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.