Elliott Lodging acquires Econo Lodge Hotel, 10th property

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by Paul Schreiber|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Reporter|ret||ret||tab|

pschreiber@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Elliott Lodging LLC bought the Econo Lodge Hotel at 2611 N. Glenstone from Magers Lodging for an undisclosed purchase price on March 31, said owner Gordon Elliott.|ret||ret||tab|

The purchase gives Elliott ownership of 10 lodging properties in southwest Missouri, he said. Revenues from his other nine hotels exceeded $10 million in 2003, and revenues pushed $700,000 last year for the 121-room Econo Lodge, he added. It employs 20.|ret||ret||tab|

Elliott's other properties give him about 1,100 rooms in southwest Missouri, he said. They consist of four Best Westerns located in Branson, Joplin and Springfield; Springfield's two Lamplighter Inns & Suites; Baymont Inns in Springfield and Joplin; and the Arbor Suites At The Mall. His first acquisition was the 132-unit Best Western Coach House Inn at 2535 N. Glenstone in 1993.|ret||ret||tab|

The rationale behind the buy was insufficient room numbers on Springfield's north side for Elliott's properties. |ret||ret||tab|

"On the north side of town we really didn't have enough rooms," he said, adding target clientele will be weekend visitors, seniors and traffic exiting Interstate 44 into Springfield. Room prices range between $39 and $54 depending on the season.|ret||ret||tab|

Property location and its branding affiliation with Choice Hotels International also were strong reasons to buy, Elliott said. He paid $30,000 to Choice to transfer membership from Magers Lodging, and Choice gets 7.5 cents from every dollar, he added. In return, Choice assists the hotel with operational issues, provides frequent inspections, provides consultations regarding safety rules and regulations, and sends the property reservations, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Magers Lodging built and opened the Econo Lodge in 1991, said Lynn Kleiber, controller. The decision to sell was a sharpening of Magers' market focus. "As a company we felt like we wanted to concentrate our efforts on mid-market, and this hotel didn't really fall into that segment," she said. "As a smaller company we felt like we needed to focus our efforts in one direction," Kleiber said.|ret||ret||tab|

Magers Lodging owns two Springfield hotels Econo Lodge West and the Best Western Deerfield.|ret||ret||tab|

The Econo Lodge itself appeared to be in "good enough shape" that remodel work wouldn't be as extensive as those on some of Elliott's other properties, he said, adding that about $250,000 will go into updating interior dcor and colors. Remodeling will begin in April and should be finished within six months, he added.|ret||ret||tab|

While the hotel industry "has been somewhat flat in Springfield," Elliott is optimistic the remodel and new management can get the Econo Lodge's numbers somewhere near the 63 percent average occupancy rate his other hotels attain, he said. |ret||ret||tab|

Springfield hotel statistics compiled by the Convention and Visitors Bureau showed that 2002's and 2003's occupancy rates were nearly identical at 53.2 percent and 53.3 percent, respectively, for the city's 5,600 available rooms, according to Susan Wade, public relations manager.|ret||ret||tab|

The two leading markets vying for Springfield rooms in 2003 were leisure travelers at 41 percent and business travelers at 31.7 percent, Wade said. |ret||ret||tab|

In addition to hotels, Elliott also owns about 1,000 apartment units in Springfield, he said. Among these are Chardonnay, Peppertree, Greystone, CrossWinds and Sunshine Terrace. He is also a partner in Elliott Robinson & Company, a Springfield-based CPA firm.|ret||ret||tab|

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