Morris Group acquires Clarion Hotel

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Morris Group Properties, which has its headquarters in Branson, acquired the Clarion Hotel, 3333 S. Glenstone, in a May 31 transaction. |ret||ret||tab|

Chris Lucchi, vice president and managing partner of Morris Group Properties, said the company owns five lodging properties in Branson: two Quality Inns, the Ramada Inn and Conference Center, the Tara Inn and the Shadowbrook Motel, as well as another Branson business, Quality Vacations. |ret||ret||tab|

While Clarion Hotel is Morris Group Properties' first venture outside the Branson market, the company is familiar with Springfield company Pres-ident Jim D. Morris, owner of Morris Oil Co., has done business in Springfield for many years, and Morris Group Properties investors reside in Springfield, Lucchi said. |ret||ret||tab|

"We like the Springfield market and we think good things are about to happen here. And we felt like we are as large as we need to be in the Branson market," Lucchi said. |ret||ret||tab|

"Springfield was a natural stepping stone for us as we grow our company."|ret||ret||tab|

Lucchi said Clarion Hotel's previous owner, Sunburst Hospitality Corp. Inc., of Silver Spring, Md., put the hotel up for sale after the publicly held company changed to a private company.|ret||ret||tab|

"The previous owners' motivation for selling this property had to do with their entire corporate structure and their lending structure ... (they) were under banking pressure to reduce the number of properties that they had, so they're selling properties all over the country ... So, the reason this property was for sale had nothing to do with operation of this particular property," Lucchi said. |ret||ret||tab|

"We feel fortunate to have been able to purchase it," he added.|ret||ret||tab|

The hotel's new owners are still "getting their bearings" at the Clarion Hotel, but are considering several different changes. A list of changes will at some point be prioritized and implemented, Lucchi said. |ret||ret||tab|

"We're looking at several things ... we're looking at enclosing the pool and including with that a new exercise facility. We're looking at a revamp of the Breakfast Room restaurant, a new menu at Classic Sports Restaurant," Lucchi said.|ret||ret||tab|

In fact, he said, Morris Group Properties is considering dividing the Classic Sports Bar & Grill space in half, and using one half to develop a separate concept eatery.|ret||ret||tab|

The hotel's staff will continue to focus on usage of the facility for banquets and conferences the hotel has full banquet facilities and nine meeting rooms, in addition to its 195 guest rooms.|ret||ret||tab|

"This property has done a good job the last three or four years of really making it a top-quality facility for meetings and banquets," Lucchi said. |ret||ret||tab|

But he said the hotel will also increase its focus on other traveler markets, such as leisure travelers and corporate travelers. |ret||ret||tab|

Cindy Howell is the general manager of the hotel, which has about 90 employees. [[In-content Ad]]