PRESS RELEASE – 21c Museum Hotels, the award-winning boutique hotel company and restaurant group, was named to the Inc. 5000, Inc. magazine’s annual ranking of America’s fastest growing companies across 22 industries. The company had a three year growth rate of 673 percent and ranked #6 on the Top 100 Travel and Hospitality list and #2 on the list of Top 100 Companies in Kentucky. See the full list of rankings on Inc.com.
“It’s thrilling to see 21c Museum Hotels included among these innovative and prestigious companies,” says Steve Wilson, Co-Founder and CEO of 21c Museum Hotels. “We are proof that art can be an economic driver both for a business and for a community. There is truly no limit to the things that 21c Museum Hotels can accomplish. We are creating a new model for both hotels and museums.”
In the past year, 21c Museum Hotels saw years of planning and development come to fruition with the opening of two new hotel properties in Cincinnati, OH and Bentonville, AR. In an extremely difficult economic climate, 21c was able to close over $80 million in financing for these projects. The company grew from a single property in downtown Louisville and standalone restaurant (Garage Bar in downtown Louisville’s East Market District) to encompass three hotels, four restaurants and over 500 employees. 21c Museum Hotels now employs 500 people across all properties, its corporate office and Garage Bar restaurant. Construction is underway for a property in Durham, NC and a project has been announced in Lexington, KY.
Inc. 500|5000 Methodology
This year’s list measures revenue growth from 2009 through 2012. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2009. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent–not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies-as of December 31, 2012. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2009 is $100,000; the minimum for 2012 is $2 million. Revenue figures given in the company profiles are for calendar year 2012. Employee counts are as of December 31, 2012. Full-time and part-time employees are included in the employee counts; independent contractors are not. The full list of companies in this year’s Inc. 500 I 5000 can be found on Inc.com.
About 21c Museum Hotels
21c Museum Hotels, the award-winning boutique hotel company and restaurant group, was founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. Brown and Wilson, contemporary art collectors and preservationists, are committed to bringing works of art to the public through innovative exhibitions and programs that integrate contemporary art into daily life. These goals, coupled with their desire to participate in the revitalization of downtown Louisville led them to open the first 90-room property in 2006. Each 21c is unique in its site-specific art installations, architecture, design and restaurant. With a commitment to bringing works of art to the public that ignite the mind and fuel creativity, the museum exhibition space is integrated seamlessly throughout each property. There are opportunities to discover art around every corner of 21c: in the restaurant and bar, on the in-room Video Art Channel, in elevator lobbies, hallways, and even the public restrooms. With the success of the Louisville property came opportunities for growth. 21c has opened hotels in Cincinnati, OH and Bentonville, AR and plans have been announced for properties in Durham, NC and Lexington, KY. 21c Museum presents a range of arts programming including thought-provoking solo and group exhibitions that reflect the global nature of art today, site-specific, commissioned installations as well as a variety of cultural programming. The museum is open free of charge to the public 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
For press information contact:
Stephanie Greene
21c Museum Hotels
502.882.6231
sgreene@21cHotels.com
