A Man of 1,000 Ideas: Meet Peter Beukema, Chairman of the MRLA Board of Directors

​There are two things to know about Peter Beukema, the West Michigan hotelier who is reshaping the landscape for hospitality businesses in Grand Haven and beyond. He is a visionary. And hospitality runs deep in his blood.

​Both are qualities that run in the family. From the ground-up, his parents built Suburban Inns, a hotel management company that today runs seven hotels and four restaurants in Michigan.

After stewarding the family's legacy as the CEO of Suburban Inns, Beukema decided to carve a new path. In 2021, he founded 6PM Hospitality Partners, and since then his leadership has earned wide recognition. He was named one of the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” leaders. He’s a committee member of the national IHG Owners Association. He’s also an influential leader in the West Michigan business community, serving as Board Member for the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority, the Chair of the Holland Smart Zone, and a Board Member for the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association since 2019.

“I’m the 1,000-idea guy,” says Beukema. With a mind that’s always moving and imagining new possibilities, his ideas are shaped by a lifetime of hands-on experience in hospitality, starting from shoveling snow off the sidewalks of his parents’ first hotel in St. Ignace to running dozens of hotels nationwide. Beukema brings his energy, imagination, and curiosity to the role of Chairman of the Board of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association in 2026.

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1,000 Memories of Hospitality: Beukema Looks Back on a Family Legacy

Peter Beukema was raised by people who weren’t afraid to take a chance. His mother, Carol, was the daughter of a Grand Rapids doctor. His father, as Beukema likes to say, was a grease monkey.

“My grandfather was in the oil service industry, and my dad dropped out of high school to run a gas station for my grandfather. And my mom was hanging around the gas station.

Long story short,” says Beukema, “they ended up dating.” 

One day, their lives were changed by a chance conversation with a regular customer at the station, a hotel broker with a new opportunity for the couple. Peter R. Beukema and his wife, Carol, found themselves moving to the Upper Peninsula to purchase and remodel the Georgian House, later becoming a member of Best Western Hotels in St. Ignace. 

“We did everything on that property,” he remembers, “everything from helping with laundry and housekeeping to closing up the pool area. I plowed the snow and mowed the grass. I even built sidewalks around the hotel with my dad.”

“We need to thrive and not just survive.” 

“We did everything on that property,” he remembers, “everything from helping with laundry and housekeeping to closing up the pool area. I plowed the snow and mowed the grass. I even built sidewalks around the hotel with my dad.”
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The Georgian House would become the first of many hotels managed by the Beukema team. In 1979, Peter and Carol officially founded Suburban Inns Inc., a hospitality management company that expanded across Michigan without ever losing its family-first culture.

As the oldest of three boys, Beukema grew up watching his parents tag-team the responsibilities of the business, from front desk management to maintenance. He also traveled Northern Michigan with his mother, who served as an owner’s representative for Best Western, and these experiences had a formative role in his understanding of Michigan’s hospitality industry. "Her passion for hospitality is a big reason I've stayed so involved over the years,” he says.

Over the years, Suburban Inns flourished and expanded to operate three hotels in Holland, three in Grand Rapids, and one in Midland, as well as four separate restaurants– all built from the ground up by the Beukema family.
From a young age, Beukema learned that hospitality was a challenging but rewarding career. “You work hard, and you put in some long and odd hours, but in hospitality you’re really making a difference and putting smiles on people’s faces.”

After attending Northwood University, he enjoyed a 16-year career with Suburban Inns, working his way through operations, climbing the ladder to the CEO position, and guiding the business through the pandemic.
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He was energized by the complexity of the hospitality industry. “I once heard the hotel industry described as a mini city,” Beukema says. “That stuck with me. There are so many moving parts under one roof. That’s where my ideas thrive.”

With many facets under one roof, from commercial to residential spaces, Beukema's love for big-picture thinking found its niche in hotel management. 

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“With a little grit and determination, you really can live the American dream.”

In 2021, with Beukema’s vision, the company had reached a point of stability. But Beukema, ever the idea person, felt the pull to new projects. “When the right opportunities came along, I knew it was time to bet on my ideas and take the leap."

That year, Peter Beukema founded his own management company, 6PM Hospitality Partners, and took on new developments like the Doubletree by Hilton Battle Creek, a project that revitalized downtown Battle Creek, and the Hampton Inn & Suites Manistee Waterfront, a waterfront location with views of Lake Michigan. Since founding 6PM Hospitality Partners, Beukema’s vision has accelerated, and his portfolio now includes five Michigan properties, with a new Grand Haven hotel in the works.

