brand builders Andrew Alford Andrew Alford first caught the hospitality bug when he was 19, working a roller coaster at an Ohio theme park. "It was a public-facing form of escapism that was very healthy," he says. "For the two-and-a-half minutes they're on that ride, they're not thinking about the bills they have to pay, relationship challenges, or illness. It's pure escapism. I loved providing that service." Alford joined AJ Capital Partners in 2013, where owner and founder Ben Weprin pitched him the idea of Graduate as a new type of hotel that celebrated college towns, which often lacked vibrant lifestyle properties. It was a 094 August 2019 hospitalitydesign.com An oversized duck toy in the Graduate Eugene's lobby playfully references the University of Oregon's mascot Photos by RYAN EDMUND and CHRISTIAN HORAN Chief Creative Officer AJ Capital Partners