Richard Kessler
Entrepreneur, visionary and philanthropist Richard C. Kessler is a Savannah native who specializes in the hotel development industry. Kessler was born and raised in Effingham County, and upon graduating high school, he enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is best known to this day for his continued success developing properties throughout the country, with a special focus in his home state of Georgia.
His ancestors arrived in America near Savannah in 1732 in a search for religious freedom, and belonged to a group of Lutherans from Austria. They created a township, New Ebenezer, and established their roots in the area, but due to the Civil War, their land had been demolished. At 23 years old, Kessler visited Austria with a goal of connecting with his roots. While there, he had the idea to rebuild his ancestor’s township and create a retreat center on that very land.
In 1972 with his father’s support, Kessler began working toward building the Ebenezer Retreat and Conference Center. The land was reconstructed to what it once was in the 1700’s. The retreat center is a successful operation welcoming over 25,000 guests per year, and Kessler remained a Chairman on the board for 30 years after its grand opening in 1976.
Kessler focused his career on fulfilling his passion. With every development he worked on, he wanted to make sure he could help those who are unable to help themselves. After the retreat, Kessler’s next project was to rebuild the orphanage in New Ebenezer. The Treutlen House opened its doors in 2000, and provides care and support for abused children.
While fulfilling his passion projects, Kessler was also working on building his business empire. Real estate developer Cecil Day took Kessler as his trusted partner, and together, they helped found the Days Inn of America hotels, which are still popular today. By age 29, Kessler was named the President and CEO of the Days Inn. At this same time, he was already planning his next business move. Kessler wanted to open a brand of boutique hotels, separate from the Days Inn, but still within the Day/Kessler partnership. From that dream, the Kessler Collection was born. This brand of boutique hotels occupied historic buildings throughout the country, including the old Coca Cola factory in Savannah.
Most recently, Kessler embarked and completed one of his most successful projects to date: Plant Riverside District in Savannah. With a goal in mind to leave a place better than he found it, the Plant Riverside District’s vision was to reunite the historic riverfront with the city fabric. A resort, shops, restaurants, and well designed public spaces make up the district, creating a community driven atmosphere. The development opened to the public in 2020, and is now a cultural hub and top tourist destination showcasing some of Savannah’s best qualities in one place.
Plant Riverside might be Kessler's most ambitious project to date. The district, along with the Mansion on Forsyth Park and the Bohemian Hotel overlooking River Street are his greatest contributions to Savannah.
Kessler continues to push the envelope on people driven design, and with multiple other projects on the docket, we look forward to seeing what the future brings.
