Ryman Hospitality Properties

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. is a Nashville-based real estate investment trust whose portfolio centers on large-scale hotels, resorts, convention facilities, and entertainment properties in the United States. Its corporate identity is rooted in the country-music and broadcasting businesses assembled around the Grand Ole Opry, while its present operating model is primarily a real-estate platform focused on hospitality assets. The company traces the heritage of its principal businesses to 1925, the year associated with the launch of WSM radio and the Grand Ole Opry. Its more direct corporate lineage began with the Oklahoma Publishing Company, controlled by the Gaylord and Dickinson families. Oklahoma Publishing expanded from newspapers into broadcasting and entertainment, creating Gaylord Broadcasting and later acquiring WSM, Inc. in 1983. That transaction brought the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, WSM and WSM-FM radio, the Opryland USA theme park, and the Opryland Hotel into the Gaylord orbit. These assets became the foundation for the enterprise that ultimately became Ryman Hospitality Properties. Gaylord Entertainment Company was established as a public company in 1991 through a corporate separation from Oklahoma Publishing. During the 1990s, it operated a broad collection of television, radio, cable, music, film, publishing, digital-media, sports, and hospitality businesses. It acquired or managed interests in properties and brands including Country Music Television, Word Entertainment, Wildhorse Saloon, the Nashville Predators, and several broadcast stations. The company also developed the Opryland hotel concept into a high-end convention-resort business, building large destination properties designed to attract corporate meetings and group travel. By the early 2000s, management was reducing the company's exposure to media and entertainment activities outside its core Nashville assets. Television stations, cable holdings, digital ventures, music businesses, film operations, and other non-hospitality interests were sold, closed, or transferred. The Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, General Jackson Showboat, Wildhorse Saloon, WSM radio, and related Opry businesses remained important exceptions to this retrenchment. The decisive transformation occurred in 2012. Gaylord Entertainment sold the Gaylord Hotels brand and the operating businesses associated with its existing resorts to Marriott International. It retained ownership of the underlying real estate and reorganized as a real estate investment trust. The company adopted the Ryman Hospitality Properties name, referencing the Ryman Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark and one of its best-known assets. Marriott subsequently operated the major Gaylord-branded resorts under a long-term relationship, while Ryman Hospitality concentrated on ownership and investment in hospitality real estate. Ryman Hospitality's portfolio has consequently combined two complementary categories: large convention-oriented hotels and entertainment destinations connected to live music, country culture, and branded experiences. Its hospitality properties are designed around substantial meeting capacity, resort amenities, food and beverage operations, and destination programming. Its entertainment holdings preserve the company's historical relationship with Nashville's music institutions, particularly through Opry Entertainment Group and the continued ownership of the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium. The company remains publicly traded under the ticker RHP. Its strategic identity is that of a specialized hospitality REIT rather than a conventional hotel management company: it owns high-value real estate and relies on operating partners, including Marriott for major resort operations, while retaining exposure to the performance of hotels, convention demand, entertainment attendance, and destination travel. The corporate name connects its modern property-investment structure to the historic Nashville auditorium that helped define the enterprise's cultural heritage.

Ryman Hospitality Properties developed from a media, broadcasting, and entertainment organization assembled by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Oklahoma Publishing entered broadcasting in 1928 through the purchase of radio station WKY and later expanded into television. Its broadcasting subsidiary, Gaylord Broadcasting, acquired stations in markets including Dallas–Fort Worth, Tampa, New Orleans, and Seattle. The company also entered television and film production, including the acquisition of Yongestreet Productions, the producer of Hee Haw. The crucial turning point came in 1983, when Gaylord Broadcasting acquired WSM, Inc. from the corporate aftermath of American General's takeover of NLT Corporation. The transaction included the Grand Ole Opry and its associated businesses: Opryland USA, the Opryland Hotel, WSM and WSM-FM radio, the Ryman Auditorium, and related country-music activities. The holding company was renamed Opryland USA, Inc. These assets gave the organization a distinctive combination of tourism, entertainment, broadcasting, and music heritage. During the 1980s, the company expanded the Opryland platform while continuing to operate television and production businesses. It created syndicated-programming activities, acquired Acuff-Rose Music, opened the General Jackson showboat, and developed additional entertainment ventures. In 1991, Gaylord Entertainment Company became the publicly traded successor to Oklahoma Publishing's broadcasting and entertainment holdings. The public offering coincided with plans to expand the Opryland hotel and theme park and renovate the Ryman Auditorium. The 1990s were marked by diversification. Gaylord acquired or invested in Country Music Television, radio stations, Christian-media businesses, Word Entertainment, digital-media ventures, film companies, the Wildhorse Saloon, and a minority stake in the Nashville Predators. It also pursued international music television initiatives and developed the Opryland resort model for the corporate-convention market. At the same time, the company encountered losses and strategic complexity in several media and consumer ventures, including cable, internet, film, and entertainment projects. A strategic retreat began around 2000. New management concluded that the company's strongest future lay in hospitality, with selected Nashville entertainment assets retained. The organization closed or sold many websites, divested television and cable interests, sold Word Entertainment, reduced film and digital activities, and moved away from most non-hotel businesses. The Opryland theme park closed at the end of 1997 and was redeveloped with a partner as Opry Mills, which opened in 2000. Gaylord simultaneously pursued a national convention-resort strategy, announcing major hotel developments in Florida, Texas, and other destination markets. These properties were designed as self-contained resorts with very large meeting facilities, allowing the company to compete for corporate conventions and group travel rather than relying only on traditional leisure tourism. In 2012, Gaylord Entertainment sold the Gaylord Hotels brand and the operating businesses of its existing resorts to Marriott International. The transaction left Gaylord owning the hotel real estate while Marriott became the principal operator under the Gaylord brand. Gaylord converted its corporate structure into a REIT and changed its name to Ryman Hospitality Properties, taking its new identity from the Ryman Auditorium. The reorganization completed the transition from a diversified media conglomerate to a specialized hospitality-property owner. The modern company continues to combine convention-oriented resort real estate with entertainment assets associated with Nashville and country music. Its heritage businesses, including the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium, distinguish it from a conventional hotel REIT, while its large resort properties provide the central economic platform. The company remains headquartered in Nashville and trades publicly as RHP.

