The 14-story plaid tower is hard to miss in downtown Fayetteville.
It belongs to the newest boutique hotel on the block, the Graduate Fayetteville, a national chain founded by hotelier and investor Ben Weprin of AJ Capital Partners in Chicago. The hotel opened this year after Weprin bought the former Chancellor Hotel for $31 million and remodeled it as a Graduate.
Inside, all traces of the Chancellor, or any typical hotel chain, are gone. There are hand-painted designs on the floor, a communal room full of Arkansas-flavored knickknacks and eight razorback heads carved by a chainsaw artist hanging above the hotel bar.
The University of Arkansas has helped, donating school yearbooks going as far back as the 1930s. One of the most popular aspects of the hotel is the room keycards, which are replicas of the student IDs carried by eight famous alumni, including Fay Jones, J. William Fulbright, Veronica Campbell and Scotty Thurman.
Guests request certain cards as their keys for their stay. Some keep them as souvenirs.
The Graduate chain was conceived in 2014 as an alternative to the traditional cookie-cutter rooms of national chains. The Graduates sprang from Weprin’s purchase of the Hotel Lincoln in 2012 in Chicago.
The Hotel Lincoln is located near DePaul University, and Weprin noticed a lot of college alumni and relatives were staying there. That led to the pursuit of a college-centric hotel chain.
“We knew how dynamic these markets were and how passionate students and alumni can be,” Weprin told Bloomberg News in September. “Our thought process was that a hotel that spoke to their needs, in a playful and nostalgic way, could be extremely successful.”
On a recent weekend at the Graduate Fayetteville, track and field athletes were traversing the hallways and elevators before the Tyson Invitational indoor meet Feb. 14-15. General Manager Rhonda Cooksey said the hotel is already popular with colleges visiting for athletic events, and the UA uses the hotel for its visiting recruits.
“Sam Pittman loves the Graduate,” Cooksey said, referring to the Razorbacks’ new head football coach.
Cooksey, a UA alumna, said she has worked in hotels for 15 years. She joined the Graduate in July.
“It is completely different,” Cooksey said. “It’s a fun company and they make working here fun.”
Experience Premium
Cooksey said the goal of the Graduate is to provide its guests with an experience rather than just a traditional overnight stay.
Guests do pay more for a room, Cooksey said, and the hotel tries to keep its price point about $10 to $20 over the local market. Weekly rates for regular rooms start at $106 with the Old Main Suite going for $548.
The Old Main Suite has a living room, a balcony and lamps that are replicas of the university’s landmark towers. It goes for more than $800 on weekends.
The Old Main Suite, and other rooms as well, are decorated with Arkansas touches. The bedspread says 1871 — the year the university was founded — and portraits of football coach Hugo Bezdek and aviation pioneer Louise Thaden hang on the wall.
“We are all storytellers; I know that sounds a little different coming from a hotelier,” Cooksey said. “When you go to a guest room, you’re not walking into a regular branded hotel room. You are walking into something that tells stories. It’s not a regular hotel, with the nostalgia it brings back.”
Cooksey said the hotel has done well in its first months of operations. Even when there isn’t full occupancy, the hotel is popular as a study hall and meeting place.
The hotel’s cafe-bar, the Poindexter, is bustling every night, Cooksey said.
“We create a lot of unique space here in Fayetteville that college students can come [to] and study,” Cooksey said. “I can’t tell you how many times I have walked out of my office, and I’ll see college students drinking coffee with their laptops or their books, studying.
“Even during the week when we may not be sold out, our bar is. It is hard to find an empty table because we are such a popular spot. We are a place the locals want to come.”
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