Pictured is John Q. Hammons' new Courtyard by Marriott Dallas - Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center in Texas pre-opening executive team; from left to right: Mohammad Qureshi, chief engineer; Paul Cordova, assistant general manager of food and beverage; Michael Kapoulis, general manager; Holly Jordan, catering manager; Stacy Polk, director of sales; and Becky Brown, sales manager. Featuring the new Courtyard Refreshing Business Concept with Bistro, the facilities will be Mr. Hammons' fifth hotel complex in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and his eighth in Texas. (Photo: Business Wire)

ALLEN, Texas & SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mr. John Q. Hammons continues to establish deep roots in Texas as the opening of the new Courtyard by Marriott^® Dallas – Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center nears completion. To mark progress on the living hospitality legend’s fifth hotel complex in the growing Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and his eighth in Texas, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts announced the pre-opening executive team led by General Manager Michael Kapoulis, a 15-year company veteran. Scheduled to be completed by year’s end, the nine-story, 228-room/suite hotel and adjoining 30,000-gross-square-foot conference center is owned by Mr. Hammons and will be operated by Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (www.jqhhotels.com), the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites. To feature the new Courtyard Refreshing Business concept with Bistro, the development is anticipated to represent 125 new jobs at its peak, and a hiring fair is planned for November 18 and 19 at The Village at Allen.

Selected from among hundreds of candidates, the Courtyard by Marriott Dallas – Allen executive team members are expected to drive pre-opening sales from among associations, corporations, sports teams, universities and community influencers. The team line-up includes (photos available):

• Michael Kapoulis, general manager: Kapoulis most recently served as general manager of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts’ award-winning Residence Inn – Charleston Airport in North Charleston, S.C., where he achieved Opening Hotel of the Year and the Sales Excellence Award. Kapoulis has successfully opened multiple properties for the company. He is actively involved in industry and local community associations, including being a former board member/officer of the Greater Charleston Hotel & Motel Association and of the Springfield Hotel & Motel Association in Missouri and member of the North Charleston Rotary Club. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Missouri State University.
• Stacy Polk, director of sales: An Allen, Texas-native, Polk brings to John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts extensive marketplace knowledge along with vast sales responsibilities experience with Marriott International, Inc., including with several Courtyard branded hotels. She is the recipient of the esteemed Steven G. Marriott Sales & Culture Leadership Award, only given to one in 150,000 Marriott associates worldwide annually. Polk received her bachelor’s degree in restaurant, hotel and institutional management from Texas Tech University.
• Paul Cordova, assistant general manager of food and beverage: Cordova most recently served as acting director of food and beverage at the AAA Four Diamond Award Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre in Texas. His experience also includes banquet management with the Doubletree brand. Cordova has a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of North Texas.

• Mohammad Qureshi, chief engineer: Qureshi most recently served as assistant manager/chief engineer at John Q. Hammons’ AAA Four Diamond Award Embassy Suites – Dallas/Frisco Hotel, Convention Center & Spa in Texas. His experience includes engineering supervisor at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center in Texas. He also served as a task force engineer for Hurricane Katrina clean-up initiatives in New Orleans. Qureshi graduated from Karachi University of Pakistan, where he majored in physics, chemistry and math.

• Terri Martinez, area director of human resources: Martinez has nearly 12 years with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, including with the company’s AAA Four Diamond Award Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel in Texas. Her seasoned skills in hiring, training and benefits management, including for new property openings, span Marriott and Holiday Inn branded properties in the Southwest. She is the recipient of the Governor’s Commendation for Disability Employment Excellence in Oklahoma. Martinez received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oklahoma State University.
• Casi Carriker, director of accounting services: Carriker has spent the last five years with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts properties, most recently as human resources/accounting manager for the company’s Courtyard by Marriott Fort Smith in Arkansas, where she was instrumental in hotel opening initiatives. Her experience also includes accounting and food and beverage experience at John Q. Hammons’ Embassy Suites Dallas – DFW International Airport North at Outdoor World in Grapevine, Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree in restaurant, hotel and institutional management from Texas Tech University.
• Becky Brown, sales manager: Brown brings seven years’ experience with major hotel brands, including Marriott and Wyndham in the Dallas area and in California, to John Q. Hammons’ new development. Her strengths span team management and community involvement. Brown received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and her master’s degree from San Diego State University. She was the recipient of Marriott’s 2007 Select Service Sales Team of the Year Award for the western region.
• Holly Jordan, catering manager: Jordan joins John Q. Hammons’ new property from the Doubletree Guest Suites in Omaha, Neb., where she served as catering manager. Her experience also includes her role as meetings director at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Omaha. Jordan has been frequently recognized for outstanding performance and received Harrah’s Customer Service Award and the Hyatt Guest Service Award.

