In Frame: The Man Behind the Museum Hotels

[ Soft, dramatic music plays ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Indistinct conversations ] I bet they're all loose.

I bet they're not really attached to each other.

I bet they're not.

Is this interesting to you?

Okay.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Could you help us?

Hi.

Hi.

How are you?

Fine, and you?

I'm Steve Wilson.

I'm Silvia.

This piece.

This one is Hctor Zamora.

This, the bike?

Yes.

It's Hctor Zamora.

He's Mexican.

Mexican.

But he lives in Sao Paulo for a while, for a long time.

I bet they're all unattached.

Are they stacked on loosely?

How much is it?

One five?

One five.

Could I -- We're interested in this for our museum.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you.

Nice to see you.

Hopefully, we stay in contact.

I'll give you my card.

Yes, please.

[ Engine idling ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Hi.

Has it already happened, or is it coming or going or what?

Oh, it's always happening.

Didn't you know?

That's what this whole thing is about.

Absolutely.

How you doing?

I'm Bryan.

Steve Wilson.

Nice to meet you.

Is there going to be a performance?

Well, this is actually kind of an ongoing performance.

It's an ongoing performance.

This is the Unstoppable Death Machines.

They're a brother-based duo from Brooklyn.

We definitely, as part of the agreement, we come with the piece, like we said, and we just travel and we tour.

We can do appearances with it, you know?

How much is this?

Yeah.

Okay, guys, we're really intrigued by this, so let's think about how we could use it.

Thank you.

My pleasure.

Keep in touch.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Bye, bye.

Pleasure to meet you.

[ Indistinct conversations ] You can't F'ing believe this.

We could change the color of all the pigeons in Louisville over time.

If a pigeon flies in there, it's automatically going to spray?

And it automatically sprays, and there's, like, a shower kind of sensor in there.

Okay.

And he closes his eyes, and he doesn't mind.

Yeah.

Yeah, I was going to say, isn't it shocking?

We have to have this.

That is too much.

We would put it on top of it and don't tell anybody, and the birds of Louisville will begin to turn red, and nobody understands why.

We could get in trouble for it, too.

Yeah.

I mean, there will be some people who don't like it.

Yeah, but that's okay.

It gets people talking.

Yeah.

Like, in terms of four galleries, not more than four galleries.

Like, similar type of work.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Are you working here?

I'm working here.

I'm Steve Wilson.

I am Chester Peters.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

How are you today?

I'm good.

Yes?

You're enjoying the fair?

Yes.

You're living in Miami or... No, I live in Kentucky.

Oh, okay.

We have -- We have contemporary art museum hotels.

Mm-hmm.

I'm curious about this clock.

How much are they?

Well, they are unique pieces, so we sell... You always say that when you know it's going to be too expensive.

They always say "unique" first.

Well, this piece is 60,000 euro.

Uh-huh.

That one is 96,000 euro.

Okay.

How many are available?

Only one.

So you've sold them all but one?

Well, this one is a unique piece.

Okay.

You told me that.

So it's the only piece for sale.

If you want, I can give you my card.

Yeah.

Alright.

Alright?

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

This is a unique piece.

[ Chuckles ] I told him, "Anytime they say 'unique' first, it means it's too expensive."

[ Chuckles ] Um, you know, um, 60,000 euro, but he'll take a discount.

Okay, so, can we get 20% discount?

Um... You should go to our website.

I have to negotiate first.

Also... You have my card.

I have your card, yeah.

Look at our website.

I will do it with pleasure.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Are you working here?

Yes.

Are you working here?

Yes.

So, you're selling this structure?

The house, yes.

Okay, well, thank you.

You're welcome.

[ Chuckles ] [ Laughing ] Well, that was only $2.5 million.

Did you hear the price?

I thought she was going to say $250,000.

$2.5 million.

I can't imagine putting that, if it's really worth that, putting it up like that.

It looks like -- looks like a prefab house at the state fair.

[ Both chuckle ] Oh.

[ Indistinct conversations ] So it's probably not the super expensive... Oh, my God, it's fantastic!

Not the expensive... > Oho!

[ Chuckles ] Oh, that's the load of brick I bought.

[ Laughter ] [ Chuckles ] Ohh.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Look what we got here.

Hey.

Hey, hey.

How you doing?

My favorite man of the hour.

[ Chuckles ] How has everything been?