While Beukema has branched off from his family’s company, he’s building a legacy of his own with Michelle, his wife of 20 years. A nurse by training, Michelle had long been a key partner behind the scenes, and in 2023, she realized she had a pretty impressive hospitality resume in her own right. Stepping fully into the spotlight, she bought out American Management Company and became the head of the largest female-owned management company in the country.

With properties in nine states, the two companies – and the husband-and-wife duo– work literally side-by-side in a shared office in Zeeland. “We joke that we’re the Brady Bunch of hospitality,” says Beukema.

Their unified expertise is an asset to both teams. “We are stronger together, and we’re rowing in the same direction as two companies,” he says.

To say that Michigan hospitality is a family business for Beukema might be an understatement. Suburban Inns now leads seven hotels in Michigan under the leadership of CEO and brother Brian Beukema; 6PM operates five hotels and keeps expanding; American Hospitality Management manages seven hotels in Michigan alone, with dozens more across the country.

“My family has poured blood, sweat, and tears into this industry,” Beukema says. “That’s why I care so deeply about where it’s headed.” Beukema took action.

His passion for the industry and visionary mindset has been invaluable to the MRLA Board of Directors, on which he’s served since 2019. “Having a seat at the table matters,” he says, “not only to my family, but for the future of hospitality in Michigan.”
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1,000 Plans for 2026: Beukema Lays Out His Vision as Chairman
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As Beukema steps up as the Chairman of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, he’s planning to hit the ground running. 

“I’ve got 1,000 ideas of things we could do and focus on,” he says. But if he could end his year as chair with only one accomplishment, it’d be a permanent funding source for Pure Michigan.

“From coast to coast, hospitality is core to Michigan's economy and identity.  Funding Pure Michigan should be a non-negotiable,” he says. 

​Beukema will lead during an election year, with key changes happening in Lansing. After an eight-year tenure, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited, and Michigan elects a new head of government along with a slate of senators, representatives, and other government leaders. With political change, Beukema sees a new, and increasingly important, opportunity to tell the story of hospitality and Pure Michigan with energy and urgency. 

He’s also concerned about industry profitability, with the cost to book a hotel room or order a sandwich being outpaced by production and labor costs. “For this industry to succeed, our operators need their margins back,” he says.

The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association has long been proud to offer discounts and resources to members, easing price burdens and bringing down costs for members in key areas. Beukema can’t wait to do more. “Let’s continue to unite our membership, to find ways that the association can further deliver a return on investment for our members.”
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He points to programs like the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Fund, a member-owned workers’ compensation coverage program that offers an astounding 48% return on premiums back to MRLA members. As labor costs rise alongside insurance rates, programs like these are invaluable resources for restaurant owners and hotel operators.
“We need to thrive and not just survive,” he said. 

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​1,000 Ideas for the Future: Beukema Shares Optimism for the Industry
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For Beukema, optimism comes easily when he thinks about Michigan. From timeless experiences on Mackinac Island, to trendy excursions like “glamping” in the woods to tried-and-true adventures on a ski hill, Beukema sees Michigan as a place of endless possibility for explorers. “Get off the beaten path!” he tells travelers.

Even with inflation on the rise, workforce challenges persistent, a changing legislature, Pure Michigan funding constantly in question, and regulatory obstacles complicating matters for businesses owners looking to grow, Beukema still finds reasons to be optimistic about Michigan hospitality and looks forward to rolling up his sleeves and getting to work – and he encourages MRLA members to get involved and join the work to protect and advocate for the industry. 

“The hospitality industry is a resilient one. We’re bad quitters, and we don’t take no for an answer,” he says.
He’s on a mission to tell the story of Michigan hospitality not only to the incoming legislature in 2026, to advocate for Pure Michigan, but also to the next generation of Michigan residents – starting with his own family.
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Peter and Michelle Beukema have four children – Easton (18), Carson (16), Campbell (13), and Capri (11) – all of whom have grown up immersed in Michigan hospitality and family teamwork.

While Beukema would welcome a third generation into the business, he and Michelle simply hope their kids are inspired by their hospitality experiences to find what excites them and chase their own 1,000 ideas.

“We remind them daily that it's a hard industry. It's a grind. But it's incredibly rewarding. With a little grit and determination, you really can live the American dream.”