John Q. Hammons’ Allen hotel and conference center complex is just 25 miles from downtown Dallas at 210 East Stacy Road in The Village at Allen, with convenient access to the cities of Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano. The Village at Allen, which opened in October 2008, is one component of The MGHerring Group’s 3-million-square-foot, regional, mixed-use lifestyle center located in both Allen and Fairview.

The Courtyard by Marriott Dallas – Allen was recently named the official hotel of the Allen Americans, the newest club in the Central Hockey League and an affiliate team of the Dallas Stars. John Q. Hammons’ complex is adjacent to the new $52.6 million Allen Event Center, home to the Allen Americans. The Allen Event Center offers an 8,100-person full capacity venue for concerts, top touring shows, family entertainment and professional sports.

According to Stacy Polk, director of sales for the Courtyard by Marriott Dallas – Allen, visitors to the hotel and meeting site have been pleasantly surprised at the significant conference space accompanying the contemporary lodging accommodations. “A central part of Mr. Hammons’ success strategy is the building of vast meeting space. We’ve witnessed some very impressed reactions of tour participants as they visit our grand ballroom that can accommodate 1,100 theatre style, atypical of a Courtyard property,” Polk said.

“Site visitors also have expressed enthusiasm for the planned high quality design details, such as granite where laminate would normally be used in a Courtyard branded hotel,” Polk continued. “Guests can expect the John Q. Hammons exceptional experience at a great value.”

Featuring an open, bright, contemporary look, the new hotel and conference center will incorporate the Courtyard brand’s new “personalized” and “special” elements, including:

• Welcome pedestals for more personal associate-guest interaction
• Cutting-edge technology with relevant information, including 57” LCD TV GoBoard^TM with touch screen to navigate local information
• Private, yet energetic common areas with 20” LCD TVs in media booths; lounge and local library with complimentary computer terminals and printer access
• Functionally stylish lobby areas, including pull-up tray tables, wireless Internet access and ample electrical outlets for powering digital devices
• Stylish and versatile S-counter for coffee bar by day and hot spot by night
• The 24/7 Market^TM guest store for convenience and substance

Hotel Information

Expected to represent the largest meeting event space in Allen, the Courtyard by Marriott Dallas – Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center will offer flexible space perfect for functions from board room meetings to black-tie affairs. The conference center’s 9,310-square-foot Cottonwood Grand Ballroom will have a 1,100-person maximum capacity for theatre style set-up while being flexible for an eight-room break-out configuration. The hotel will feature the full-service restaurant Courtyard Bistro - Eat. Drink. Connect.^TM; The Market^TM with 24-hour access to food, snacks and refreshments; Starbucks^® Coffee; a cozy lounge with a big screen HDTV; business center; indoor swimming pool and whirlpool; and fitness center. Spacious rooms/suites will include work space and separate seating areas and luxurious bedding; refrigerators; well-lit work desk with ergonomic chair; two dual-line telephones with voice mail; 32” flat panel HDTV; complimentary high-speed wired and wireless Internet access; complimentary daily newspaper; and individual climate control. The property will be pet friendly and 100 percent smoke-free. For more information about the Courtyard by Marriott Dallas – Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center, to schedule a tour, or to book a group function, call (214) 383-1151, fax (214) 383-1154, email stacy.polk@jqh.com or go to www.marriott.com/dalan. The hotel can also be booked under the following GDS codes: Amadeus DALANC, Apollo/Galileo 46583, Sabre 0051197, and Worldspan DALAN.

About Courtyard by Marriott

Please go to Courtyard by Marriott or take an online tour.

About John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts

Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including: Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands. With 83 hotels strategically located near demand generators, such as state capitals, universities, airports, corporate headquarters or office parks in secondary and tertiary markets, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts’ properties are dominant in their markets. Over the course of his impressive 51-year career in the hotel business, Mr. John Q. Hammons has developed 209 hotels. For more information about John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, please visit the company’s Web site at www.jqhhotels.com.

Editor’s Note: Photos of executive team and an exterior hotel rendering are available on request.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6093096&lang=en.