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The Dow Hotel Co. in Seattle owes its existence to Murray Dow's job loss.
After the Connecticut hotel management company for which Dow worked was sold, he suddenly and unexpectedly became unemployed. So Dow decided to form his own company in the Northwest, where he grew up.
"I wanted to start a company where people have job security because the company never would be sold," says Dow, who co-founded The Dow Hotel Co. in 1997 with another laid-off employee at the Connecticut firm.
Starting Dow Hotel has paid off handsomely for Dow, the company's president and majority stockholder. Last year the company generated revenues of $1.6 million, up 71 percent from $957,000 in 2001. And during each of the past two years the company's profit margin exceeded 15 percent.
In contrast to its competitors, most of which are purely management companies, Dow Hotel acquires and invests in...