We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caroline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

My current chapter in life started when I was secretly searching for a commercial property for my husband to open or create a cycling store near our vacation home in Mountain Rest, SC. My husband loves all things cycling and is an expert in all the mechanical and physical aspects of a bike…it is his true passion. While attempting to surprise him with a place he could do all things bicycling, I discovered a building for sale just 15 minutes from our vacation home. This building immediately spoke to my soul, and I remember telling our agent at the time, “We have to get this building. Whatever it takes.” However, sadly (for my husband) it wouldn’t be for a bike shop. The beautiful 1920’s building was a former school that I immediately thought would make the perfect boutique hotel. A huge undertaking? Yes. But that has never stopped me before. So why would it now? The biggest challenge, I thought, would be convincing my husband to sell our home in Atlanta and move to a small town we knew very little about, so we could take on this project. To my surprise, he was intrigued and very supportive. Our house was pending sale shortly thereafter.

So fast forward a few months and we are now the proud owners of a 20,000 square foot former school building in the heart of Walhalla, SC. Walhalla is a quaint mountain town that sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a hub for mountain biking, gravel riding, road riding and anything cycling – the perfect fit for our family. Walhalla is also a gateway to the mountains, lakes, rivers, surrounding national parks and a mere 25 minutes to Clemson University. Think hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, white water rafting, skiing, football games, sporting events, concerts, festivals, apple picking, wineries, mountain biking and so much more.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

After talking extensively about buying and renovating homes as a side gig to our corporate lives, my husband and I decided to act.  We enrolled in an intensive real estate educational program for real estate developers and investors.  We spent countless hours educating our selves on the dos and don’ts of house flipping and real estate investing.    We quickly learned this was our calling and more of a full-time life for us. After several successful home renovations, construction management and real estate transactions, we decided to add hospitality and short-term rentals to our portfolio. We were ahead of the game with this niche strategy and ended up with multiple short-term rentals that are still thriving today. This hospitality and short-term rental experience will help provide a great foundation to hotelier life.

During the preliminary stages of the school conversion (which we are still in), the name HOTEL ALUM was born. We wanted our hotel name to incorporate every person that either attended, played sports at, worked at or was just a fan of the school during their lifetimes. Using “ALUM”, in our opinion, accomplishes this and we feel it is unique and different. We like to be unique and different.

We are proud to share that my husband and I aren’t a huge company or national developers. We have literally started at ground zero and worked our way up. Nothing has ever been handed to us and everything we have has been the result of our drive and work ethic. This makes us a great team and keeps us humble, as well. We always want to help other businesses and clients as much as we can. Wherever we can serve or give, we want to. We feel this hotel will help bring economic vitality and new business development to a downtown that is currently undergoing revitalization. Yes, we want to be successful, but most importantly, we want our surrounding business owners to be successful and experience growth with us. Community has the word UNITY for a reason, and we hope to be a catalyst for even better things to come. If Hotel Alum is successful, the City of Walhalla merchants and businesses will be too. 

Hotel Alum will incorporate an “old school” theme and will include a full-service restaurant, bar and in the future, a full-service spa. We are greatly appreciative of the community support and can’t wait to share the stories and pictures that once filled these walls and halls. Historically preserving this building means a lot to us and being on the historic registry will also help to separate us from other hotels. Becoming historic will also help preserve much of the city’s history and nostalgia, which is a priority for us!

Continuing with our desire to be unique and different, we hope to capitalize on the surrounding cycling trails, fishing holes, hiking trails and boating opportunities to offer a la carte excursions, experiences, group rides, cycling races, merchant festivals and fundraising opportunities, just to name a few. A private bus, locally owned and operated by Hotel Alum, will also be available to shuttle guests to and from Clemson for football games and/or special events.  There is so much to see and do in this area and we are so excited to share our project with the world as well as the City of Walhalla.  Hotel Alum will showcase locally crafted soap, coffee, wine, and beer as well as other locally sourced items to help support our local community of entrepreneurs. Providing local goods and inspiring local artisans to partner with us will also help to separate Hotel Alum from cookie cutter chain hotels. As a bonus, Business travelers need not to worry about “points” as we will offer a very rewarding point and loyalty system as well. 

How’d you meet your business partner?

I am lucky enough to have my husband as my business partner. We have different strengths and weaknesses, and we see things from different perspectives. We even tend to solve a math equation differently, but still come up with the same answer. To me, this illustrates our ability to have opposing ideas and strategies, yet still accomplish our goals. We may accomplish tasks differently, but at the end of the day, this makes us a good team. Ironically, I met my husband at a “Bike Shop” when he sold me a bicycle many years ago. Recently, it was a “Bike Shop” search that led me to discover our soon-to-be hotel. God has a great sense of humor, and this makes me smile every time I connect these dots. 

As Hotel Alum is in the early stages of development, you can find more info and follow us on Facebook and Instagram with the handle @Hotel Alum.  Our grand opening goal is Spring of 2024, if not sooner.  Much of our timeline is dependent upon historic registration finalization, which is a process that we have little control over.  Essentially our opening will happen when God has it planned as His timing is always perfect.  We have had several inquiries about investment opportunities. If you would like to learn more about our limited investment opportunities, please send correspondence to [email protected] and we will get back to you.  We are also pre-selling VIP reservations for anyone wishing to book a stay in advance.  To learn more about this opportunity, please send an email to [email protected] with subject line VIP Reservation.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what has helped build my reputation within my market is simple. I do my best to build lasting relationships and serve clients with impeccable customer service.  I always strive to do the right thing, 100% of the time. If I must question if something is right or wrong, then I know my answer. Separating myself by being myself is a priority as well. Kindness, honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty are also non-negotiable. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hotelalum.com (under construction)
• Instagram: @hotelalum
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hotelalum
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Chase Todd Photography studio-ONE design and Michelle Poteet Photography