About Us: Our History

The History of Rosen Hotels & Resorts

  • September 9, 1939 – Mr. Harris Rosen is born.
  • 1961 – 1969 – Harris Rosen graduates from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and serves more than three years in the United States Army before working at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.
  • 1970 – Mr. Rosen joins Disney Company as Director of Hotel Planning and is instrumental in the development and planning of the Contemporary Resort Hotel and the Polynesian Village Hotel.
  • June 24, 1974 – Harris Rosen purchases his first hotel the Quality Inn International, now known as the Rosen Inn International. Consequently, Tamar Inns, the company behind the hotel, is born. International Inn opens with 256 guestrooms. After three expansions and renovations, the hotel now has 728 guestrooms. Mr. Rosen’s early method of attracting guests was to hitchhike to the Northeast visiting one motor coach company after another, asking them to name their price. He came home with contracts for guestroom rates as low as $7 a night. This commitment to occupancy instead of average rate has become a tradition.
  • June 24, 1975 – Harris Rosen purchases the 251-guestroom-hotel the International Inn, now known as the Rosen Inn (closest to Universal Orlando® Resort). An expansion in 1979 brings it to 315 guestrooms.
  • February 1, 1984 – The Quality Inn Plaza, now known as Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando, was Rosen Hotels & Resorts’ first hotel planned from blueprint to full construction. It opens with 340 guestrooms. Three expansions increase the property’s capacity to 1,020 guestrooms.
  • May 15, 1987 – Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista, now known as Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista, opens with 320 guestrooms and quickly doubles its size to 640 guestrooms. Mr. Rosen employs his idea of a flashing billboard alongside Interstate 4 that reads “Best Rates in Town,” which turns those passing by into guests. People come flocking in. The hotel reaches maximum capacity on opening night, so Harris Rosen stands in the parking lot and redirects guests to other Rosen hotels. This property ran 100% occupancy during its first five years.
  • 1989 – RSC Insurance Agency, now named ProvInsure, forms to administer a self-funded insurance plan.
  • September 13, 1991 – Clarion Plaza, now known as Rosen Plaza, was Rosen Hotels & Resorts’ first full-service convention hotel with 800 guestrooms, 60,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, fine dining, and a nightclub.
  • October 1991 – The first Rosen Medical Center opens adjoin to the Rosen Inn International.
  • 1993 – The Tangelo Park Pilot Program launches guaranteeing every child in Tangelo Park an education from preschool through college.
  • October 31, 1995 – Rosen Hotels & Resorts opens its second full-service convention hotel, Omni Rosen, now known as the Rosen Centre Hotel. Rising 24 stories over International Drive, the hotel boasts more than 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and fine-dining restaurants.
  • July 10, 1997 – Weight Watchers at work program starts. First series and group loses a total of 176 pounds.
  • July 24, 1997 – Millennium Technology Group opens for business.
  • November 1997 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts employees attend the first Associates Health, Benefits & Safety Fair.
  • November 17, 1999 – The Rosen Hotel & Resorts Family Outreach Center opens.
  • July 1, 2000 – The company changes its name from Tamar Inns; the Rosen Hotels & Resorts name and brand is officially born. Clarion Plaza Hotel becomes Rosen Plaza Hotel and the Omni Rosen becomes Rosen Centre Hotel.
  • March 2001 – Pillars of Our Strength Program is born.
  • March 7, 2002 – The First Golden Pillar Awards banquet is held to honor associates who provide outstanding service.
  • December 1, 2003 – Rosen Hotels & Resorts’ Shingle Creek Golf Club opens. David Harman designs the 18-hole golf course, which is later and consistently recognized as one of the top courses in Orlando, Florida, by Golf Magazine and others. It is located just a half mile east of the Orange County Convention Center expansion on Universal Blvd. The golf course defines the edges of Rosen Shingle Creek.
  • 2004 – University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management opens.
