Adam's Mark is a former chain of upscale hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The company was based in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. The chain was founded in the early 1970s by Fred Kummer and owned by HBE, Corp., which was also founded by Kummer.

History

The chain suffered greatly from a racial discrimination suit brought against them by the NAACP in 1999. The NAACP filed the suit on behalf of guests who attended the Black College Reunion in Daytona Beach, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in 1999. It alleged that Adam's Mark required guests to wear identification wristbands and were required to pay in advance. The suit, and subsequent 17-month boycott

Boycott

A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...

 of the chain called by the NAACP, was settled out of court for $2 million (US). The company's relationship with African-American organizations has since improved, and in 2006, Adam's Mark had the top score of any hotel company on the NAACP's annual report card.

Hotels

While once numbering more than 20 large hotels, because of financial difficulties and changing corporate strategies, the chain sold off all of its properties during the 2000s.

• In 2003, the Memphis
  Memphis, Tennessee
  Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
  
   Adam's Mark was sold to a joint venture of Dallas
  Dallas, Texas
  Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
  
  -based Crow Holdings
  Crow Holdings
  Crow Holdings is a privately-held company based in Dallas, Texas that manages the wealth of the family of the late property developer Trammell Crow...
  
  , manager of the real estate
  Real estate
  In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
  
   holdings of the Trammell Crow
  Trammell Crow
  F. Trammell Crow was an American real estate developer. Crow is credited for creating several famous real estate projects, including Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center , and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center.-Biography:Crow was born in Dallas, Texas...
  
   family, and Wilton D. 'Chick' Hill, the president of Memphis-based Davidson Hotel Co. The hotel underwent a US $12 million renovation and reopened as the Hilton
  Hilton Hotels
  Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
  
   Memphis Hotel in 2005.

• The Adam's Mark in Kansas City, Missouri
  Kansas City, Missouri
  Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
  
   became a Clarion Hotel in 2004, then was converted to Sheraton
  Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
  Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
  
   in 2007, and again to a Holiday Inn
  Holiday Inn
  Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
  
   in 2009. The hotel is near the Truman Sports Complex
  Truman Sports Complex
  The Harry S. Truman Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.. It is home to two major sports venues- Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and Kauffman Stadium, home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City...
  
  , which houses both the Kansas City Chiefs
  Kansas City Chiefs
  The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
  
   and Royals
  Kansas City Royals
  The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
  
  .

• In November 2004, the Philadelphia Adam's Mark (originally opened in 1965 as a Holiday Inn
  Holiday Inn
  Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
  
  ) was sold to the Target Corporation
  Target Corporation
  Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
  
  , forcing dozens out of work and closing the 23-story building down for good to make way for a new Target store building. On July 11, 2006, an unexpected collapse on the north side of the main tower trapped a construction worker helping to tear the building down. The new Target opened on the site in late 2007.

• In 2005, the 966 room Adam's Mark in Jacksonville, Florida
  Jacksonville, Florida
  Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
  
   was bought by Chartres Hospitality, who converted the hotel to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront after a multi-million dollar renovation.

• The Florida Mall
  The Florida Mall
  The Florida Mall is a large enclosed shopping mall in Orlando, Florida. It opened its doors in 1986. It is located on the southeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road. The mall has over 250 stores...
  
   had an Adam's Mark which has since rebranded as "The Florida Hotel".

• In July 2006, the Adam's Mark in Dallas completed a $30 million renovation and opened the "Tower Royale by Adam's Mark", a luxury 500 room hotel within a hotel. The hotel was home to many conventions such as Project A-Kon
  Project A-Kon
  A-Kon, formerly known as Project: A-Kon, is a three day anime convention held annually in Dallas, Texas usually on the last weekend of May. First held in 1990 with just 380 people in attendance, A-Kon is North America's longest running national anime convention.-Departments:A-Kon consists of...
  
  . In 2007 it was sold and reflagged as the Sheraton Dallas Hotel
  Sheraton Dallas Hotel
  The Sheraton Dallas Hotel, formerly the Adam's Mark Hotel and originally the Southland Center, is a complex of international style skyscrapers located in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The hotel is the tallest and largest hotel in Dallas and Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and ...
  
  .

• The Adam's Mark in Charlotte
  CHARLOTTE
  - CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
  
   was sold to the Chetrit Group and reopened as The Blake, a boutique hotel.

• The Denver property was reflagged as a Sheraton
  Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
  Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
  
   Hotel.

• The St. Louis hotel become a Hyatt Regency, with Chartres Lodging group spending at least $63m in renovations at the property.

• In late August 2009, the Adam's Mark Indianapolis
  Indianapolis
  Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
  
   was re-flagged as the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel.

• By 2010 the chain had dwindled to just one property, in Buffalo, NY. It was sold in February 2009 to Visions Hotels LLC for $7.5 Million. Visions Hotels LLC is based out of Corning, N.Y., and operates several smaller size hotels in the Upstate New York region. This will be the company's flagship property. The Adam's Mark Buffalo will eventually become a Crowne Plaza after a multi- million dollar renovation.

External links

• Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts
• Adam's Mark Philadelphia Deconstruction - Pictures taken of the Philadelphia Adam's Mark in the process of being torn down.
• Injury Video - Local CBS video footage of the aftermath of the Philadelphia Adam's Mark accident, and the state of the deconstruction as of July 11, 2006.
• http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/2/8/114059/4375/hotels/Adam_s_Mark_Hotels_in_Denver_and_Dallas_to_Get_Sheraton_Makeover
• http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/02/04/daily59.html
• http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/INDAP/main.wnt