< Previous The company is part of Tharaldson Investments which operates across a multitude of fields. Hospitality management and hotel construction are two of its largest functions, but it also operates in a variety of other areas such as land development, renewable energy projects and more. At its heart, however, Tharaldson Hospitality Development is a family company that’s been developing hotels for many years. “We’ve built and operated just over 400 hotels, so we’re not a construction company soliciting business, but rather a family legacy office that does development for our own purposes, without third party development,” Cape says. Hedging its assets, the company only invests in the most talented people to run its multidimensional operations. Its focus is on perpetual improvement on all levels and part of its strategy to achieve this goal is allowing its teams initiative and creativity, giving them free rein in implementing ideas and systems that outperform existing ones. Tharaldson Hospitality Development has proven that hiring the brightest and the best delivers phenomenal bottom lines as well as unsurpassed customer and staff satisfaction. Its development team does everything from property acqui-sition, entitlements and permitting to construction. Once a building is complete, it is handed over to the operations team, which is run by Aimee Fyke, Chief Operations Officer. The two teams work together seamlessly throughout the process to improve overall guest experience. Cape’s team integrates the operation team’s requests into the project plan, making it part of the design. Its input plays a definitive role “Tharaldson Hospitality Development is a family company that’s been developing hotels for many years.” JUNE 201870 in final developments as this team’s frontline experience and knowledge of current trends ultimately combine to anticipate guests’ needs.These projects demand scores of skilled professionals working around the clock to deliver the best possible final product. To this end, one of the company’s collaborators is a firm of architects who, while not exclusive to THD, form an integral part of the business’ in-house design and planning process, providing professional architectural support and advice throughout. Development and construction is handled by Tharaldson Hospitality Development’s small in-house team, while everything else is taken care of by a team of hand-picked, independent consultants. “It’s hard to get in with us, but once a consultant is accepted, they never leave because we’re like a family. We treat our consultants like our own employees,” says Cape. Good communication is paramount to project success and constant dialogue between teams in design, construction, and in the field ensures the final quality of each product, for which the ultimate proof is in return guests. “We pride ourselves on our repeat customers. Guest satisfaction is always our main focus,” says Cape. For Tharaldson Hospitality Development, the secret is in the details, which really boils down to the tiniest things – even as simple as where coffee and tea are laid out in a room and how the layout functions within the greater space. While the company’s intimate understanding of superb design – and especially of hotel ergonomics – has won the team multiple awards for its sterling work, the process of bringing projects to fruition is rarely glamorous, exciting though it may be.In an exceptionally robust market where suitable, undeveloped land is rare and expensive and utilities and entitlements are challenging to obtain, building lim-ited-service hotels is undeniably not for the faint-hearted. Yet despite inhospitable market conditions, these high-bid entry acquisitions are exactly what the Tharaldson team focuses on, and once such markets display high demand and brand avail-ability, it sets about locating the ideal property to develop.Understanding the complexities and environmental chal-lenges that inevitably come with these developments allows the company to explore its ingenuity and creativity to the “The two teams work together seamlessly throughout the process to improve overall guest experience.”fullest. When bringing these demanding projects to fruition in areas where others may have neither the expertise nor the resources with which to develop optimally, the going can be as tough as it is rewarding. In California alone, the entitlement process can keep developers waiting for three to four years in some areas, and up to five years on the coast. As a result, and as with anything worth waiting for, patience and persever-ance are indispensable.Finding ideal properties can be as precarious as developing them. To ensure a steady stream of available sites, Tharaldson Hospitality Development has formed close relationships with major mall and office developers as well as brokerages and municipalities who assist in the business of tracking local real estate, mainly in the western United States. Acquisitions can range from city-owned properties to sites that form part of major retail developments. To this end, the company has become a trusted partner in many mixed-use projects based entirely on its prize performance and consistent history of delivering on commitments.Tharaldson Hospitality Development is thriving, as everyone at the firm shares Don Cape’s passion for bringing wonderful hotels to life. “All our hotels are my favorites,” he shares. “I can’t actually single out any one project – they all have different nuances. They’re all difficult projects that most people would look at and say, ‘I’m not sure you’re going to be able to pull that off,’ but then we always bring them to market.” In addition to this contagious passion, his take on grabbing seemingly lackluster opportunities with both hands and turning them into valuable legacy capital is not only inspiring, but also refreshing. “Hindsight baffles them,” he laughs. With its Midas touch, Tharaldson Hospitality Development knows exactly how to turn insurmountable dreams into legendary hospitality – indeed a rare and precious skill in a world filled with ‘ordinary.’ JUNE 201872 “The company has become a trusted partner in many mixed-use projects.”73CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Originally, Woodard Cleaning & Restoration primarily performed carpet cleaning services for homeowners and businesses, but it evolved into dealing with problems such as water and fire damage and mold removal. Today, it has grown to 250 employees with four buildings located in Rock Hill, Missouri, and it also deploys its services in partnership with companies in other areas like Boston or New York for disaster relief situations, such as after Hurricane Sandy.JUNE 201874Written by Stacey McCarthy The Woodard Way is fundamentally how the company has run its business - not only by helping people get back to their lives, but also by working on nurturing leaders both within and outside the organization.“Our core values are to do what’s right, learn every day, serve others, and knowing that our employees are what make us dif-ferent and provide us with our success,” said Michelle Davies, Marketing Coordinator for Woodard. “Woodard cares for its employees, and since Woodard shows care and compassion for the employee, the employee then takes that same thing and shows it to the customer.”“The company has been named one of the top workplaces for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and WorkplaceDynamics.”Nancy and Earl WoodardEarl Woodard1977Earl Woodard1945Earl Woodard1977Earl and Nancy WoodardWhen Earl Woodard, a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot was shot down over the Pyrenees Mountains during World War Two, he was found and assisted by the French who protected him, kept him safe from the enemy, and helped him get back home to his wife Nancy in St. Louis, Missouri. After he got back, he and his wife decided to start a business, and in 1946, Woodard Cleaning & Restoration was founded. This war hero dedicated his business to help improve the lives of people who have suffered a loss, whether it is something as simple as a stained carpet or as devastating as damage to a whole home. As Woodard’s family grew, he brought his sons into the business and then later sold it to them. Eventually, one of the brothers – Charlie – bought out his brothers. In 2017, he sold the company to his son Justin, making it a third-generation family business.It has been named one of the top workplaces for three consec-utive years from 2015 to 2017 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and WorkplaceDynamics, a recognition it feels it has earned because of something it refers to as ‘The Woodard Way.’SK47Van named after Steven K., who retired after 47 yearsThe company spends a lot of time searching for the right fit in an employee, then invests in them through training and support. In fact, it is not uncommon to have someone start out as an associate and work their way up to crew chief, then man-agement, and it is also not uncommon to have staff spend their entire career with Woodard. “Once you experience Woodard, you really sink your teeth into it, and you don’t want to leave,” explained Davies.Customer service is always a priority. “We’re locally focused,” said Davies. “We are the best and right choice for all our cus-tomers. We are a one-stop shop for your restoration needs. We support our local community. “And their customers have remained loyal and apprecia-tive of that service over the years. Just looking at its social media presence and news stories shows countless praise “Since Woodard shows care and compassion for the employee, the employee then takes that same thing and shows it to the customer.”for its work. According to one Facebook follower, “This is my type of business. Thank you so much for giving back to the community.”This sentiment is backed up by an ambitious program the company launched in 2016 called “Helping People Get Back To Their Lives” which has a goal of helping one million people. Currently it has helped more than 125,500 people, and it hopes to reach the one million mark by early 2020.Donation Bagby Companion Animal Center, St LuisJUNE 201876It tracks how it helps people in different ways. That help could come in the form of just cleaning up a carpet stain, or helping a family get back into their home after a water or fire loss.