  • May 24, 2005 – U.S. Dream Academy in Washington, D.C. honors Mr. Harris Rosen with the President’s Award for the Tangelo Park Pilot Program.
  • 2005 – Water for Haiti Gala fundraising effort from the Rosen Foundation and Haitian Self-Sufficiency Task Force raises money to purchase water filtration systems to be used in Haiti.
  • September 9, 2006 – Rosen Shingle Creek opens with 1,501 guestrooms and suites and over 462,000 sq. ft. of “state of the art” ballroom and meeting facilities. It boasts one of the largest “column free” ballrooms in the United States measuring 95,000 sq. ft. The hotel also features a full-service spa, a state of the art health club, fine dining Italian bistro, and Shingle Creek Golf Club.
  • March 2008 – The first group of Cornell students participates in Rosen’s Alternative Spring Break, which helps Tangelo Park.
  • September 11, 2008 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts receives the Apex Award for healthcare accessibility.
  • 2008 – “Nesor, the Eco Hero” is born.
  • November 20, 2008 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts becomes a nicotine-free company.
  • March 2009 – W.O.W. Factor Program begins giving associates access to fitness opportunities at work.
  • 2009 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts receives its first Fit Friendly Worksite Award presented by the American Heart Association.
  • 2009 – The state of Florida recognizes Rosen Hotel & Resorts convention properties for their green practices. The convention properties achieve Two Palms status.
  • April 18, 2009 – Harris Rosen is inducted into the Central Florida Hospitality Hall of Fame.
  • June 19, 2009 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts receives the Legacy Award for green practices.
  • August 5, 2009 – The Jack & Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center opens.
  • September 10, 2009 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts receives the Beacon Award for its respective diversity practices.
  • December 4, 2009 – Harris Rosen named Citizen of the Year by the Florida School Board Association.
  • 2010 – Mr. Rosen named Honorary Consul General of Japan in Orlando.
  • January 12, 2010 – Harris Rosen sets out to raise $100,000 for Haiti Relief after the catastrophic earthquake. This mission would later become the Little Haiti House Project.
  • November 16, 2010 – Quality Inn Plaza renamed Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando.
  • December 2, 2010 – International Inn renamed Rosen Inn.
  • December 9, 2010 – Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista renamed Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista.
  • March 5, 2011 – Harris Rosen hosts the American Cancer Society's Cattle Barron’s Ball after the event had been on hiatus for years. The event has been at Rosen Shingle Creek ever since.
  • March 22, 2011 – Rosen Centre opens the Skywalk connecting the hotel with the Orange County Convention Center.
  • April 14, 2011 – Harris Rosen is named Cornell Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year.
  • April 15, 2011 – Harris Rosen raises over $86,000 for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.
  • January 30, 2012 – Rosen Hotel & Resorts opens the new 12,000 sq. ft. Rosen Medical Center.
  • July 4, 2012 – All Rosen hotels now offer free wireless internet access to guests.
  • July 1, 2013 – Quality Inn International renamed Rosen Inn International.
  • March 11, 2013 – Harris Rosen donates $1 million to Give the Kids the World.
  • September 19, 2013 – Gary Sain Memorial Skybridge opens connecting the Rosen Plaza to the Orange County Convention Center.
  • June 24, 2014 – Rosen Hotels & Resorts celebrates its 40th anniversary.
  • November 14, 2014 – Rosen Shingle Creek receives prestigious Three Palm Status in Florida DEP’s Green Lodging Program.
  • January 23, 2015 – Harris Rosen receives the Coretta Scott King A.N.G.E.L. Award by The King Center, Atlanta.
  • July 29, 2015 – The Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre, and Rosen Shingle Creek achieved APEX certifications for green practices in the areas of venues and accommodations.

Rosen Hotels & Resorts is Orlando’s most progressive hospitality company, owning upwards of 6,300 guestrooms – more than any other privately held hotel company in Central Florida.