Karl W. Mehlmann

Hall Of Fame Inductee — 2002

For more than 40 years, Karl W. Mehlmann has been an outstanding leader of Colorado’s hospitality industry and one of the nation’s strongest advocates for furthering education in the lodging industry.

He began his 44-year career with The Brown Palace Hotel in 1940. After eleven years in executive positions, he was named vice president and general manager in 1963, president of The Brown Palace Hotel Company in 1966 and made chairman in 1983. With his dedication to the highest standards of traditional service, mixed with innovative management, he led The Brown Palace to become one of the premier hotels in the United States.

An active civic and community leader, he served as chairman of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau and was made a lifetime board member. He is a past president of the Greater Denver Hotel Association, a past president and lifetime director of the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association and has twice received the CH&LA’s highest honor as “Hotelier of the Year.”

Nationally, he served on many committees and was a director of the American Hotel and Motel Association for six years. The Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association named their scholarship program the Karl W. Mehlmann Scholarship as a tribute to his continuing leadership in the hotel industry and as recognition of his dedication to providing education for those entering the industry.

Each Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame inductee reflects the profile of the inductee at the time of the induction.