Daniels closes door on career in lodging

SMITHFIELD — Hank Daniels has spent his life in and around hotels.

It started as a kid.

“My father had some hotels in Wilson, and that’s where we lived for a long time,” Daniels said of the Wilson County city known then for its tobacco market.

“He was a very good investor as far as acquiring property and acquiring and building hotels,” Daniels said of his father, who would go on to own five independent motels.

But his father wasn’t the best manager, Daniels said. “That was my mother,” he said. “Edith Daniels was the key that kept everything going.”

While he grew up in the lodging industry, it was not his first choice for a career.

“I did go off to school at Georgia State and got my degree in accounting,” said Daniels, who then joined the workforce. “I was working as a CPA.”

He had been doing that for two or three years when his father died.

“He left the business to my mother,” Daniels said of the Village Motor Lodge, a Smithfield motel that his father had built in 1962. “So I came back and helped her run the business at that point.”

After his mother died, Daniels kept the Village, which was on the eastern side of Interstate 95. But he also built a Super 8 on the west side of the interstate, just up the street from Carolina Premium Outlets.

Daniels sold the Village in 2005 when he built the Sleep Inn & Suites, his second hotel on the west side of I-95.

It was time to say goodbye to the Village, Daniels said. “The Village was not a franchise hotel, and I would see different hotel franchises being advertised on OTAs (online travel agencies), like Booking.com or Expedia,” he said. “You need that kind of exposure out there, which the Village didn’t have.”

With the Super 8 and Sleep Inn & Suites, Daniels entered the franchise hotel business. “They are economy brands within an overall brand,” he said. “Super 8 was Wyndham, and Sleep Inn is Choice Hotel. So I was comfortable in that market, and it’s done well for me.”

Daniels sold the Super 8 in 2018, leaving him with the Sleep Inn. “After 20 years, your franchise agreement expires, and you have to renew,” he explained. “I didn’t want to renew; I just wanted to stay with this property. Now this franchise agreement with Sleep Inn is ending, so that’s why I’m selling out at this point.”

The hotel business kept him busy, Daniels said. “I mean, it’s a 24/7 business, and so you had to make sure you were staffed all the time,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t show up, then you have to fill in, which is pretty demanding.”

But it’s time to leave those demands behind, Daniels said. “That’s why, at this point in my life, I’m selling, so that I can enjoy going to see my six grandchildren,” he said. “I have one that lives in Four Oaks, but I have three in Salt Lake City and two in Charlotte. So it’d be nice to go and spend more time with them.”

The hotel industry has changed over the years, Daniels said, pointing to amenities like gyms, meeting spaces and business centers. “Back when I ran the Village, we provided coffee and donuts, and that was it,” he said. “Now here (at the Sleep Inn), our breakfast has two types of eggs, two types of sausage and two types of fruit, along with oatmeal, waffles, milk and cereal.”

Still, at its core, the industry is about hospitality — how a hotel treats its guests — and that requires having the right people on staff, Daniels said. “It depends on what kind of help you have,” he said. “We emphasize being happy to help, so that we have the guests feel welcome when they come in.”

It’s true what they say about first impressions, Daniels said. “If you make people happy at the front desk, then they’ll be happy throughout their stay,” he said. “But if you make them mad at the front desk and you’re not accommodating, then they’ll find something else to complain about.”

In Smithfield, Daniels has been more than a businessman. “My mother always thought it was very important to give back to the community, and she always did that,” he said. “I’ve tried to do that as well.”

“My church, First Baptist Church, is my first priority,” Daniels said. “We have a great church. I am a deacon. My faith in Christ is very important in running my business as well as getting along with other people.”

Daniels has also served on the board of the Johnston County Tourism Authority, which oversees the county Visitors Bureau. “And now I’m a trustee at Johnston Community College, a great school that really meets the needs of people in all areas,” he said.

His daughter, Lynn Daniels Bowles, joined him in the family business — and in Johnston County civic life. She’s chair of the board of My Kid’s Club in Selma and Smithfield.

“We try to give back as much as we can,” Daniels said.

“It’s very important to help out in a small town,” he added. “There are so many different ways that I’ve had the opportunity to help. It’s very easy in smaller communities to have different roles and not be tied to one thing or another.”

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