A second-generation Floridian born and raised in the Palm Beach area, Heinrich (Rick) Rose graduated from The Florida State University College of Business with a degree in Hospitality Management. Rick worked for major hotel groups for 20 years, mainly in distribution and international sales and marketing, based both in the USA and Europe.

After leaving the international hotel business in 2004, Rick co-owned and operated the highly rated Grandview Gardens Bed & Breakfast in West Palm Beach for 16 years and is still the co-owner and operator of Palm Beach Vacation Rentals®, headquartered in West Palm Beach. After opening the B & B, he was perplexed that many European guests didn’t know the difference between Palm Springs, CA, and Palm Beach, so with the help of a friend, the late, local, legendary Florida historian Jim Ponce, he put together a tour for B & B guests so they could learn about local history and see the most important points of interest.

The tours became amazingly popular and subsequently Rick developed a passion for local history, becoming Jim’s understudy for Worth Avenue history and, eventually, the historian for the Worth Avenue Association. Today, an active member of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, the Flagler Museum and the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation, Rick also was appointed by the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners to serve on the Board of Directors of Discover the Palm Beaches, Palm Beach County’s destination marketing organization.

In November of 2017, Rick released his first book, “Palm Beach: The Essential Guide to America’s Legendary Resort Town”. The widely hailed full-color illustrated guide to Palm Beach, published by Globe Pequot, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, is a rich and beautifully curated collection of destinations, must-sees and restaurant and shopping recommendations in what has become known as “American’s First Resort Destination.” After having become Palm Beach’s leading guide, the 2nd edition was released in February 2022, featuring updates and new content. In addition, Rick has numerous articles published for various publications, such as Florida Sun Magazine, South Florida Luxury Guide and PB Social Diary and The Scout Guide Palm Beach. In May 2023, Rick was awarded the prestigious Judge James R. Knott Award by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, which bestows the award each year to an individual or organization that has contributed to the preservation, promotion, or enrichment of Palm Beach County history. In May of 2024, Rick was awarded the prestigious Providencia Award by Discover the Palm Beaches, which bestows the award each year to an organization or individual who has demonstrated an extraordinary contribution to the vitality and prosperity of The Palm Beaches as a desirable tourist destination.

In addition to leading roughly 2,000 visitors a year on public and private tours of Worth Avenue and Palm Beach Island and conducting lectures and presentations each Season for numerous organizations in the area, Rick has welcomed thousands of guests over the years to his boutique inn and vacation rentals, assisting and helping guests experience the Palm Beaches to the fullest and solidifying his role as the local insider about all things “Palm Beach.”