His bosses at Walt Disney World told him that they didn’t believe he would ever become “a company man.” So, they fired him.
Harris didn’t disagree. Despite his successes developing the Contemporary, Polynesian and Fort Wilderness resorts, he realized that he couldn’t be what Disney wanted him to be.
“I finally came to the conclusion that I most likely didn’t have the organization man’s personality,” says Rosen. “I’ve known since an early age that I’ve been inflicted with what I call that awful defective entrepreneurial gene. Deep down inside I knew that one day I was destined to be in business for myself.”
For Rosen, playing it safe is a risky proposition.
So after leaving Disney, he withdrew his last $20,000 from savings and put a down payment on a 256-room Quality Inn on Orlando’s International Drive. And that’s where it all began.
Today, located off a nondescript corridor in that same Quality Inn, he continues to defy expectations. Rosen’s office feels more like a cozy living room than the opulent offices presumed for the innovator who built the largest independently owned hotel group in Florida. Instead of fine art and interior decorator touches, the room bursts with artifacts from real life. A large photo of his Russian grandfather Harry Rosenovsky. Rosen’s wallet-sized U.S. Army ID card. An autographed sketch of baseball great Jackie Robinson—drawn by Rosen when he was 10 years old. His judo uniform, recently recovered from his mother’s condo. Amidst it all, his two dogs, Apple and Bambi, wander freely.
“I’ve been in this room for 37 years,” Rosen says. “This is not exactly what people who aspire to be successful dream of having … beautiful offices and private planes and condos all over the place. But for me, it’s very comfortable.”
tristanryan on July 26th, 2017 at 16:36 UTC »
My mom has worked for Rosen hotels for nearly 30 years, and that's because Mr. Rosen is such an amazing person who treats his employees extremely well. If you're an employee of Rosen he will pay for your kids in-state college tuition in full. If you went out of state or to a private college you receive the equivalent amount as a scholarship. This is for every employee. From the managers to the house keepers. He also not only provides full health insurance, but he built an entire health facility for his employees so they can get the best care possible and not have to worry about having their lives ruined by health costs.
Even though some of his hotel properties are world class luxury resorts, he still uses his tiny original office at his oldest property. And I believe he drives a 1990s Honda to and from work.
I hope more people can learn about this man and his incredible business practices, so that he can be used as an example of achieving success by focusing on the quality of labor.
TooShiftyForYou on July 26th, 2017 at 14:32 UTC »
Every Tangelo Park high school graduate who is accepted to a Florida public university, community or state college, or vocational school receives a full Harris Rosen Foundation scholarship, which covers tuition, living and educational expenses through graduation.
Nearly 200 students have earned Rosen scholarships, and of those, 75 percent have graduated from college—the highest rate among an ethnic group in the nation.
liljakeyplzandthnx on July 26th, 2017 at 14:30 UTC »
A spark of change can create a wildfire of positive effects.