Robinson Callen

Founder of H.I. Development Corp., Robinson Callen's contribution to the hotel industry spans more than 50 productive, successful years. The strong foundation on which he built H.I. Development began with his interest in real estate development and a natural talent for financial management. Following his graduation from Yale University and after serving in the United States Army, stationed in Japan during the Korean War, Robinson began his career acquiring real estate in Manhattan with his father, Casper Callen, who was a partner in the prestigious real estate firm of Hanfield, Callen, Ruland and Benjamin, Inc., which was established in 1867. While Robinson syndicated a number of buildings in Manhattan, he also bought and sold other buildings in Manhattan on his own account, of which a number remain in the Callen family real estate holdings. He entered the hospitality industry through a limited partnership position in the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach, Florida and then shortly thereafter acquired the already open Holiday Inn Lakeland, Florida. The rest is history. Seeing the need for Kemmons Wilson's vision for franchised hotels and his young Holiday Inn brand, Robinson Callen built numerous Holiday Inn franchised hotels around central Florida. In the late 1960s, with the aggressive development of his Holiday Inn hotel portfolio overcoming his New York real estate investments, especially given the operation intensive nature of hotels as real estate investments, Robinson relocated his family from New York, N.Y., to Winter Haven, Florida. Robinson went on to acquire, develop, and/or manage numerous hotels across Florida, Puerto Rico and Europe and was one of the early developers of the iconic Holiday Inn brand. Robinson's expertise in creating new properties and operating them at optimum profitability has earned him the recognition and respect of the industry's leaders. With a love for real estate investment and hotel management, Mr. Callen is currently extending operations to new frontiers, consulting on multiple deals in Panama City, Panama.