Great.

Okay, guys, what are we going to do here?

We're ready.

We've been thinking about you.

How about $10,000, I pay you that in the next couple weeks, and then I pay you another $5,000 when you come and perform?

Okay.

Sounds like a plan.

Alright.

That's very good.

Very happy to see you again.

Good.

Nice to see you, too.

[ Laughs ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Hi.

Hi.

Are these the artists?

These are the artists, yes.

Okay, I'm the guy who wants to buy this thing.

Oh, okay.

Cool.

But I'm a little bit offended that you don't think of me as a public institution.

We have three museums open now.

We have 30,000 square feet of exhibition space.

I'm building another one in Durham, North Carolina.

Another one is going to start in February in Lexington, Kentucky.

We've announced plans for Oklahoma City and Kansas City.

One question.

If another public institution, like, would show the piece and, you know, exhibitions of them, you would lend the piece to shows?

Absolutely, we lend and borrow from other places.

I'm not talking about giving it away.

I'm talking about paying you for it.

It's not exactly a gift.

It's a lot of money, too.

[ Laughter ] I know.

[ Chuckles ] Well, I just wanted mostly to let you know who I...

I bought this piece 2 days ago, and it's in the Wall Street Journal.

Wow.

It's a nice one.

And there's going to be a major story in the New York Times tomorrow about the things that I bought.

The reporter was with us when we were here.

Right.

Yeah.

So I need to tell her whether your piece is going to be in the story or not in the story.

Okay.

I'm not interested in the pictures without the machine.

Yeah.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Hello?

Yes.

Okay.

Alright.

Well, thank you for calling, and wish them all the best.

Bye-bye.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Oh.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Wow.

That's really cool.

[ Tools whirring ] [ Clears throat ] So, walking down to the floor?

Yes.

Yeah.

[ Indistinct conversations ] You're going to pour concrete here to level this?

No, I think it is leveled.

I mean, well, it's -- there's not a change in level between this.

I think we'd have to do something to bring the surface up here.

So there's the bar.

Yeah.

So that window, bar sitting, seating.

It's going to be super cool.

And the divider wall to the dining room is about here?

And this is where we still need some art.

We talked about hanging something here.

These are very...

I think down this part of the corridor, it would be like what you see here, but then these occur elsewhere without these.

Okay.

[ Sighing ] Wow.

Holy cow.

[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

It looks pretty swell.

It does.

Looks amazing.

Yeah.

Imagine what it looked like before.

So, these worked -- these worked fine.

We procure usually two model rooms for each project, and we style them so that in the middle of a construction site, you're walking into a fully finished room that looks like it will the day we open the hotel, hopefully.

Before you got here, we were talking about whether the tables should be, you know, 2 inches bigger.

Mm-hmm.

I agree.

It's an opportunity to test everything: the paint colors, the drapes, the carpet, the tile in the bathroom.

It's like a test drive while the car is still being designed.

Definitely do not like this carpet.

I totally agree with you.

It looks cheap.

Steve Wilson pays attention to every detail.

There are definitely things that he points out that I think, "Whoa, I would never have noticed that in a million years," but once he points it out, you think, "Yeah, that looks sort of funny."

I'm not liking the ottomans much in either room.

So, that's not great.

Sometimes it does seem that the things that he focuses on are unimportant to the bigger picture, but his fixation on those little things is what makes the big thing so great.

Sometimes I can tell you exactly what he's going to think and what he's going to like, and other times, he blows my mind.

[ Indistinct conversations ] No, the vault little things we wanted to keep?

Why did they do that?

Wow.

They said that they all have the things where it makes it... Hey, do you know the boxes -- the painted boxes that slide into the... Those were scheduled to be demo'd.

Those were salvaged by the demo contractor.

No.

We wanted to keep those.

Yeah.

We talked about different ways of using them.

That's what I remember.

[ Sighs ] Anybody know where Brad is?

Is Brad on tour now, or where is he?

I think he was in with Lisa before, a minute ago.

Okay.

Excuse me.

Brad, the -- there was this big pile of the safe deposit boxes down by the safe.

Black metal with little gold trim and doors.

Okay.

I thought I made it clear to everybody we wanted to save those.

Hank thinks the demolition company took them away.

Okay.

If that's true, we got to get them back.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

[ Indistinct conversations ] ...connection to the ballroom through these doors here and these doors here.

