A Conversation With ... Darren Harralson

Tell us about the hotel you manage.

We are a limited service property with food and beverage, owned by John Q. Hammons Hotels. We have about 5,000 square feet of meeting space (and) 142 sleeping rooms - a mix of standard rooms and suites - and we cater primarily to the overnight business travelers and groups. I have 30 employees now.

Tell us about your professional experience.

Growing up in this area, I went to work for Howard Johnson's with Lee McLean. ... I started out as a busboy in the kitchen, and I ended up working at that property for nine years (under) various owners ... and I worked my way through basically every position in that hotel and ended up being the general manager before I left. After graduation, I ... took a position with Drury Hotels and with them, I moved to Terra Haute, Ind., and worked for two years there. ... From there, I moved to Atlanta, Ga., still with Drury Hotels, and opened a brand-new hotel at the Atlanta airport. I spent two years there, and got the opportunity to come back and work at the Drury Hotel here in Springfield for my remaining seven years with the company (until) I got the opportunity with Hammons Hotels. I've been with John Q. Hammons for (almost) three years now.

What's the purpose of the Springfield Hotel Motel Association, of which you serve as president?

The mission of (association) members is a pledge to provide all guests with a comfortable stay in friendly, clean surroundings. Our members (are) allied, associate and lodging, and total membership is about 94 members, 40 of which are hotels, two are student members and 52 are allied or associate members - people who make their living by servicing hotels ... or companies that work in partnership with hotels. One aspect of our function is to help our member properties realize more revenues and better occupancy. We help support efforts to bring business into our city ... so we support the (Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau) financially as well as in efforts to go out and solicit big groups and conventions to come into town. ... We'll help put together a bid and allocate room blocks and room rates to put a package together. ... We have marketing campaigns and provide scholarships for four students a year.

What key issues face the local lodging industry right now?

Our city as a whole is seeing a decline in travel and room demand. Through the first quarter, room demand was down 7.1 percent, and percent of occupancy was down 6.1 percent. (Courtyard by Marriott's Springfield) numbers are consistent with that. We're showing a decline, but May was actually a pretty good month for us and for the city. ... It's not going to be enough (growth) to offset the decline, and we're predicting the rest of the year to be a little soft.

How has the relocation of the Springfield-Branson National Airport entrance affected your hotel?

It's been a mixed bag, to be honest. We were sorry to see the exit change, because it was nice having the main airport exit be our exit as well. ... It's not that much further for us, operationally, but for guests ... it creates some challenges for us to get the awareness back out there. With the proper signage and marketing, we hope to be able to take care of that. However, we were glad to see the airport grow. It's always nice to see growth, and the new facility is a very nice facility. We've heard lots of good comments from travelers. ... Airport travel had been declining for the past several months, but in May, they actually saw a pretty drastic increase in their numbers. ... We think that's a positive trend, and we're happy about it, for sure.

Tell us about your family.

My wife's name is Holly. We have three sons: Nathan, 14, Luke, 12, and Jake, 6. All my kids go to Willard schools, and they're involved in sports and band.

Where do you like to travel?

We love to camp, so we've done a couple of those trips already this year, at Table Rock or Stockton (lakes). But when we travel away, we like to go to beach and resort-type locations.