To Casey Lavin, luxury hospitality is about more than doing business, or even providing excellent customer service. Some would say that he sees it as a higher calling—a way to build community and provide enriching experiences for people from all walks of life.
After achieving significant success in his early career, including the successful repositioning of Palmetto Bluff and a stint at the iconic Greenbrier, he has turned his attention to giving back in the second half of his career.
Alongside owner Ben Navarro, he founded the Beemok Hospitality Collection (BHC), which is overseeing various real estate projects to elevate the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Yet throughout Lavin’s journey, community and people have always been at the heart.
The facade of The Charleston Place, Lavin’s latest venture
DEVELOPING A LOVE FOR HOSPITALITY
One unusual factor behind Lavin’s path in life might be the circumstances of his birth. He is the sixth of eight kids, which he believes taught him to craft experiences that would transcend the bickering of sibling rivalries and family life.
“When I meet other six of eights, there seems to be a place where we play a particular role,” he says. “It’s usually in the peacemaking capacity of bringing people together. And at the core of my hospitality pursuit has been this idea that, yes, we’re going to kick the heck out of each other on the outside, but when you come to the table, something happens.”
Another factor that encouraged Lavin to pursue a career in hospitality was the exposure he got to the field from an early age. His father was successful in business and sometimes took one of his children on trips with him, which meant staying in cool hotels.
Lavin became enamored with the lifestyle straightaway and, in his teens, he realized he had a kind of sixth sense for creating an “experience” in a location.
“When it came to entertaining with friends or family or creating holiday experiences, it just was something where I was The Guy,” he says, noting that this has continued to the present day.
Another major influence on his love for hospitality was his grandmother, whom he calls the “embodiment of Southern hospitality.”
Lavin got his first job in a kitchen at age 14 and worked all the way through high school. This experience confirmed that the hospitality sector was where he belonged, as he enjoyed developing his work ethic and working with others. “I loved the camaraderie, the organization, the hierarchy, the structure, the discipline,” he says. “The fact that you had your own stuff to do, but if you weren’t ready when the lights turned on and the restaurant was open, you’re screwing everybody up.”
While many of his friends headed to university, Lavin took a different path. Seeking to understand the art and pageantry of creating amazing experiences, he headed to César Ritz College in Le Bouveret, Switzerland. As a college focused on the hospitality sector, it was unlike anything in America—students had to wear a uniform every day. However, it was just what Lavin was looking for. “It was exactly the type of discipline that I needed as a smart-ass 18-year-old kid living in Virginia,” he says with a laugh.
While studying, he got to take part in professional apprenticeships at all kinds of beautiful properties, including the Beau-Rivage Palace and Mövenpick Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Street view of Charleston, South Carolina
ENJOYING FAST CAREER LEAPS—BUT STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM
The differences between Lavin and his American peers who had taken a more conventional route didn’t end after graduation. While many college graduates have their eye on a corner office right away, César Ritz drilled in the value of starting by sweeping floors in restaurants and working your way up as you earn respect.
Despite Lavin’s humility, his first employer was hardly a slice of humble pie. He landed a job at the Ritz Carlton, Naples, known as an “it” place for future luxury hoteliers. “Horst Schulze and Ed Staros kind of created this amazing culture there where you learned how to lead on a luxury basis,” Lavin says.
Before long, he received an even bigger break. A previous colleague was planning to open a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, with the aim of creating a luxury development from scratch. The opportunity to be involved in an independent project in an exciting location appealed to Lavin, and the decision paid off. He worked up to being food and beverage director, and the hotel got its fifth star after two years.
Then, in his late twenties, Lavin got an even bigger call. The Greenbrier was looking for a vice president of food and beverage. Lavin could hardly believe his luck.
“As a kid in Virginia, I idolized the president of The Greenbrier,” he says. “The Greenbrier is known as America’s resort, founded in the late 1800s. It’s this iconic, huge property. And it was kind of the hit place. Every master chef, every White House chef, seemed to come out of this place.”
While Lavin describes himself as underqualified at the time and admits the experience was at times painful and humbling, he also learned a lot. The experience opened his eyes to the world of “placemaking” and building great brands that people see as lifestyle experiences in the luxury space.
Rendering of The Cooper Hotel
TRANSITIONING TO PHILANTHROPY
After achieving so much so soon in his career, Lavin reached a point where he felt called to do something different and test the waters with philanthropy. “I really felt like I was destined to give people hope and find points of inspiration and connection and to help really provide what I thought was a necessary antidote to a world that was struggling,” he says. “The antidote was finding peace and finding harmony and finding the beauty of life in whatever way you think that should look.”
Coincidentally, he met exactly the person who would make this happen—self-made business philanthropist Ben Navarro. And, coincidentally, Navarro is also the sixth of eight children.
The pair met when Navarro was visiting Palmetto Bluff, where Lavin was working at the time. A mutual friend said they should connect, and they started talking about COVID, the social climate, culture, feeling a sense of purpose in life, and everything in between.
One day, Navarro called Lavin to talk about Charleston Place, an iconic hotel in the center of town that helped transform the city in 1986. Navarro had visited the hotel soon after its opening and had subsequently moved to Charleston.
When Charleston Place was put up for sale, it was the perfect opportunity for the pair to create their own hotel following their shared values. This led to the formation of BHC, launched in 2021 with a vision to inspire connection and bring people together. It allowed Lavin to combine his career background with a higher calling. Above all, it was an opportunity to transform Charleston for future generations.
At first, Lavin and Navarro considered hiring a group like Four Seasons or Waldorf to manage the hotel, but they ultimately realized that the only way to truly capture the essence of the city and build the organization they wanted was to run it themselves.
As they were working out a deal with the selling company to buy the hotel, they learned that another hotel, The Cooper, was being developed on the water 500 yards down the street. The developers of the waterfront hotel, which had not gone vertical yet, were interested in selling and BHC took the opportunity to acquire and redesign the property as part of its growing portfolio
Now also underway is a new city park between the two hotels. Called American Gardens, it is set to open in summer 2025, and will complement the existing restaurant, theater, and stadium on the water for concerts and events. By creating so much traffic in the neighborhood, BHC has also attracted luxury retail partners like Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Lavin says that their overall vision has been to create an immersive, full-service, luxury experience for guests and the greater community.
“Our goal is to create a comprehensive hospitality offering that provides a one stop shop for people looking to experience Charleston. From private transfer from the airport, to staying at one of our hotels, our amenities are uniquely available to guests of BHC. This includes preferred access to some of the best restaurants in the city, incredible spas at The Cooper and The Charleston Place and programming that caters to your every need. “