It connects you to the kitchen and to the pantry and the other back-of-house spaces.

You may remember... Deborah Berke & Partners gives us their vision, down to literally every single light switch and outlet and thermostat to very, very detailed construction drawings from which the building is actually built.

There are lots of different of people at that table, and Steve obviously provides the overall vision for how this should look and function, to a certain standpoint.

I'm wondering if you need the grid on the ceiling quite so close.

Yeah.

You mean the sort of... And I'm wondering if we can get by with half as much.

We look to him to challenge us, and you know, there are many times during design meetings when we think something can't be accomplished, or we overlook an opportunity that he sees.

And it really takes him challenging us and sort of prodding us to push the envelope even further than we might without him sitting in the room.

I think Steve brings a perspective and good sense of design and also just a, you know, a fun energy.

That really makes the projects more interesting, and I think that filters through the whole project at all levels.

This is not working.

You might sell that to Marriott.

[ Laughs ] Ouch.

He'll say immediately that he doesn't like something, and sometimes that can be jarring, but it's better to know where you stand, cross that off the list, change gears.

And that is so much easier, I think, to respond to than if someone was wishy-washy and changed their mind a lot.

Because I am in charge of our public relations efforts, it is scary sometimes.

I can never predict what Steve Wilson will say or do from one moment to the next, and I have learned to let go of that a little bit.

You know, he's kind of difficult to, uh -- to read and to anticipate, and he's so creative.

You never quite know what he's going to respond to.

But -- But, really, you know, my role with the company, I think, is to make sure that we're realizing his vision for 21c.

An interesting thing that we found is, people come into our hotel to spend the night or come to our restaurants to eat dinner, and then they're confronted with contemporary art in a way that they really enjoy, whereas a lot of those people may not go to a traditional museum.

They would perhaps not have taken the time out of their schedule to go and look at art.

And they walk -- they come away with a different understanding of what art is.

Mm-hmm.

I used to worry about doing more than one.

I thought, you know, we don't want to be a chain.

But the character of the buildings truly give each project a unique sensibility that even though you can see the contemporary art and the energy of 21c, they don't -- they totally look different, and each one will.

Mm-hmm.

We're now working on -- We're renovating a bank building in Durham, North Carolina, and it's going to be just as different as all the other projects.

Alright, well, thanks so much.

I appreciate your time.

Alright.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

[ Sighs ] Blah, blah, blah.

I think that went pretty good.

Yeah, I think so, too.

[ Marching band plays ] [ Up-tempo music plays ] [ Machinery whirring ] [ Indistinct conversations ] The TV goes on the angled wall, so there's no furniture at the foot of the bed and two chairs then in front of that window.

Hey, we're on 12.

Chris?

Yeah, we're getting ready to walk down to six, Molly?

I think we should go to four.

We're going to four.

We'll meet you on four.

[ Indistinct conversations ] This is first up.

We had any more luck on finding the lockboxes?

No.

There are, like, a handful of them, but not really.

I assume we want the doors, when it's open, the hotel is open, to be flush, be able to be closed.

As you can tell, these ones we have to find the keys to put these back in to shut them all the way.

Some of them will just have -- they got the cores busted out.

So but that's all you require now?

There's nothing more -- No, I require the lockboxes that were stolen from us.

Well... That's what I want, and I don't -- The answer that they're gone doesn't -- is not enough for me.

Somebody stole them.

They're probably in antique shops being sold as we speak.

I don't know, but somebody knows.

I know that somebody knows because everybody always shuts up when I mention it.

This is the third time I brought it up.

I want some resolution on this subject.

Yeah, but nobody is telling me what it is.

Well, that's not a good enough answer.

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Ooh.

[ Indistinct conversations ] This is almost better than a massage.

[ Laughter ] So much attention.

You ready for today?

I'm ready.

I think I'm ready.

Liu Bolin is in town, and he's known also as "The Invisible Man," where he's painted or paints himself with the help of assistants and a team into the background of various landscapes or installations where he's camouflaged and, for all intents and purposes, invisible.

We decided to offer our clients the opportunity to be painted in Liu Bolin's new photographs.

He's painting 40 or so people into the background of a traditional Chinese landscape, and the subjects are in these different Renaissance poses.

Okay.

Good.

Great.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Oh, my God.

What a day.

What a day, right?

Not easy, not an easy process.

