Flying a New Flag: O'Reillys change Hawthorn Park to Doubletree

“St. Patrick’s Day has been mentioned on a number of occasions,” said Bridget McCombe of Noble Hospitality Inc., the Manhattan, Kan.-based firm handling renovations of the Hawthorn Park Hotel that members of the O’Reilly family are turning into a Doubletree hotel.

The Springfield family, known for the $2 billion publicly traded O’Reilly Automotive it founded 50 years ago, is renovating the 10-story hotel at Kearney Street and Glenstone Avenue for the new flag, a Hilton Hospitality Inc. brand. A multimillion-dollar overhaul slated to finish early next year will focus on the hotel’s 200 guest rooms, four executive suites, restaurant, exercise area, heating and air systems, façades, parking, landscaping, and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, according to McCombe, vice president of product development.

“It’s definitely a new, modern look,” said Tim O’Reilly, an attorney with O’Reilly & Jensen LLC and managing member for the O’Reilly family on this project.

Charlie and Mary Beth O’Reilly and their sons, Ryan and Tim, along with Tim’s wife, Brooke, formed O’Reilly Hospitality LLC last August, the same month they bought the hotel from Larken Springfield Hotel LLC. They paid a $75,000 franchise fee for the Doubletree name after nearly a year of negotiations with Hilton.

Tim O’Reilly declined to disclose the total cost of the project.

Full-service vs. four-star

Hawthorn Park Hotel already is one of a small number of full-service hotels in Springfield, including Lamplighter Inn North, Lamplighter Inn South, Oasis Inn & Convention Center, University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, Clarion Hotel and Holiday Inn Springfield I-44 Hotel, according to Tracy Kimberlin, executive director of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau. All of those hotels are considered full-service because they have restaurants attached.

O’Reilly said the family is in negotiations to replace Ginger’s restaurant, located inside the hotel, with a casual, yet upscale, chain restaurant that would match the atmosphere of the Doubletree brand. He couldn’t mention names of possible restaurant tenants, but he said it would likely serve steaks, seafood and cocktails. O’Reilly Hospitality owns Ginger’s, which is not a chain.

Even though many people equate full-service hotels with four-star hotels, O’Reilly said he’s not vying for that designation.

“Those ratings are from private companies, and usually they’re given under a payment of some sort,” he said.

Kimberlin said the term “four-star hotel” originated with Mobil Travel Guide, which still rates hotels on a five-star scale. The value of that designation is diluted, he said, because many different entities independently rate hotels without uniform criteria.

Regardless of formal ratings, Kimberlin said he would put O’Reilly’s future Doubletree hotel in the four-star category. Mobil Travel Guide lists Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis as its only four-star hotel in Missouri.

Improved lodging

Kimberlin said the Doubletree hotel would impact Springfield by giving travelers another high-end lodging choice. However, he doesn’t foresee it impacting the citywide hotel occupancy rate of 55 percent or bringing new convention business to town.

“We have a limited number of quality properties, and this is going to be another feather in our cap,” said Kimberlin, adding that the Doubletree wouldn’t fill the need for a hotel adjacent to downtown’s convention center.

The Holiday Inn I-44 Hotel and Oasis Inn also have recently undergone renovations. Clarion Hotel is about halfway through renovating its common areas and nearly 200 rooms. Missy Handyside, sales director for Clarion Hotel on South Glenstone Avenue, said first-floor renovations have cost more than $1 million, and the second floor should be renovated by spring.

While Kimberlin expects only a small impact citywide from the individual hotel renovations, O’Reilly expects a big turnaround for Hawthorn Park Hotel. The hotel currently has about a 50 percent occupancy rate, and O’Reilly expects that to increase to about 70 percent. The 10,000 square feet of meeting space currently has a 45 percent usage rate, and that’s expected to increase to about 80 percent, according to Carolyn Wheeler, vice president of marketing for Noble Hospitality.

The hotel will remain open during its conversion to Doubletree.

Hawthorn’s history

O’Reilly Hospitality also considered opening a Wyndham, Sheraton or full-branded Hilton hotel but decided on Doubletree, because it offered the right balance between luxury and moderate prices, O’Reilly said.

This will be one of about 170 Doubletree properties internationally, and O’Reilly said he expects room rates to be about $90 a night.

Noble Hospitality will manage the hotel, in addition to its oversight of renovations. Architecture firms Miles Associates of Oklahoma City and Slone Architects PC of Springfield are contributing, and BancorpSouth is financing the project.

The hotel opened in 1985 as a Ramada, became a Sheraton in 1994 and dropped the Sheraton brand in December 2005.

Lee McLean, the developer who built the hotel, said he’s happy to see his former property getting an overhaul.

“That’s good for Springfield, and that’s good for the property,” McLean said.

The Hilton brand has been well received in Branson, where Hilton Promenade opened at Branson Landing and a Hilton opened with the Branson Convention Center opened last week.

The acquisition and renovation of Hawthorn Park Hotel is just the latest venture of of Springfield’s O’Reilly family. Here’s a quick look at what the family that founded O’Reilly Automotive 50 years ago is up to now:

Children of O’Reilly Automotive co-founder Chub O’Reilly and his wife, Isabel:

Charlie – Son Charlie spent about 30 years as president and chairman of the auto parts company. In retirement, he’s keeping busy with philanthropic work, including Community Partnership of the Ozarks. Wife Mary Beth founded Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks about 10 years ago.

Rosalie – Daughter Rosalie is a former teacher who spent 20 years working in O’Reilly Automotive management. She now devotes energy to charity work, including the Tal and Rosalie O’Reilly Wooten Family Foundation Fund. Rosalie was married to the late Tal Wooten, who founded real estate management firm The Wooten Co.

Larry – Son Larry spent about 30 years as O’Reilly Automotive’s chief operations officer. He’s retired but still on the company’s board. He’s also on the board of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and spent three months this summer riding his bike 4,600 miles cross-country to raise money for that organization. Larry also is board chairman at St. John’s. Wife Nancy is a psychologist in Springfield.

David – Son David spent about 30 years as O’Reilly Automotive’s CEO. He’s retired but still on the company’s board. He’s the most hands-on family member at O’Reilly Automotive. David and his ex-wife, Pam, have three children: Matt, Lindsay and Austin.

Chub O’Reilly’s grandchildren:

Tim, Ryan and Pat – Sons of Charlie and Mary Beth. Tim is partner in Springfield law firm O’Reilly & Jensen LLC, Ryan owns a music-producing business in Austin, Texas, and Pat is developing housing and retail projects in the Springfield area. They’ve had a hand in The Villas at Wicklow in Nixa and Northcreek Industrial Park off Kearney Street.

Randy and Carrie – Children of Rosalie and Tal Wooten. Randy Wooten is a musician and music producer in California. Carrie McCliney is a mother of four in Kansas City.

Lauren, Leigh and Ragan – Daughters of Larry and Nancy. Lauren O’Reilly owns a jewelry company in California. Leigh O’Reilly-Flisher is a teacher and mother of three in California. Ragan O’Reilly is an actress in California.

Matt, Lindsay and Austin – Children of David and Pam. Matt and Lindsay are developing the environmentally friendly Green Circle Shopping Center, which will house their two companies, Dynamic Earth, an outdoor outfitter, and Dynamic Body, a yoga and Pilates studio. Austin is a college student in Texas.

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