Tom Hunt and now former partner Howard Porter brought together their industry experience to form PHD Hotels, Inc. (PHD) in June of 1998 (formerly known as The Hotel Group, Inc.). Tom’s proven hotel management and development accomplishments coupled with Howard’s extensive commercial real estate expertise would prove to be a strong platform for success. Over the next 8 years, the company went on to develop and manage a total of ten hotels including Arbor Suites, Hilton Garden Inns, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inns.

In 2006, the company sold its portfolio of hotels and the management contracts that accompanied them. In 2007, Mr Hunt purchased Mr Porter’s interest in the company. PHD Hotels will continue to develop hotels similar to the ones they have done in the past.

Beginning back in 1998, PHD Hotels began with the simultaneous development of two non-franchised extended stay hotels, Arbor Suites of Auburn, AL and Prattville, AL. Developed to compete in the lower mid-scale market, both properties were immediately successful with occupancies in excess of 70-80%, and were later sold in 2006. In May of 2000, the company purchased a six-year-old Hampton Inn® in Tupelo, MS, overseeing a successful product improvement plan. Under PHD’s management, the property experienced a growth in both occupancy and rate in 2001, with an overall revenue gain of 15%. This success led to an expansion project and addition of 37 interior corridor rooms, resulting in today’s 96-room property.

2001 marked the beginning of PHD’s association with the Hilton Garden Inn® brand, Hilton’s mid-priced lodging choice for the growing segment of mid-market travelers. The Hilton Garden Inn® of Auburn / Opelika, AL opened in November of 2001 and was honored in its first year of operation with the 2002 Hilton Pride Award, being ranked number one in “Guest Loyalty” out of more than 140 Hilton Garden Inn® hotels. This success and the resulting brand-loyal relationship led to the development of the company’s second Hilton Garden Inn® in August, 2003, a 97-room property located in Montgomery, AL.

Six months later, construction was complete on the 82-room Hampton Inn® hotel in nearby Troy, AL, home of Troy University, marking the company’s first Hampton Inn® development project. Yet another first came in May of 2004 with the opening of the Homewood Suites by Hilton®– Montgomery East, Hilton’s upscale all-suite, residential-style brand. A unique development concept, the Homewood Suites® was constructed on property adjacent to the Hilton Garden Inn® - Montgomery East, providing two complimentary hotels with different market segment appeal. PHD Hotels developed its third Hilton Garden Inn® in Huntsville, AL that opened in October 2005. Simultaneously, construction began on a second Homewood Suites by Hilton® in Huntsville’s upscale planned community, Village of Providence, which opened in October of 2006. The company’s fourth Hilton Garden Inn was built on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia and opened in June of 2007.

After the portfolio sale, the company’s first project was the development of a Hampton Inn & Suites in Opelika, Alabama, very near its home office in the city of Auburn. The hotel opened in February 2008 and is managed by PHD Hotels, Inc.

Currently PHD Hotels is developing a Homewood Suites by Hilton in Macon, Georgia. The 99-room hotel is part of a new development, Providence Village North Macon and is scheduled to open in February 2009. Construction will begin on a 106-room Hampton Inn & Suites early in 2009. It will be located on Highway 280 at Lee Branch in Southeast Birmingham, Alabama.

PHD Hotels, Inc continues to “Practice Hospitality Daily” and is considering several other projects in the southeastern region.

Go Back