About
Harry George Spirides was born in Savannah, Georgia, USA. He grew up in a closely knit traditional family setting with his father George, mother Frances, and sister Jeannie while living on Tybee Island (Savannah Beach), Georgia. Harry began working in his family's hotel and restaurant business at an early age and continued working in hospitality industry operations for more than 30 years.
Currently living in Tampa, Florida, Harry Spirides and his company Spirides Hospitality Finance Company arrange mortgages and loans for hotel owners across the United States for ground-up construction, acquisition, debt refinancing, renovation, and other types of hotel capital projects.
Members of the Spirides family have owned, operated, developed, and advised hotels and restaurants for over 100 years, since the 1920s. In fact, in 1970 Harry Spirides’ late father George H. Spirides assisted his good friend Cecil B. Day to design, open, and manage the world's very first Day's Inn near Savannah, GA, and he subsequently became the first manager of the world’s first Day's Inn early in his career as a distinguished owner and operator of hotels.
Harry Spirides is a former owner and operator of a 205-room, full-service, beach resort hotel for over 20 years. He is a third-generation hotelier who has over 30 years of experience working in full-service hotels. He rose up through the ranks of his family's hotel company working in every position from restaurant dishwasher to front desk clerk to general manager to chief executive officer. Today, Harry Spirides, through his company Spirides Hospitality Finance Company, finds it very rewarding to assist hotel owners with their financing needs, having “walked a thousand miles in their shoes.”
Harry Spirides is a graduate of Benedictine Military High School in Savannah, GA. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Administration from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Additionally, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stetson School of Business and Economics at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He also has been awarded the Advanced Certification in Real Estate and Hotel Investment from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York.
Harry Spirides is a military veteran and former commissioned officer. He served 3 years active duty and 8 years reserve duty as a federal law enforcement officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He received a honorable discharge from military service in 2008.
He is a published author of business history books and hotel industry news columns. Harry Spirides has volunteered a lot of his time throughout his life participating in various different charitable, philanthropic, and Christian community service organizations. He enjoys spending his free time with his family and friends, preferably participating in outdoor activities involving a boat or on a beach.
Featured Work
Hotel Tybee
Tybee Island was a mostly undeveloped tropical island situated 12 miles east of Savannah in the 1880s when businessman Daniel Purse bought most of the island with the intention of transforming it into a seaside resort destination. There were no roads to Tybee at the time. To overcome the obstacle of a two-hour boat ride from Savannah, Purse built a railroad connecting Tybee to Savannah. Thousands of new tourists began flocking to Tybee’s beautiful beaches, though most could not stay due to inadequate lodging accommodations. In 1889, Savannah National Bank president and future mayor of Savannah Herman Myers and investors constructed Hotel Tybee, which was one of the finest hotels in the country. For over seven decades, Hotel Tybee hosted vacations, conventions, social events, and gambling. The establishment was ravaged by fire in 1909 but was resurrected more magnificent than before. It witnessed hurricanes, wars, a riot, murder, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.Author Harry Spirides owns Ocean Plaza Beach Resort, which stands on the former site of Hotel Tybee. Spirides, whose family has operated businesses on Tybee Island for 70 years, obtained images from the Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Archives, Tybee Island Historical Society, and other sources to take readers on a visual journey that thoroughly details the history of Hotel Tybee.
Other Works
Press and Media Mentions
- Watch Harry Spirides' group panel discussion during the virtual 2020 Hospitality Finance Forum.
- Listen to Harry Spirides' participation in Lodging Magazine's panel discussion on SBA Loans & COVID-19
- Watch Harry Spirides' group panel discussion during Hotel Business Magazine's first ever virtual video conference. The topic was the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the hotel industry