TPI Hospitality,which has three hotels and about 125 employees in Rochester, transitioned from the family-owned company to an employee-owned one at the start of 2015.
The Willmar-based firm owns the recently opened Homewood Suites by Marriott , SpringHill Suites by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriottfeaturing the Saints on Secondrestaurant in Rochester. All of them are located near Mayo Clinic's St. Marys Hospital on Second Street Southwest.
It also owns Days Inn, Holiday Inn Conference Center and Perkins Restaurantin Austin. TPI also owns a Perkins Restaurant in Red Wing.
Overall, TPI owns and operates 31 hotel properties and nine restaurants. It has six more hotels under construction. All of its properties are in Minnesota, except a Staybridge Suites hotel in Naples, Fla.
TPI Hospitality has been owned by the Torgerson family since it was founded as a retail business in 1930. In September, CEO Tom Torgersonsurprised his employees by announcing he planned to transition ownership through an employee stock ownership plan.
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"I chose an ESOP to reward employees for their past, current and future diligent service to TPI, to preserve the legacy of our work and position TPI for the next 50 years and beyond," he saidin a release. "The transition to 100 percent employee ownership not only helps to secure the future of TPI Hospitality as a locally owned and operated company but it also allows us to reward our almost 1,800 employees, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years, with a superior retirement benefit".
TPI says it is now one of the largest employee-owned hospitality companies in the country and it is on track to grow to become the largest.
"Becoming an ESOP will require a change in perspective by everyone. I envision an environment where every employee acts as an owner without regard for their specific role within the company. Just imagine the impact of having 1800 owners approaching their jobs the same way," said Chief Operating Officer Mitch Peterson. — Jeff Kiger