“We have an algorithm that was developed to determine how we calculate how many customers were impacted by a loss,” said Davies. “A commercial building may have three hundred people in it, but we do not count all three hundred. For example, when we have a large commercial loss, it may only impact and help five people get back to their life. For resi-dential, it’s estimated that a water loss would help two people get back to their lives.”One of the most common issues it deals with is water damage, which could be anything from toilet, dishwasher, and washing machine overflows to sewer backups, which are the worst type of clean up. But Davies says that the company is most impressed with its staff during this type of clean up because while it is a rather nasty job to deal with, the staff never mind because they want to help people get back to their lives and because they care.Woodard is also very diligent when it comes to the type of FDA-approved products it uses in its work – considering environ-mental sensitivities and best practices such as hot water extrac-tion. It is also concentrated on how its employees conduct themselves, both on and off the job sites.As Justin Woodard says, “The number one priority that Woodard has is safety, and that goes above profit, margins, anything like that. Not only the safety of our employees but also the safety of our customers, making sure our job sites are safe so that our employees don’t get hurt, our customers don’t “The company spends a lot of time searching for the right fit in an employee, then invests in them through training and support.”77CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS get hurt, making sure that when we’re driving to and from job sites, making sure we don’t do anything that could put others around us in danger, and so I think that’s another thing that sets us apart from everyone else.”As the company continues to grow, the biggest challenge it tends to run into is finding the right employees who echo its care and compassion for customers. It is always looking for staff who will fully embrace the company culture and want to stay forever. In the past, this has never been an issue, as it has many employees who have spent anywhere from twenty to fifty years with the business, but today’s workforce does not tend to stay in one place that long.The challenges it faces are due to pricing pressures from other carriers and insurance companies on the restoration side of the business. On the cleaning side, local competition comes in the form of pop-up businesses because, to get into the carpet cleaning business, is relatively inexpensive and not extremely difficult.These challenges keep Woodard dedicated to ensuring that people know what it and what it represents. Its goal is not to be the cheapest just to get the sale; it wants the community and its customers to get a premium brand experience, not just a discounted solution.And what it is, is truly a business that believes in its community. It participates in numerous charitable events in the commu-nity and supports all commercial insurance and property man-agement associations with events, activities, and sponsorships with those organizations both locally and nationally. It is also very supportive of local fire, police, and medical first respond-ers. One initiative, in particular, is called Back Stoppers, which is a charity that provides financial support to the family of a hero who is killed in the line of duty.“One of the most common issues Woodard deals with is water damage, which could be anything from toilet, dishwasher, and washing machine overflows to sewer backups.”JUNE 201878“We recently just wrapped up a Pay it Floorward contest in which our crew chiefs nominated ten local charities, and the chari-ties encouraged their networks to vote,” said Davies. The three charities with the most votes were recipients of the contest’s prizes. “First place won $10,000 from Woodard; second place won $5,000, and third place won $2,500, so Woodard is very big on keeping St. Louis’s money within St. Louis, giving back to those within the community that need our support, keeping things local, supporting other small businesses. We really try to focus local, homegrown within the community.”Davies went on to emphasize the importance of community to the organization. “As you may have noticed, we say helping people get back to their lives. We never say helping custom-ers get back to their lives, because it’s not about a sale or serving our customers; it’s about serving our community and helping people. So the people really includes our customers, our employees, our co-workers, community, first responders, helping anyone that we can get back to their lives, whether it be through one of our services or supporting a co-worker if they need our help or providing a monetary donation to Back Stoppers who just experienced their worst nightmare of losing a loved one in the line of duty. We’re there for them as well.”When asked what the future holds for Woodard Cleaning and Restoration, Davies says that the company is always looking for new ways to build and grow. “The one million people defi-nitely helps us keep track of why we started,” said Davies. “It’s to help other people. So the more people we can help the better. It is not only from a business standpoint but also for Woodard as a company just because we help more people get back to their lives.”Davies said that the whole organization is quite simple. “We do what’s best, we do what’s right, and we really just try to support our community.” Justin Woodard & fire crew Chief Linnie AN AWARD-WINNING COMPANY:Awarded 50 Fastest-Growing Companies in St. LouisTop 500 Qualified Remodeler by Qualified Remodeler MagazineSmall Business Top Future Companies2017 Super Service Award from Angie’s List2017 Top Workplaces from St. Louis Post DispatchContractor Connection Award for “Midwest Region Specialty Contractor”USAA “Mission Award”79CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Next >