John Q. Hammons' plan to build luxury hotel in Bricktown is latest in

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 25, 2003 by Matt Maile

When John Q. Hammons announced plans Wednesday to build a $35 million Embassy Suites Hotel in Bricktown, people here who know the developer were in no way surprised by the decision.

Hammons, who has developed two other hotels in downtown Oklahoma City - the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel and the new Courtyard by Marriott now under construction - is known for carefully studying a market's potential. Once he finds a favorable market, he fully commits to developing the appropriate hotels there.

Hammons has been known to start construction even before the final paperwork is completed.

"I find myself never surprised by anything that Mr. Hammons does," says Devery Youngblood, president of Downtown OKC Inc. "It is always good. He knows the hotel business. And the fact that he knows that this (new hotel) will work here is a good sign for us."

Hammons announced Wednesday plans to build a $35 million, 10- story hotel along the Bricktown canal. The hotel, which will be positioned along Reno Avenue between a new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and a new office building for Sonic Corp., will have 245 rooms, a restaurant, and conference space.

For Hammons, the new hotel is just the latest in a string of successful projects for the developer. But known for his hotel developments today, Hammons got his start in a much different field. After graduating from Southwest Missouri State University, he began his career as a junior high school teacher in Cassville, Mo.

Hammons entered the military in the 1940s and served in World War II. When he emerged from the military in the late 1940s, the entrepreneur found work building homes for the thousands of GI's returning from overseas.

During that same decade, Hammons had established the first suburban housing in Springfield, Mo. He went on to other real estate ventures, including developing housing tracts, apartment complexes and shopping centers.

Hammons said he turned his attention to the hotel business in 1958, when he joined with Roy E. Winegardner to buy the first 10 Holiday Inn franchises from founder Kemmons Wilson. The partners formed Winegardner & Hammons Inc. of Cincinnati, a hotel development company, in 1961. By the late 1960s, the company had constructed nearly three dozen Holiday Inn hotels.

Hammons in 1969 formed John Q. Hammons Hotels, which today is a publicly traded company.

Interviewed Wednesday, Hammons said he has a unique way of choosing development sites for his hotels.

From a helicopter flying at night, Hammons said he looks for cities that are illuminated by lights in the night - an indication of where the activity is in a city.

"I fly to the light," he said. "When you see a lot of lights, something's going on."

Like many developers, he looks for the right location beside convention centers and for the right highway access. He looks for cities at the bottom of an economic cycle that seem poised for a rebound.

Then, said Hammons, he likes to build new hotels that can compete for convention business.

When the research is done, Hammons is known to make handshake deals that to him are as binding as a contract.

Hammons said he found that former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick had a similar sense of straightforwardness. Hammons, who describes Norick as a "straight-shooter," said that kind of business dealing convinced him to develop hotels in Oklahoma City.

"When you shake hands with him, it's a deal," Hammons said of Norick. "When you shake hands with me, it's a deal. That's the only kind of people I like to do business with."

Youngblood said Hammons has a reputation for following through on his development plans.

"He's a fascinating man. He works every day. When he says he's going to do something, he does it," Youngblood said.

Hammons' work ethic has turned the man into one of the hotel industry's most successful developers.

Today, John Q. Hammons Hotels operates properties under not only the Holiday Inn flag but also Embassy Suites, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites brands.

The hotel company said Wednesday it now owns or manages 58 hotels in 22 states and is considered the leading independent manager of hotel meeting space in the country with more than 1.7 million square feet of meeting and convention space under management.

JoeVan Bullard, executive director of the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority, said Hammons has gained a reputation for pushing ahead with developments once he decides to locate a hotel in a market.

When Hammons agreed to build the Courtyard by Marriott, he received an early-entry agreement from the city that allowed some construction to begin even before he had title to the property. The move exposed Hammons to some risk, but got construction moving quickly.

"He makes a handshake deal, and he will get to pushing dirt around before you have all the ink on the papers dry," he said.