Some learn business, others are born with a hunch for it. When it comes to Greg Clark, it seems the latter holds true. At 19, he quit his job, paid his rent and was left with just $20 to his name. Today, he is renovating an 81-room hotel in Eureka Springs with a $1.1 million budget. The project, called Hotel Expedition, focuses on creating unique experiences with amenities like yoga and a fire pit, according to a report by PEOPLE.
From side hustle to business
When Clark quit his job, he went back to live with his mom and began buying and selling used tyres on Craigslist out of her carport. This side hustle eventually grew into a multi-state, multi-location automotive business. However, in 2020, when the pandemic hit, Clark began looking for other avenues that could sustain his family without him having to devote 100-hour work weeks.“I found real estate and ended up falling in love with renovating old homes, but not so much with being a landlord,” the 33-year-old told the outlet. “I then turned to short-term rentals and really enjoyed the hospitality side of this business. I was finally able to combine creating beautiful spaces with the dopamine I get from other people loving these spaces.”This newfound love led to Clark moving from short-term rentals to larger hospitality projects. In late 2025, he bought his first hotel in Montana near Yellowstone National Park. After a complete renovation, it opened in early 2026. Despite the Montana hotel not being profitable, Clark says the experience solidified his passion for the business. “I was hooked for life now, so you could almost say these have turned into midlife crisis passion projects where I want to just push the boundaries of what guests accept as normal in hotels, and let my creativity explode on our canvases,” he said.
A new project
Now, the entrepreneur is taking up his biggest project yet. An 81-room hotel in Eureka Springs, which he purchased for $2.55 million. He had budgeted another $1.1 million for renovations, including furniture, fixtures and equipment. He’s also living on-site while overseeing the massive renovation, which he hopes to complete in time for a grand opening around Christmas 2026.The Eureka Springs property was built in 1993 as a Holiday Inn Holidome, a style of hotel popular in the 1990s that centred guest rooms around an indoor pool area. According to Clark, the building was constructed by stacking concrete blocks in a pyramid-like structure, meaning each guest room is essentially a 25-by-12-foot concrete block that was craned into place.The project, which Clark has dubbed Hotel Expedition, is part of his larger goal to build a collection of 10 curated hotels over the next seven years. “I was inspired to buy this 81-room hotel the moment I walked the property and set foot inside the pool atrium,” Clark said, adding, “I knew right then and there, if I can just get everything else right with this property, this room will never go out of style.”He was drawn to Eureka Springs, which sits in the heart of the Ozarks, in part because of the growth of northwest Arkansas and the area’s attractions, including its historic landmarks, winding roads and rivers, as well as cave dining restaurants.However, transforming the property according to his vision is not proving to be an easy feat. Among the most pressing issues are a pool and hot tub that were in such a poor condition that they had to be closed to guests, along with a damaged elevator and multiple HVAC systems that need to be replaced. The HVAC work alone requires a special crane and large commercial package units.The lobby is also currently closed because guests cannot easily move through the space, making its completion one of Clark’s top priorities in the coming weeks. And as with any renovation of a building that has gone more than 30 years without proper care, Clark said the project has brought plenty of unexpected surprises.The property has also faced significant deferred maintenance, including issues involving its septic systems and roof. Those unexpected costs, along with HVAC expenses that have climbed into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, have forced Clark to make some difficult decisions about where to spend the renovation budget.
A luxury escape without the price
“We want to offer a level of amenities that cater to guests who want more out of their travel than just a bed and a warm shower,” he said. That vision includes a spa with an in-house masseuse, morning yoga, bracelet-making classes, movie nights by the pool and s’mores kits for guests to enjoy around the property’s fire pits. The goal is to make guests feel as though they’re staying at an upscale resort without the upscale price tag.Clark expects nightly rates to range from around $110 on a weekday to as much as $380 during an event weekend, depending on the season. In order to understand the hotel’s target guest, he has also been travelling around the country and sometimes internationally to study hotels serving a similar audience.To keep things interesting, he is documenting the entire process on TikTok. Initially, he began sharing it to be able to look back on the progress and remember the transformation. But then, his videos went viral, amassing millions of views and hundreds of comments. “I had no idea millions of people would want to follow the journey,” he said. “The response has been very overwhelming and very mind-blowing.”“I hope followers can take away that I’m just an average dude; I’m not a corporation, a team of board members, or some rich trust fund kid,” he adds. “This goal is obtainable for any average, normal American.” One phrase in particular has become a personal mantra for him: “If they can do it, I can do it.”
