Two hotel industry legends-Will McFarlane and Mike Dimond-died in the past six weeks. While the two of them left different footprints in the business-Will was a master company builder and Mike was the consummate hotel sales and marketing executive-they both left their marks on the people they worked with and mentored through their long careers.

McFarlane died in early May at age 74 in his adopted hometown of Denver. In the late 1960s, he founded AIRCOA as one of the first and most successful management companies in the hotel business. Over the years, the firm operated 167 properties, including such icons as the Brown Palace in Denver and the Eldorado in Santa Fe. He retired from the hotel business in the late 1980s and launched a second career as a buffalo rancher and marketer of bison meat.

While his business accomplishments were many and varied, it was the relationship with his employees that marked his greatness. Affectionately called the "big Kahuna," McFarlane fostered a work-hard, play-hard corporate atmosphere that made it a joy for employees to come to work at AIRCOA properties and in the home office. Alumni of the company still gather occasionally (the last reunion drew more than 40 of them to Denver in late 2006) to talk about their days at AIRCOA and to honor McFarlane.

Dimond achieved his greatest success, however, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. As part of the great management team helmed by the legendary Jack Vaughn, Dimond was instrumental in branding and positioning the hotel as the country's premier convention property of the 1980s and '90s. He ultimately became senior vice president of marketing for Gaylord Entertainment, the Opryland's parent company.