When did the Kahler first become involved in or aware of the opportunities in medical travel?
Bruce Fairchild (BF): That really pre-dates me by quite a bit. When the Mayo brothers started the clinic in the 1900s, they knew they needed a hotel to accommodate incoming patients and they invited John Kahler to build that first hotel. In fact, the first Kahler hotel was really a combination hotel/rehabilitation center. It even had an operating room on the third floor. The next incarnation of the hotel, which opened in 1921, was even more patient-oriented. It featured a 210-bed hospital with operating suites for oral, plastic, and general surgery, a 150-bed convalescent unit, and a 220-room hotel. After the Great Depression and the war, it became clear that the hotel needed to operate more like a hotel and less like a hospital if it was going to make a profit. But by that time, the bonds between the Kahler and Mayo Clinic were longstanding and strong. And, just as important, patients and medical professionals recognized the level of care provided by Kahler and a standard of excellenc
