Sep. 9, 2003 - The Adam's Mark hotel chain is trying to sell 15 of its remaining 22 properties, and while the downtown Jacksonville hotel is not on the list so far, a hotel consultant familiar with the company said it would be a prime offering.

Ten of the hotels, including properties in Orlando and Clearwater, were listed to be sold in mid-August with Hodges Ward Elliott, an Atlanta-based hotel brokerage firm.

Shortly afterward, another four were added to the list, said Gary Andreas, a principal in Tellatin Andreas & Short, a St. Louis-based hospitality industry consultancy. Daytona Beach and Tulsa, Okla., were two of the additions; Andreas did not know the other two.

But he said one may well be Jacksonville, since it should be an easier sell than some of the other hotels, considering its status as a relatively new building in a growing market.

"Jacksonville has a pretty good chance of being in there," Andreas said.

The 15th hotel is the Denver Adam's Mark, which has been up for sale since last fall.

Fred Kummer, who owns the Adam's Mark chain's parent company, St. Louis-based HBE Corp., said in a brief interview yesterday that if his properties were in fact for sale, he'd issue a news release. And so far, there have been no news releases, only "a lot of rumors and nonsense" regarding his intention to sell, Kummer said.

However, Andreas said he and other hotel brokers have received packets from Hodges Ward Elliott soliciting parties interested in pursuing "negotiations to acquire" the Adam's Mark properties.

"As of two weeks ago, these were sitting here, live and lively," Andreas said of the sales brochures.

And he said that Adam's Mark officials told him that, for the right price, "Everything's for sale."

But since then, Andreas said he's heard that the Adam's Mark hotels were "temporarily off the market," which means either that Kummer decided not to sell or that he's found a potential buyer.

It's a soft market in which to be selling hotels, with corporate travel down and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts having recently listed about 31 properties on the market. Yet Andreas believes a suitor is doing diligence on one or all of the Adam's Mark properties for sale.

It just wouldn't make sense to pay for publishing extensive sale brochures on the hotels, and then not follow through immediately afterwards, he said.

Calls to Hodges Ward Elliott were not returned yesterday.

HBE has shown a willingness to part with some of its properties. The company sold hotels in Memphis and Houston earlier this year.

In late 2001, Kummer entered into an agreement with a Kentucky firm to purchase six Adam's Mark properties, but that deal later fell through.

Andreas said that two companies he believed might be interested in purchasing all or some of the Adam's Mark hotels are Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which owns the Sheraton line, and InterContinental Hotels Group, which owns Holiday Inn.

Officials with those companies said they had no comment on any potential purchases.

Bucky Clarkson, a local developer who opposed construction of the Adam's Mark because it conflicted with his own plans for a downtown hotel, said he'd be happy to see another hotel operator take over the Adam's Mark.

"A Loews, a Marriott flag, Hyatt -- anybody that has a much better standing in the hospitality community would be a big plus for downtown Jacksonville."

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