• 2012

  REIT conversion and name change

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Gaylord Entertainment sold its hotel brand and resort operating business to Marriott, retained the real estate, converted to a REIT, and became Ryman Hospitality Properties.

• 2000

  Opry Mills opens

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  The redevelopment of the former theme-park site opened as Opry Mills, developed jointly with The Mills Corporation.

• 1997

  Opryland USA theme park closes

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  The Opryland USA theme park ceased operations at the end of the year and was later redeveloped into the Opry Mills shopping and entertainment complex.

• 1991

  Gaylord Entertainment becomes public

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Gaylord Entertainment Company was formed as the public successor to Oklahoma Publishing's broadcasting and entertainment holdings.

• 1983

  Acquisition of WSM, Inc.

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Gaylord Broadcasting acquired WSM, Inc., bringing the Grand Ole Opry, Opryland, the Opryland Hotel, Ryman Auditorium, and WSM radio properties into the corporate group.

• 1928

  Oklahoma Publishing enters broadcasting

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  Oklahoma Publishing purchased radio station WKY, beginning the broadcasting lineage that later fed into Gaylord's entertainment businesses.

• 1925

  WSM radio and the Grand Ole Opry heritage begins

  [1]Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org

  The company identifies 1925, associated with the establishment of WSM radio and the Grand Ole Opry, as the beginning of its historical business lineage.

Owner of upscale, large-format convention resorts and distinctive entertainment properties, with a portfolio built around destination hospitality, group travel, live music, and Nashville cultural heritage.

• Hospitality real estate

  Convention resort hotels

  Ryman Hospitality's core assets are large destination resorts built around extensive convention and meeting facilities. These properties combine guestrooms with restaurants, entertainment, recreation, and event infrastructure, targeting corporate meetings, conventions, incentive travel, and group business. The Gaylord resort portfolio is particularly associated with large indoor atriums, seasonal programming, and self-contained destination experiences. The company generally owns the underlying real estate while hotel operations are conducted through operating arrangements.

• Live entertainment · 1925

  Grand Ole Opry

  The Grand Ole Opry is a long-running country-music radio and stage institution and one of the principal heritage assets connected to Ryman Hospitality. It presents live performances by established and emerging country artists and supports the company's Nashville entertainment identity. The Opry is operated within the group's affiliated entertainment structure rather than functioning as a conventional hotel product.

• Entertainment venue · 1892

  Ryman Auditorium

  The Ryman Auditorium is a historic Nashville performance venue and National Historic Landmark. It is the namesake of Ryman Hospitality Properties and remains a prominent live-music and cultural property. Its identity links the modern REIT to Nashville's music history and provides an entertainment asset complementary to the company's convention resorts.

• Entertainment attraction · 1985

  General Jackson Showboat

  The General Jackson is a Nashville riverboat attraction featuring sightseeing, dining, and live entertainment. Gaylord opened it in the 1980s as part of the broader Opryland tourism and entertainment platform. It remains one of the heritage attractions associated with the company's Nashville portfolio.

• Restaurant and entertainment venue · 1994

  Wildhorse Saloon

  Wildhorse Saloon is a Nashville country-music dance club and restaurant developed as part of Gaylord's effort to extend its entertainment portfolio beyond the Opryland complex. A second location opened at Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney in 1998 but was later closed. The Nashville venue is among the entertainment businesses historically retained as the company narrowed its focus.

• 2012

  Conversion from diversified entertainment company to hospitality REITStrategy

  Background

  Gaylord Entertainment had progressively reduced its broadcasting, cable, music, film, and digital-media activities while expanding large convention-oriented resort properties.

  Action taken

  The company sold the Gaylord Hotels brand and resort operating activities to Marriott International, retained ownership of the underlying properties, converted to a real estate investment trust, and adopted the Ryman Hospitality Properties name.

  Aftermath

  The transaction established the company's current model as a publicly traded owner of hospitality real estate, while preserving selected Nashville entertainment assets and using Marriott as the principal operator of the major Gaylord resorts.

  Source

1. 1Ryman Hospitality Propertiesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ryman Hospitality Properties official websiterymanhp.com