Bentonville Hotels Sold to Little Rock Group

Two shuttered Bentonville hotel properties are now in the ownership portfolio of Little Rock-based Sree Akshar Inc.

The group paid just $3.3 million for the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center and the neighboring Sleep Inn on Southeast Walton Boulevard near Rainbow Curve, netting a combined 208 rooms and approximately 10 acres.

Hobbs & Curry FLP of Fort Smith previously owned both hotels, which opened in 1998. They had been closed since September 16, a result of the economic downturn.

“It was an attractive deal from our end just because the land alone is worth that much,” Kunal Mody, a partner in the new ownership group, said of the selling price. “We’re excited about it.”

The two hotels last appraised in 2011 for a combined $3.79 million.

One of the properties is already open for business. The Sleep Inn, reflagged as a Motel 6, re-opened March 26. A temporary “Now Open” banner is hanging near the front entrance and Mody said permanent signage should be erected within the next week.

The Motel 6 has a current staff of nine employees and will increase to 15 by the summer, Mody said.

The two-story development has 103 rooms with rates starting at $39.99 a night. It re-opened just ten days after the sale was complete.

“There were some minor maintenance and housekeeping issues to address, but that property was really a turn-key deal; it was ready to go,” Mody said.

The new owners do not have immediate plans for the 105-room Clarion, but are planning to re-open the hotel.

“We are brand searching right now,” Mody said. “We’ll try and find the best fit for that hotel that will produce revenue for us and be a good fit for the city.”

Reimagine Hospitality Corp. of Bryant will manage both Bentonville properties.

Sree Akshar also owns a handful of hotels in the Little Rock/Jacksonville area, mostly Best Westerns and Comfort Inns, Mody said.