Here you go.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Whew!

Thank you.

It was great fun.

I appreciate it.

I want a copy of this picture.

I want one.

Yeah.

Okay.

[ Engines whirring ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Oh, my gosh.

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Saws buzzing ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Well, I think we got this covered to protect it, but if you want to see it, you could see it over at the... [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Men speaking Spanish ] [ Machinery buzzing ] Oh, these are huge.

Yeah, they are.

The walls have the columns.

Completely boxed in.

Yeah, they have the plywood up on that column there, so you can kind of get a sense of the size of the wall.

I feel better about this space for the kind of work that can be exhibited here.

Yeah.

And then Alice was really excited about across the hall last time we were here, and just that'll be a great gallery space with more longer walls.

So, Andrew's work will be on all the walls here.

Uh-huh.

This is the video gallery.

And... Yeah, this is more like where all the cardio equipment goes, I think, and I think the free weights maybe might be at this end.

This sits in the corner.

[ Speaking indistinctly ] That's good.

I think yellow and the hot pink, yellow and orange.

Oh, the light works really well.

[ Laughter ] Okay.

And can that be...

It's going to be hard to move, right?

[ Speaking indistinctly ] I think it needs to be half the diameter.

Yeah.

I like this hall.

We can close it off.

We're not doing the carpet here, are we?

No, we don't have -- Yeah, this is great.

I like it.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Uh-oh.

What's wrong?

Where's Alice?

She's not here yet.

She's on her way.

This one's upside down.

Oh, okay.

Although...

Okay.

The New York City event that we did was a pop-up event, which was really our way of being able to take 21c and bring it to New York.

I turned the -- Wasn't that one supposed to be upside down, the middle one?

It is upside down.

I know, but it wasn't.

I turned it upside down.

Oh, it wasn't?

Oh, it wasn't finished before I left, okay.

Yes, it is supposed to be upside down.

We had chefs from every single restaurant cooking the food.

It wasn't just a model hotel room or it wasn't just an art show or it wasn't just some snacks for people.

It was really taking the three things that we're about and showing it off to the press.

I'm going to turn it over to our two visionary, creative, entrepreneurial, philanthropic... Okay.

That's enough.

...art-collecting founders Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you for coming.

We're very excited to be opening in Durham, North Carolina, which is why we're here tonight, first time we've ever taken our story to New York.

We've always thought you had to come and see what it's really about, but I think now that you've been here tonight, maybe you'll want to come even more, and I'm sure you've heard that we have other projects in the works.

Today we were working on Nashville, Tennessee, and yesterday we were working on Kansas City.

A very exciting story.

We're thrilled to death with our success, and all of you are part of our success.

Thank you so much.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Electronic music plays ] Some people but, you know, you can't really... [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Electronic music plays ] You ever drink bourbon?

Kentucky bourbon?

Cheers.

Come to the Kentucky Derby.

That's our big party time.

I know.

I know.

We have a really big party on the Friday night and go to the races Saturday.

Yes.

Of course.

[ Indistinct conversations ] You're not gonna pay cash or anything.

You're just going to go, get in, tell him where you're going, and then you're done.

You just walk out and... Oh, is that right?

...it'll charge your credit card automatically.

You're kidding.

No tip, nothing.

If they have a wreck, you're going to have to pay for everything.

They don't have insurance.

Good night.

See you on Friday.

Bye.

Do you have insurance?

Do you have insurance?

Yeah.

Alright.

I don't believe you.

Good night.

Take care of this woman.

She's my wife.

Okay.

[ Chuckles ] [ Upbeat music plays ] Everything will be fine As long as we don't say anything Oh, everything is gonna be alright As long as we wipe out the witnesses Wipe out the witnesses Wipe out tonight [ Flamenco guitar plays ] Be careful because they'll turn here.

Look at this.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Yeah.

It is amazing.

It's got beautiful bones.

Look at this arch door.

They're called vitrales.

And that is a grand stairway over there?

I want to just step in there.

Yeah.

Go ahead.

It looks like there are some street people living in here.

Hello.

[ Speaking Spanish ] I love the building, but it's too small.

[ Saw buzzing ] This, I mean... It's gonna be fantastic.

I'm going in.

Oh, my God.

This is fantastic!

Look at this.

[ Muffled music plays ] Oh, my gosh.

Oh, yeah.

Can you imagine?

