Clarion Hotel at MacArthur Airport changes hands

Ownership of the 289-room Clarion Hotel in Ronkonkoma switched hands this summer, though what changes that may bode for the hotel remains unclear.

The lease ownership of the hotel, which stands on Town of Islip land right next to Long Island MacArthur Airport, was transferred to Airport Inn Inc. from previous owner Parker Inn Associates after a resolution at an Islip Town Board meeting in June.

A spokeswoman at Choice Hotels International Inc., which owns the Clarion brand, confirmed that the hotel had recently changed hands but would continue to operate as a Clarion.

She referred further questions to the hotel itself, saying all of Choice Hotel's brands are franchisee-operated.

The Ronkonkoma Clarion formerly operated as a Holiday Inn for many years before switching to the brand last summer.

The phone operator at the Clarion said the previous general manager left July 1, and requests to speak to a manager in charge were transferred to the accountant's voice mail. The calls were not returned.

The address registered with Airport Inn Inc. on the Clarion's lease belongs to a Howard Johnson hotel in upstate Binghamton.

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The owner of that Howard Johnson, Alka Patel, said she was part of the management of the Ronkonkoma Clarion and that the general manager position at the hotel was still open.

She declined further comment.