how to make a booking. Also, if you're enjoying our
1:02:57
show, please take a moment to subscribe wherever you're
1:03:00
listening. It sends a signal that helps
1:03:03
others discover our podcast. So thank you for taking a quick
1:03:06
moment to do that right now. And as a reminder, if you want
1:03:09
to get more hotel employees, access to therapist doctors and
1:03:13
prescription meds that, as paradoxical as it seems,
1:03:16
actually increases the company's net profits, reach out to us at
1:03:20
Add back benefits.com. OK, last question for you, Danny
1:03:24
Owen. What is 1 very specific thing
1:03:27
that you hope to be celebrating a year from today?
1:03:33
Retirement. We just, we just established
1:03:37
that's not going to happen. Yeah, that's not going to
1:03:39
happen, unfortunately. I would like to be celebrating a
1:03:46
win for my property. I don't look for personal
1:03:51
exactly AIDS. I mean, I'm not I'm winning
1:03:54
something personally is nice. You know, I've won Rick of the
1:03:57
year, ambassador of the year, nominated for general manager of
1:04:00
the year. Those are nice.
1:04:03
Don't get me wrong. I want to see my team
1:04:08
recognized. So I I'm, I would like to this
1:04:12
time next year be celebrating this hotel.
1:04:16
You know, every hotel has a conference and has awards.
1:04:22
I would like to see this hotel instead of the platinum award.
1:04:27
I like to see us win the Ring of Honor and that's the next step
1:04:32
up. So, you know, I, I don't want
1:04:34
to, I'm not looking for a hotel of the year.
1:04:37
I mean, we're a almost 40 year old property.
1:04:41
So, you know, we're not, we're not the newest thing in town,
1:04:44
but we're the best thing in town.
1:04:47
I'd like to see us, this hotel win that Ring of Honor.
1:04:50
That's where I would like to be this time next year, celebrating
1:04:54
that. I'll I'll shoot you an e-mail,
1:04:58
let you know what we want, please.
1:04:59
Do we'll make sure we get it out to everybody and let them know
1:05:02
the update. Danny Owen from Country Inn and
1:05:05
Suites, Abington, Virginia, I want to be the first to thank
1:05:08
you for sharing with your time and your story with us today.
1:05:10
I really appreciate you being here.
1:05:12
Thank you so much. It's been an honor to been asked
1:05:15
to be on the program and I certainly appreciate it and I
1:05:18
wish you all the best as well. Thank you, folks.
1:05:21
That's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
1:05:25
Thanks for learning with us. And if one thing stood out, put
1:05:28
that into action today.