Look at these medallions they're saving.

They're restoring it.

Huh.

Oh, my gosh.

This is fantastic.

We really have to work this out.

Look at the pattern on the floor.

We'll keep going up.

[ Glass clinks ] [ Indistinct conversations ] This is very exciting.

[ Speaking Spanish ] He doesn't know, but this is the Corona Cigar Factory.

The roof would have some incredible architectural elements.

Let's walk there.

You want to see the view from the roof?

Let's go.

This is a great pool right here.

This is the pool.

Well, we'd have to do some engineering to see if the building would support it.

But I like the fact that the columns are steel.

Yeah?

Do you have any [Indistinct] Thank you.

Bye-bye.

[ Speaking Spanish ] Bye-bye.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] [ Chuckles ] I said goodbye to the last guy there and shook his hand.

He said, "Good morning."

[ Both chuckle ] Adios.

Oh, my goodness.

That is -- We have to make that work now.

That'll be more disappointing than losing Austin if we lose that now.

[ Knock on gate ] Hello.

Carlo!

Carlo!

Mm.

[ Grunts ] Hey.

[ Laughs ] How are you?

Oh, man.

It's amazing.

I can't believe -- Good to see you.

This is my grandson -- my grandson Avery.

Come on.

Come on.

Please.

You don't have to say it, Donna.

I've heard it a thousand times.

[ Speaking Spanish ] We got it.

Wow.

That's a very big one.

And these are the... These are called the horn caps because they will come off, so you have to be careful.

You just put them back if they do.

This is from our farm.

We raised it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

In Kentucky.

In Kentucky.

Oh, wow.

[ Speaking Spanish ] Oh, these are the photographs that he's been painting.

Oh.

[ Speaking Spanish ] He says he has a really great one downstairs.

Okay.

You go to Miami often?

Ah.

I'm painting, just painting there and swimming pool and painting.

That's great.

[ Speaking Spanish ] This is a work in progress.

Not finished yet.

What?

Work in progress.

He's in the middle of this.

[ Speaking Spanish ] I like these.

I don't know why.

[ Chuckles ] [ Speaking Spanish ] What are the prices on this big blue one, the diptych and the... El precio del azul?

[ Speaking Spanish ] He says you have a good eye.

[ Speaking Spanish ] And he says if you buy a few of them, he'll do a good discount for you.

You bring me a bison head.

Nobody... [ Speaking Spanish ] Nobody has done that, and nobody will ever do what he's done, so he'll -- he's gonna take that.

He'll love to take that into consideration.

[ Chuckles ] That's true.

Nobody else will ever do that.

[ Both chuckle ] [ Speaking Spanish ] Are you painting this now?

Yeah.

I'm working on this one.

Oh, my God.

I like that.

That's beautiful.

I like that with the elephant.

Yeah.

I like this.

[ Speaking Spanish ] Okay.

Bye-bye.

Okay.

I see you soon.

[ Upbeat Cuban music plays ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Machinery whirring ] [ Hammer pounding ] [ Mid-tempo rock music plays ] Straight.

Higher.

It's gonna be great.

I think it's great.

Yeah.

So, seating in this corner, seating in that corner.

Oh, look at this.

Wow.

Okay.

There's a lot to decide in here.

[ Chuckles ] Uh-huh.

Haven't seen the lobby yet, have we?

No, no.

And there's going to be a handle here.

Let's hope.

Don't write that down.

[ Laughs ] So, you would come up on these elevators and then... And this is artwork going in.

Yes.

And then come through here.

Oh, wow.

And these are good, huh?

Have you seen them uncovered?

Uh-huh.

Al said there's going to be a -- I think there's a glass that goes over the top of all this.

Okay then.

Oh, look at this.

This is going to be on the cover of the Voice for Derby.

Gorgeous.

Oh, and this, too.

This is one of those things that Laura Lee just shook her head when I bought it.

[ Both laugh ] Okay.

And then the meeting room is over here?

Uh-huh.

Housekeeping!

[ Laughs ] How are you?

Good to see you.

Both: Hello.

Let's see the... [ Indistinct conversations ] God, it's fun to see these again.

[ Laughs ] Just... Just depending on what the meeting is in here, this one might distract people.

He might distract, yeah.

He's a bit distracting for sure.

So that's business center.

So this...

When is this place opening?

[ Both laugh ] What is the first date that rooms are sellable?

