St Louis- St Charles hotel & spa, Missouri has been ranked number 1 for the second consecutive year.

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts took home 14 of the top recognitions among the 2007 Embassy Suites Hotels brand awards, including the following honors:

• All three Connie Award winners are John Q. Hammons properties
• First hotel to win consecutive first place Connie Awards
• Total Quality Awards, 11 (of 19)
• Sales Team of the Year Award
• Customer Really Matters Scorecard Awards, two (of five)

The outstanding performing hotels were recognized from among the Embassy Suites Hotels' national brand portfolio of nearly 200 upscale, all-suite hotels throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. 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.

"I commend our teams for being acutely in tune with guests' needs, from the sales process to their stay, and consistently delivering an exceptional experience worthy of telling someone about," said Mr. John. Q. Hammons, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. "This high level of performance results in some rare honors, including receiving the first place Connie Award two years in a row and a new property receiving Sales Team of the Year."

Triple Shot: Connie Awards

Only John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts' hotels received the coveted Connie Award, named in honor of company founder Conrad Hilton:

#1 Embassy Suites – St. Louis-St. Charles Hotel & Spa, Missouri (second consecutive year)
#2 Embassy Suites – Huntsville Hotel & Spa, Alabama
#3 Embassy Suites – Hampton Roads Hotel, Spa and Convention Center, Virginia

The Connie Award is given to properties based on the top Total Quality Scores (TQS) category derived from a property's year-to-date, overall service and accommodation scores from Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking (SALT) reports, plus a 12-month average on Quality Assurance scores. The hotels will be honored with a trophy for display in the hotel and a luncheon hosted by the Embassy Suites brand team.

Rick Beran, general manager, Embassy Suites St. Louis – St. Charles Hotel & Spa, and 16-year veteran with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, said, "Our success is first based on Mr. Hammons' building a superior product. Second, we have a team of key departmental managers that work extremely well together to achieve our customer service goals. Plus, our associates are committed to top performance and are constantly asking, ‘what can we do to make our scores even better.' That's an environment that delivers a memorable guest experience."

Beran recognized the following departmental heads in the rare occasion of receiving the first place Connie Award for the second consecutive year:

• Linda Mueller*, assistant general manager – rooms division, three years with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles property
• Sandi Snead*, assistant general manager – food & beverage division, 16 years with John Q. Hammons, three years with St. Charles property
• Shawna Luetkenhaus*, director of sales & marketing – four years with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles
• Jarrett Messenger, executive chef – nearly one year with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles
• John Ayres*, executive housekeeper – three years with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles
• Steve Majino, chief engineer – two years with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles
• Gwen Webb*, front office manager – three years with John Q. Hammons and St. Charles
• Wendy Elliott, controller – six years with John Q. Hammons, two years with St. Charles property
  (*denotes member of St. Charles property opening team)

Top Quality System (TQS) Awards

The prestigious total quality system awards were presented to 19 properties in the Embassy Suites Hotels portfolio. In addition to the top three TQS ranked hotels that received Connie Awards, eight other John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts properties were recognized and ranked as follows:

#7, Embassy Suites – Nashville South-Cool Springs, Tennessee
#9, Embassy Suites – Dallas/Frisco Hotel, Convention Center & Spa, Texas
#10, Embassy Suites – Hot Springs Hotel & Spa, Arkansas
#11, Embassy Suites – Albuquerque Hotel & Spa, New Mexico
#12, Embassy Suites – Greenville Golf Resort & Conference Center, South Carolina
#15, Embassy Suites – Northwest Arkansas Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, Arkansas
#16, Embassy Suites – Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle, North Carolina
#19, Embassy Suites – Dallas-DFW International Airport North at Outdoor World, Texas
Special Recognition

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts' properties also were given special recognition with the following awards:

Sales Team of the Year, Embassy Suites – Charlotte-Concord/Golf Resort & Spa, North Carolina (note: 2007 was hotel's first year in operation)

Customer Really Matters Scorecard Awards, #4, Embassy Suites – St. Louis-St. Charles Hotel & Spa, Missouri, and #5, Embassy Suites – Hampton Roads Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, Virginia