Hotel by XNA Possible

Developer Michael Horn of Dallas and other silent partners could be bringing a 103-room Wingate Inn to their 300-acre Polo Park development located off of Southwest Airport Boulevard between Bentonville and Highfill. The hotel property falls under the ownership name of Ozark Airport Hotel LLC. Horn said the deal is still in its preliminary stages, but thinks he will have a more concrete idea of when construction will begin in the next 30 days. Horn said there has been a signed franchise agreement with Wingate for three years.

“There are too many outside forces that can trip up a hotel deal,” Horn said.

Sunway Hotel Group of Overland Park, Kan., will manage the 2.5-acre property. Linda Smith, business development manager for Sunway Hotel Group, said Wingate usually competes with outfits like the Hilton Garden Inn and Marriot Courtyard. Smith said that Sunway would potentially get involved in another hotel site at Polo Park, if the first one works out.

The general contractor for the proposed hotel, Cunningham Companies of Olathe, Kan., should start construction on the 42,300-SF hotel by June, Smith said.

The architect for the building is David Baumann of Fargo, N.D. Horn said Baumann is still working on the plans.

If the hotel is built, Smith said three-story interior corridor design will have an outdoor pool, boardroom and business center. Wingate hotels are part of the Cendant Corp. of Parsippany, N.J. Cendant also owns, Avis, Howard Johnson, Super 8, Ramada, Travelodge and Amerihost brands.