The first date right now that rooms are sold -- April 1st, and I think, as we continue to get closer to that date, we'll back up that date further.

Here you go.

Wow.

Look at that light.

[ Chuckles ] You could make a Christmas tree out of that.

Yes.

Yeah, we should hang ornaments off of that.

They're too stuffed.

[ Speaking indistinctly ] [ Chuckles ] Okay.

Now, how do you get that into that?

[ Both laugh ] I don't see what the problem is.

I think there must be... Somewhere there's a box of the right pillows that go in here.

[ Laughs ] Do you know if we resolved this yet?

This just seems like a mistake.

That... You know, why didn't it come here if it's gonna be there at all, and how would you do it here?

Mm-hmm.

So it just... Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Amazing rooms.

I think they're gonna be great.

I mean, I wish that I was showing you a really finished product.

No, I... Okay.

So, if you go to... go to FaceTime.

Laura Lee?

[ Chuckles ] Are you looking at my face or something else?

I'm looking at a sofa.

Okay.

I'm going to show you something.

I can see your face.

You can't... Yes.

I can see my face, too.

Alright.

You see that?

Oh, wow.

You remember... I can't really see the water falling, but I can see the stones moving.

No, yeah, it's just driplets.

And that's... Ned Kahn.

You see the bar?

Yes.

Oh, that's beautiful.

This is the dining room.

It's a huge room.

Steve, when do they take their first paying guests?

Well, I don't know.

We're having 50 test meals tonight.

Wow.

Because quite a lot of the building is still under construction.

Here is the piece that we commissioned from Duke.

Uh-huh.

It's made out of cigarettes.

Oh, wow.

And they cut down trees to make the paper, right?

Yes.

This is the ballroom.

Oh, wow.

It's going to be a beautiful room.

Big, big, tall curtains go in here.

It's going to soften everything up.

Uh-huh.

And the light fixtures are nice.

Oh, they are nice.

They're beautiful.

Where'd they come from?

I picked them out in New York.

Uh-huh.

I think they're too high in the vestibule.

Do you see that?

I think they need to be lowered, but it's going to be amazing.

Well, I'm so glad you got there.

I think that was important.

Is the weather decent?

Yeah.

It's not bad.

There's snow on the ground.

I don't -- I've been inside ever since I got here.

Okay, well, I'll talk to you a little later.

You call me.

Okay.

Bye.

Bye-bye.

Do I need -- Sure.

Absolutely.

Is... [ Indistinct conversations ] Steve?

Steve?

Ha!

Yes?

How do I...

I don't... My pants are talking to me.

[ Both laugh ] You have to turn me off or something.

Alright.

Uh... [ Sighs ] [ Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Thunder and Lightning Polka" plays ] Yes, I am a very, very lucky guy.

Hi.

How are you?

Doing well.

I'm Steve.

I'm Stephen.

How are you?

Well.

See you here.

[ Music crescendoes ] [ Song ends ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Together: Good morning!

We want to start the morning by introducing the founder of 21c Hotels, Mr. Steve Wilson.

Thank you, Steve, for being able to attend.

Alright.

Thank you.

Thank you so very much.

I am so proud of each and every one of you.

[ Voice breaking ] I'm almost about to cry already.

You know, it's not easy to be the best, and we are the best at what we do, aren't we?

[ Cheers and applause ] We've had a few problems here, but we're going to get past them.

This is the fourth time we've opened a hotel, and it gets better all the time, and we couldn't do it without each and every one of you, and I am just so proud.

Thank you all.

[ Cheers and applause ] Welcome to 21c Museum Hotel Durham.

[ Cheers and applause ] 21c Museum Hotels is about contemporary art, warm hospitality, local food, and community.

We strive to build not just great places to eat, drink.

and spend the night, but cultural centers that aim to help reinvigorate urban areas.

Ladies and gentlemen, the founder, chairman and, CEO of 21c Museum Hotels, Steve Wilson.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you for that.

Thank you.

Just yesterday, one of your local residents got a preview.

I don't know how she got in the building early, but after she looked at the art, she said, "I think the belt just fell off the Bible Belt."

[ Laughter ] [ Up-tempo alternative rock music plays ] Congratulations.

Love your tattoo.

Thank you.

Hello.

Hello.

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Music continues ] [ Feedback, distortion ] [ Feedback continues ] [ Music stops ]