New flag to fly at Oasis

A new flag soon will fly at the Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center.

Effective March 1, the property will be renamed the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center, a member of the Ascend Hotel Collection through Choice Hotels. The move will make Oasis one of three Ascend hotels in Missouri.

Missy Handyside, general manager of the hotel and convention center, referred questions regarding terms of the deal to Ascend officials. Neither Ascend nor Ramada officials could be reached for comment by deadline.

The 2546 N. Glenstone Ave. property was purchased by Prime Inc. owner Robert Low in 1999 to house employees of his trucking company during driver training sessions. In the years since, he’s invested over $15 million to improve and expand the hotel and convention center.

Oasis officials said Ascend approached them with an offer to join. Darrel Hopkins, a controller with Prime, said it’s normal for a hotel to regularly shop around for a better deal and better fit. 

“In our case, this is a 20-year deal. There are outs along the way,” said Hopkins, who negotiated the deal with Ascend. “It’s a longer-term deal, so you’ve got time to grow.”

He declined to disclose terms of the deal.

An independent hotel previously, the Oasis became a Ramada in 2009 via Wyndham Worldwide and was advanced to a Ramada Plaza Hotel in 2013, receiving several awards with Ramada along the way. 

“They’ve been good for us and we have been very good for them. I think that was attractive for those with Choice Hotels,” Handyside said. 

She noted the change would push the hotel into the upscale market. 

“After Ascend approached us, we did a lot of research. We spoke with Ascend owners across the country and found that the Ascend collection was everything they told us it was,” she said. 

Handyside said while some hotel chains insist on remodeling to create consistency and familiarity, the move to Ascend allows for Oasis to maintain its unique attributes. Other brands in the Choice Hotels portfolio include Comfort Inn, Clarion Inn and Econo Lodge. Ascend’s Missouri properties are Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia and the Blue Green Paradise Resort in Branson.

She said Low is always interested in improving the property, a former Howard Johnson he initially bought in 1999. He divided it into two hotels: the Oasis, which opened in 2000, and his Campus Inn next door that serves Prime employees. In the mid-2000s, the Oasis property underwent a $10 million expansion and renovation, followed by a roughly $5.6 million convention center expansion in 2011, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

At the Oasis hotel, 120 guest rooms currently are being remodeled, and Handyside said the fitness center is next.

The hotel currently is working on a new sign and logo, which will incorporate a sun and moon concept the hotel previously used before switching to Ramada. Handyside anticipates a slight bump in rates and an uptick in corporate travelers with the change. Current rates are from $104 per night on Oasis’ website or around $85 per night through Expedia.

The Oasis will operate as a Ramada until Feb. 28. 

[[In-content Ad]]