Checking in with Clark Hill, general manager of the Hilton Naples

Clark Hill Just beyond a non-descript door, behind the front desk at the Hilton Naples, is where you'll find general manager Clark Hill. His office, tucked away at the end of long, narrow hall, where unbeknownst to guests the daily operations of the bustling hotel take place, is far from fancy. In fact, it's pretty understated — which is befitting, considering Mr. Hill himself is low-key and unassuming.

Though he's far from an open book, he does divulge some fascinating tidbits about his journey thus far.

"I was born in Tokyo, Japan," he offers in a low voice touched by a southern drawl. His father, a colonel in the Air Force, served in World War II and the family lived everywhere. Mr. Hill remembers starting first grade in Izmir, Turkey, living in Germany for a bit and skiing all over Switzerland, before coming to the states to live in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a while. When his dad retired at 45, the family moved to Huntsville, Ala., the place Mr. Hill refers to as home.

"It is beautiful," he says. Nestled at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Huntsville is a high-tech city that's home to the Sci-Quest Museum and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. "It used to have a lot of cattle, now it has a lot of houses," he chuckles.

At 18, Mr. Hill was available for the Vietnam draft. "My number was 125, but they only reached 80 or so," he says. Instead, he attended the University of Alabama, returning to Huntsville with a degree in industrial relations and taking a manager-in-training position at a newly completed Hilton hotel in downtown. "I was undecided as to what I wanted to do, so I just worked there," he explains.

He remembers a lot from the seven years he spent there, but Elvis Presley's stop at that hotel on what would be his final tour made the biggest impression.

As Mr. Hill recalls, Elvis booked one show in Huntsville and rented an entire floor at the hotel. "There was so much security," he says. "In retrospect, I wish I had saved something." Even though he confesses to not being much of an Elvis fan, he did see the show. "It was a great feeling."

Having proved his managerial abilities at his home base, in 1982 Cooper Hotels offered Mr. Hill a general manager position in Knoxville, Tenn. "I was 29 at the time," he says. "I was gung-ho, but I had a lot to learn." From there he continued on to St. Louis and then to Fort Myers in the late '80s to open the Holiday Inn Select and Homewood Suites. In 2000, he stepped up to open the Hilton Naples, his sixth hotel with the company.

"Each experience gets much less intimidating," he says. "Managing a hotel is nothing like what people perceive it to be. It is pretty hard and stressful work."

The 200-room Hilton Naples wasn't successful immediately. Like any new business, it was a matter of developing a presence in the community. But then 9-11 happened, and the entire tourism industry suffered. On a positive note, the Naples business community pooled its resources and came together to get through that difficult time.

Today, as a more vibrant business community continues to emerge in Naples, Mr. Hill and his 200-member staff have contributed by creating a Hilton known as the place in town for business meetings and functions. "We have the space and we're in a great location," he says. "It's kind of a natural."

In fact, right now any nonprofit organization that needs a place to meet may utilize the Hilton at no charge. "We don't do this for the PR; we do this because we love Naples," he says.

And Mr. Hill loves Naples so much he has turned down job opportunities that would require him to leave the area. "What has kept me at this hotel is the community," he says.

Though the economy has taken its toll, Mr. Hill feels pretty good that the worst is over. Nowadays, with consumers being very value conscious, the Hilton's rate is down but its occupancy remains good.

In what spare time he does have, Mr. Hill is a vocal member of the Collier County Tourist Development Council, is past president of the Collier County Hotel and Lodging Association, and is co-chairing the United Way of Collier County campaign this year. He's looking forward to zip-lining through the trees when he visits Costa Rica with his son, Clark Jr., who just graduated from the University of Central Florida. And while he jokes around about the exotic trips to Des Moines and Pasadena he and his wife Julie take, he does enjoy those trips to visit family.

Ultimately, though, he's a beach guy. "Geographically, that's where I always wanted to be," he says. "You can't get any better than this."