The Rodeway Inn/Clarion Hotel at Quentin Road and Poplar Street (625 Quentin Road), Lebanon, has been rebranded as Hammock Hotel Lebanon Hershey.
This recent flag change marks the second rebranding for the landmark property in a little over two years. Prior to becoming a Rodeway/Clarion hotel, it was a Days Inn. (In the hotel industry, a “flag” change means changing the brand of the hotel.)
Rex Jariwala, COO of the hotel’s management company, Hammock Worldwide Hotels & Resorts, said the current owners have had the property since 2009. Hammock Worldwide has several hotels in the area including a Clarion Inn in Lancaster that was also re-branded as a Hammock Hotel and the Hampton Inn in Manheim near the Lancaster-Lebanon Turnpike interchange.
“We’re developing Hammock as our own brand, and it’s more of a local hotel. We want to bring a bit of local flair to our hotels. That’s something you can’t do when you’re affiliated with a big chain,” he said, “We believe that after the experience of the pandemic, people are looking for more of a local experience—some place where they can drive to visit rather than fly. The Lebanon-Hershey area is a reasonably short distance from New York and New Jersey.”
One element of local flair will be a feature wall in the hotel’s lobby. It will reflect Lebanon’s history, the hotel’s history as well as the heritage of the Lebanon-Hershey area. When it opened its doors in December 1960, the hotel was known as the Lebanon Treadway Inn. According to a Lebanon Daily News special publication, it was a “hotel-motel and a community center” that was owned by about “1,800 local citizens who own stock in the Greater Lebanon Hotel Enterprises Inc.”
Read More: Photos of the historic Lebanon Treadway Inn
“The hotel has a really interesting history. We’ve come across one of the shovels used during the groundbreaking ceremony for the hotel, and we’ll display that in some fashion on the feature wall,” Jariwala said.
Hammock Worldwide has a centralized reservation system, and guests can book directly with its hotels online. Reservations are also available on travel sites. Hammock launched its own app in October. It features social media links, app exclusive travel discounts and information about each hotel’s local area.
He said Hammock has been investing in the Hammock Hershey-Lebanon hotel building over the past several years modernizing rooms; upgrading the elevator system. Rooms in the main tower area have been upgraded. The banquet area was upgraded prior to COVID-19.
The outdoor pool opened late last summer and will be open again this year and will follow CDC guidelines. Jariwala said face coverings are required in public spaces. “We miss seeing the smiles on the faces of our customers, but it’s important to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements. In the hotel industry we work hard every day to earn customer’s smiles. We look forward to the time when we don’t have to wear face coverings,” he said.
Jariwala said they are in the planning stages for additional upgrades including triple sheeting each guest bed, a touchless way to contact the front desk from guest rooms and upgrades to outdoor areas. The hotel’s management has also been working with the City of Lebanon to secure permission to demolish some of the outbuildings on the property that haven’t been used in some time.
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