Mr. Hospitality
In his home state of Massachusetts one day, a young Jerry Gibson — just 9-and-a-half or 10-years-old at the time—was hard at work mowing his father’s lawn, when a car pulled up. Presuming its driver wanted to speak to an adult, Gibson said as much after a “hello.”
“No, I want to see you,” the gentleman responded. “Can you help me with things around my house?”
That job offer came from none other than prominent criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, and in the years of friendship that followed, Gibson moved on from menial maintenance tasks to assisting with professional assignments, giving him the opportunity to travel the nation.
It was during this time that Gibson became enamored with the hotels he frequented. So, when, as a sophomore studying business management at University of Massachusetts, Bailey broached the topic of law school, Gibson shared that he had other plans.
“I said, ‘Lee, you know, I’ve been watching you for so many years ... I don’t really want to be a lawyer,’” Gibson remembers. “He looked at me like I was crazy. I said, ‘I want to get into the hotel business,’ and he goes, ‘Son, I think you’d rather be a lawyer.’”
But Gibson stayed the course anyway. On the day after graduation, with a mere $250 in his pocket and a one-way plane ticket, he landed in Honolulu, where he came upon Ramada Inn Airport, found the HR office and a job listing for three positions, opting to apply as a host in the dining room.
In the years that followed, Gibson joined the likes of Host Marriott on Kaua‘i and Hyatt, rising in the ranks of the latter to become general manager of properties in Hawai‘i and on the mainland. Then, during a stint in Chicago, Gibson received a call from the new owner of Hilton Hotels, asking if he’d return to the islands to reopen Hilton Hawaiian Village. “After 28 wonderful years with Hyatt, and many times being transferred back and forth from the mainland to Hawai‘i, I decided to take a great opportunity with Hilton,” says Gibson. “I left Hyatt from Chicago as regional vice president, and moved back home to Hawai‘i based at Hilton Hawaiian Village as regional vice president of 23 hotels and timeshares.”
Eleven years later, Gibson was approached once more to run the show at Turtle Bay Resort.
“I thought Turtle Bay would be for a year, and I ended up staying there for three years,” he says. “I loved every minute of it. I fell in love with all of the 700 team members—the North Shore just has some wonderful people there.”
Gibson recently passed the reins to a new managing director. Now, he serves as vice president of BRE Hotels & Resorts, working on special projects for its Hawai‘i properties that include The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua; Grand Wailea Maui, A Waldorf Astoria Resort; and Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach.
In addition to making time for walks and nightly swims, Gibson also is devoted to giving back to the community, currently serving as president of Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance and vice chairman of Honolulu Police Commission, as well as sitting on the boards of various organizations.
“I like to stay in touch with the community that has been so wonderful to me over the years, and it’s my way of giving back for the privilege of living here in Hawai‘i,” he says.
All in all, it’s been rather kismet that he still gets to call the islands home.
“Hawai‘i has always pulled me back like a magnet,” says Gibson. “I feel re- ally, really at home in Hawai‘i. I love the music, the sound of the ocean, the richness of the many friendships that will last a lifetime.
“Every day I wake up with a smile and I feel so lucky to be here in Hawai‘i, and to have my wife Sandra and I be in a place we truly love and enjoy.”