John Q. Hammons Announces Plans to Build Hotel Charlevoix, a Marriott Renaissance Resort

Press Release
November 13, 2000
ROGERS, AR -- Hotel industry pioneer John Q. Hammons has unveiled plans to construct a European-style luxury hotel in Rogers, Ark.

Construction of the Hotel Charlevoix, a Marriott Renaissance Resort, will begin in Spring 2001, and will open in Fall of 2002. The hotel will be owned by Mr. Hammons personally and managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. (Amex: JQH).

The 10-story property will feature 250 rooms and suites and more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including an 11,000 square-foot main ballroom, 5,000 square-foot junior ballroom, two executive boardrooms and 12 break-out rooms.

The hotel will be located in the Pinnacle Hills business park on Interstate 540 (U.S. Highway 71), near 20 office buildings and adjacent to a 50,000 square-foot health spa. The Pinnacle Hills Golf Club is 1,500 yards from the hotel.

"Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing business centers in the United States and is the perfect market for an upscale luxury hotel," said Hammons, noting that the world headquarters of Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt Trucking, as well as major employers such as Simmons Foods, Petersen Farms, Georges, Inc., Cargill and the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, are all located within 15 minutes' drive of the new hotel. "The Hotel Charlevoix will be the premiere meeting and convention hotel in the region."

On December 2, American Airlines will initiate twice-daily non-stop service from New York-LaGuardia to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport near Rogers and Bentonville, Ark., which already has non-stop airline service from Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., and Memphis, Tenn.

Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons is widely viewed as one of the hotel industry's leading innovators and is recognized for building the highest-quality, best-performing hotel properties in rapidly growing markets. Earlier this year he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UCLA Extension's 15th Annual Hotel Industry Investment Conference, in recognition of his 42 years in the hospitality industry. He has developed more than 140 hotels in 40 states.

----------------------------------------------

CONTACT:  
MMG Worldwide for Mr. John Q. Hammons               
Bill Patterson, 816/300-5137               
bpatterson@mmgworldwide.com